Fresno, CA
It's January 2020 and Matchbox Twenty announces their summer tour. I take a look at the schedule and they're playing in Las Vegas on September 27 -- just a couple of days before Ana Marie's birthday and a week before mine. Show is on a Sunday -- let's do a birthday trip to Vegas! I grab a pair of VIP tickets for us and we plan to have a fun girls trip for our 52nd birthdays.
It's March 2020 and COVID has taken over the world. Stay at home orders and restrictions on large gatherings are rolling out. The SF Bay Area starts with a six-week shelter in place order, and I start working from home. Events I have tickets for in May and June are canceled. Still, September is six months away. Sure, I don't expect the shelter in place to actually lift in six weeks, but surely it won't last six months.
It's May 2020 and things seem to be getting worse instead of better. Matchbox Twenty announces that their tour will be postponed. Stay tuned for the rescheduled dates.
It's June 2020 and Matchbox Twenty announces the rescheduled tour dates and tour is pushed to the second half of 2021, but there is no Las Vegas date on the new schedule, so our tickets are refunded. Sigh, OK what are the NorCal dates? They're playing at Shoreline in Mountain View and there are three VIP seats available, but stupid Ticketmaster won't allow a purchase of 2 tickets. OK, we're still a year away let's wait and try again closer to tour time.
It's March 2021 and Ana Marie and I look for tickets again. We still can't get two decent seats for a Saturday night show at Shoreline, so all right, let's do Fresno. It'll be a three and a half hour drive for each of us from different directions, but we are able to snag second row VIP tickets. Bonus the show is once again on a Sunday before our birthdays.
It's April 2021 and Matchbox Twenty announces that the tour will be postponed to 2022. The show at Shoreline is dropped from the schedule, so we're pleased we decided to opt for Fresno. Of course now the show is on a Tuesday in May rather than a Sunday in September.
It's February 2022 and things have finally started trending towards "normal." I have tickets to see an almost 80-year old Paul McCartney in Oakland in May, and I'm looking forward to baseball season. Finally, I'm getting to do things I love and haven't been able to do for nearly two years. Alas, the 50-something year old members of Matchbox Twenty again decide to postpone their tour and now my random Tuesday in May becomes a random Wednesday in May -- a full year later. Sigh.
It's December 2022 and I see a tweet from Matchbox Twenty -- Rob Thomas is on a talk show for Christmas and announces that Matchbox Twenty has finished recording a new album. Well hot damn, maybe that means the tour really will actually happen this time! It's been three years, I don't think I could take another postponement.
It's March 2023 and Matchbox Twenty releases the first single from their new album. Wow. This might really be happening! And they've added a couple of shows -- Concord on the Sunday before our scheduled Fresno show, Vegas on the Saturday after. Alas, I can't do the Concord show due to work obligations the following day and Ana can't go to Vegas. OK, we'll have our mid-week Fresno show.
So you can see why when Wednesday finally rolled around Ana and I were excited to go to Fresno! No one is ever excited to go to Fresno! But three loooooooooong years of waiting does create a build up of anticipation. Still, in the back of my head I remembered the previous time Ana Marie and I had seen Matchbox Twenty -- our Friday night show got pushed to a Tuesday due to a sinkhole at Shoreline that prevented them from unloading their equipment. Please don't let us get this close and have another sinkhole-like issue! (Later that tour another show had the start delayed due to bees! No bees either please!)
We killed some time before heading back to the Save Mart Center at 4 for our soundcheck/Q&A/photo opportunity. When we got to the arena, the crowd outside was pretty small -- maybe 60 or so people. Well this is going to be a treat. We checked in and got our VIP badges and mingled for a bit until our host Maggie called everyone together to go over the protocols. While explaining that the photo would be socially distanced (not surprising at all) she made the comment that "the guys are a bit older" which got a good laugh from the similarly aged crowd. We headed in and settled into seats in the second row -- just about where we'd be sitting for the show.
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| photo courtesy Ana Marie Sotuela |
Paul returned to the stage and there was a brief Q&A and there are clearly some die hard fans in the group as Rob knew a couple of the people asking questions. It reminded both Ana and me of so many different Journey moments. Next up was the photo op. The guys sat down at the edge of the stage and small groups of fans would get their opportunity to go up to the stage, while remaining behind the barricade, for a brief chat and a photo. Ana and I chatted with fellow fans in line and it was fun as always. It's amazing how sharing a common love for music leads to these encounters.
