November 18, 2003 Rockford, IL Concert Review

Despite health problems and cancellations the previous week, matchbox twenty still put on a high-energy, fantastic show at the Metro Centre in Rockford, IL on November 18, 2003. The opening band was Fountains Of Wayne, who played a light-hearted, entertaining 45-minute set which included their immensely popular hit, “Stacey’s Mom,” plus others , including “Bright Future In Sales” and “Leave The Biker.” The lead singer said the band always comes up with phrases about the town they’re in, so he said, “Let’s Rock N Roll Ford and make some IlliNOISE!” Rob Thomas later repeated that during matchbox twenty’s set because he liked it so much. About a half-hour after Fountains Of Wayne left, matchbox twenty began their show. The lights went down and all you could hear were two electric guitars and a bass. Almost immediately, the bassist, Brian Yale, took center stage for a brief moment, as the other band members- Adam Gaynor on rhythm guitar/background vocals, Kyle Cook on lead guitar/background vocals, Paul Doucette on drums /piano, Rob Thomas on lead vocals/piano, and newcomer-but-not-yet-officially-in-the-band Matt Beck on background vocals/keyboard/guitar and more- took their spots. I stood in Section 1, Row 6, on the right side (known as “Adam’s Side” to the hardcore fans), camera in hand.

Set List (in order)

Feel- Began with an extra long guitar, bass, drums intro. The song finally began when every member was on stage.

Disease- Adam Gaynor played his silver, sparkly guitar he uses in the music video for “Disease.” I love that guitar. A lot of red light flashed, along with red screens behind the band.

All I Need- On the screens, there was simply multi-colored stripes moving up and down. At the end of the song, Kyle Cook sang, “She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah,” an ode to The Beatles song “All You Need Is Love.”

Soul- On the screens, there was an orange/yellow dancing woman.

Real World- Rob Thomas said this song is about not wanting to grow up. Whenever Rob would sing the line, “Straight up!”, Adam Gaynor would point upwards.

Could I Be You- Rob Thomas played the piano. He told the audience that Paul Doucette on drums wrote this song. I’m glad Rob gives Paul credit, because a lot of people probably assume that only Rob does the writing.

3 AM- Adam Gaynor opened the song by himself. He finished the opening by jumping three times and then twirling around once. He does that every time and he’s very good at it.

Hand Me Down- Paul Doucette played piano while drum tech Tony Adams filled in on drums. It was nice to actually see Paul, since he’s normally hidden behind his clear drum set.

If You’re Gone- This was a stripped-down version with just Rob Thomas on vocals and Kyle Cook on electric guitar. The vocals are slower and the guitar part is completely different from the recorded “Mad Season” version. This is also the same version that can be heard on matchbox twenty’s self-titled EP. Right in the middle of the song, Rob stopped singing and said, “Isn’t that pretty, Rockford?” referring to Kyle’s lovely guitar playing. And then he just started singing again (well, once the crowd stopped screaming). When they perform this special version, Rob and Kyle stand right next to each other. Rob said, “It gets closer every night.”

Bright Lights- Rob Thomas played the piano. When they got to the bridge (“Let that city take you in...”), the screens suddenly started showing videos of New York City. They ended the song with amazing guitar playing and drumming by Kyle Cook and Paul Doucette, as well as great performances by the other members.

Bent- On the screens, they showed the car in the “Bent” music video crashing into another car, Rob Thomas, and driving around. At the end of the song, Rob twirled the mic stand around. (I have video to prove it!!!)

Turn You Inside Out (R.E.M. cover)- Very nice cover. Great background vocals by Kyle Cook and Adam Gaynor.

Unwell- Kyle Cook opened the song with a banjo. I have never heard better banjo playing.

Back 2 Good- Rob Thomas said this song is about lowering your standards just so you wouldn’t have to go home alone that night.

Downfall- This is the most amazing song live. It’s intense on the record, but it’s ten times better live. On the screens, there were various phrases, like, “What do you love?” , “Do you trust your pets?”, “What’s goin’ on?”, “Did you see that?”, “Smile,” and “Are you more than you think you are?” On the CD, there is a gospel choir that you can hear the most at the bridge. However, when they perform it live, the gospel choir is eliminated, leaving a heavenly Rob Thomas solo.

You’re So Real- Right after the bridge (where I noticed that Rob Thomas was not even trying to hit the high notes, meaning that the poor guy was still a bit sick from the week before), they stopped and all the lights went down. Rob entertained the screaming fans by saying, “Wait for it...wait for it...just a few more seconds, Rockford...” and then they jumped back in the song.

-2 minute break-
Kyle Cook came back on stage with a glass of wine. I find that hilarious.

Encore (in order)

You Won’t Be Mine- Rob Thomas played the piano. This was a surprise; I didn’t think I’d ever get a chance to hear this one. Needless to say, it was beautiful.

So Sad So Lonely- Always entertaining! On the screens, there were images of a guy getting kicked out of a car, among other things. The best part of the song is the line, “I hope you get what you deserve!”, because most of the band plus much of the crowd (myself included) just screams that line out.

Push- Near the end of the song, Kyle Cook ran over to the right side of the stage (my side) and finished his awesome guitar solo from over there. When the song was over, he faced the crowd and threw his guitar pick to the audience. It bounced off my arm and landed on the ground. At that point, I bent down to the ground, located the pick, which was in front of my brother, and picked it up. That’s when I freaked out.

Long Day- I sang this at the top of my lungs, partially due to my extreme excitement of catching Kyle Cook’s guitar pick. They made this an extra long version, which I was happy with because it was the last song of the night.