Soon enough it was our turn, and we let the guys know that we are now officially 52 and Rob joked about being in a time machine. Ana and Kyle had a quick chat about his fedora. We could see Maggie creeping up on our side, so it was time to turn towards the photographer and get our picture taken. (Still waiting for it to be posted at the time of this writing.)
Our pre-show experience was over quickly, but a great treat. We still had a while to wait until show time, but we didn't have to leave the arena, so we hung around until the swag booth opened and waited to purchase some souvenirs for ourselves. We'd both already pre-ordered the show recording, so it was a couple of new t-shirts. While in line, the woman in front of us turned around to Ana and made a face thinking it was her friend behind her. This resulted in great laughs and chatting again with our fellow fans. We ran into them again a short time later after we grabbed some food and drinks and shared a table while we noshed.
We headed inside and grabbed our second row seats. I haven't had seats that good for a big show in a very long time. We chatted some more with people we'd met earlier while we waited for the opener, Matt Nathanson, to come out and perform. I knew of him and liked the couple of songs I'd heard so I was looking forward to what his set would be like.
Matt came out and put on a hugely entertaining set. Between the catchy tunes of his own, he was extremely gregarious and amusing. It was a really fun set. One highlight came when he picked up a 12-string guitar and made a comment along the lines of "it's hard to hold a 12-string guitar and not think of Poison" which got a laugh and he strummed the opening of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn." Suddenly it turns into a sing along of the first verse. Yeah, this was a crowd of 80s kids! He also threw in bits of Tina Turner songs ("What's Love Got to Do With It" and "Private Dancer") in the middle of his songs as a tribute to the legend who'd passed away earlier in the day.
After a brief intermission to change over sets, it was time for Matchbox Twenty to hit the stage. Lights down and the stage backdrop lights up. The band takes the stage and open with a new track "Friends" which while not totally surprising meant it took me a moment to process and I couldn't form much of an opinion as I listened. (The new album was released today and I'm listening to it as I write this, and the more I hear "Friends" the more I like it.) That was quickly followed by "How Far We've Come" and got the crowd really going.
My first highlight in the set was "If You're Gone" -- again a bit stripped down with just Rob and Kyle, though this time with an electric guitar. It's one of my favorites and it was great to hear it live twice in one day! The next highlight was "These Hard Times." It's a song that's taken on a new meaning over the past three years and I got a bit teary eyed.
We got a nice treat towards the end of the set when Kyle took over on lead for "The Way" which is one of my favorite tunes from their album North. I think it's the first time I've seen Kyle sing lead in a Matchbox set, so the fact our seats were right in front of his microphone made this an extra special treat.
In addition to opening with a new tune, there were three other new songs in the set: "Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream)" which has been out for a bit as their first single and is quite catchy; "Don't Get Me Wrong" (no, not a cover of the Pretenders tune); and "Rebels" which was the last song of the main set and I liked immediately. It may be my favorite from the new album so far.
The band headed off stage after "Rebels" and I turned to Ana and we ran down the list of songs they'd yet to play. Pretty much the biggest hits. And soon enough they were back on stage for the encore of "3 A.M.", "Unwell", "Push", and "Bright Lights." I will never ever tire of hearing "Bright Lights" and they nailed it again.
Leading up to this week, I'd been listening to my Matchbox Twenty/Rob Thomas playlist which includes several live shows from over the years and what amazed me as I listened was how consistent Rob's voice has been. It was the same on Wednesday night and as good as it ever was.
After a three year plus wait for this show, it's hard to believe it's done, but boy was this show worth the wait!
Set List (courtesy of setlist.fm)
Friends*
How Far We've Come
Real World
Disease
Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream)*
She's So Mean
All I Need
If You're Gone
Mad Season
Don’t Get Me Wrong*
These Hard Times
The Way (Kyle Cook lead vocal)
Parade
Bent
Back 2 Good
Long Day
Rebels*
Encore:
3 A.M.
Unwell
Push
Bright Lights
*new song from Where the Light Goes
