Verses on Verses | Contrasting the Matchbox Twenty & Meute shows

by LE Francis

I had written full reviews of each of these shows back in May but had gone to so many shows in the spring, I had a backlog of reviews & neither ended up publishing before the magazine went on hiatus in July.

So I had a few choices — I could scrap them, I could publish them in their entirety & my entire month of August would be nothing but live reviews (I also have pending reviews of the Thrice & BTBAM tours), or I could rework it.

& when I thought about these two shows, that I saw a day apart from each other, the contrast was so intense — the way I interacted with the music, the venue, the crowd. So, I wanted to take the opportunity to shift the focus & explore that contrast. While I’ll still have a lot of the same elements I’d have in any other live music review, I’m going to take a little extra time to discuss why these two shows were so incredibly different experiences.

& no it’s not just genre, though that gap is fairly vast. Matchbox Twenty is a late ‘90s pop/alt act and Meute is a techno marching band formed in Hamburg, Germany in 2015. Out of the two, Meute is more congruent with my current tastes but there are good memories with Matchbox Twenty & I went to that show with my aunt, uncle, cousin, & brother.

So let’s get into the shows & then I’ll come back in & delve a bit deeper in the end.

May 18, Matchbox Twenty

I didn’t plan on going to this Matchbox Twenty show, it just kinda happened. I’d gone to a smaller, local show – a ‘90s cover band – with my cousin who had a handful of extra tickets & in the haze of drinks & nostalgia I thought, why the hell not? Well, it turns out there were several reasons.

I don’t typically go to amphitheater shows & have avoided White River in particular because their parking & traffic situation is absolutely jacked. And despite being told the situation had improved, my sanity going into the show was solely due to my aunt & uncle being insistent that we had to go THREE WHOLE HOURS before doors, which was wise even if the parking lot was a boiling field of beasties — big black jumping spiders, thatching ants, quick-footed lizards, & big blue dragonflies. I was grateful for the wildlife because they added a little atmosphere, a little drama. 

Coming out of the show was an unmitigated nightmare though. The venue deals with the traffic situation by having local cops close roads & force you through a bottleneck around town in the opposite way of most of the hotels & businesses that people are going to after the show – despite displaying signage indicating you can go the right way if only you can find a way to cross three or four packed lanes that ultimately just reduce back to the single route. I owe everything to my uncle for driving me to & from my hotel, he is a much chiller dude than I.

But partially due to a lack of coherent infrastructure, the venue creates a situation where people have to sit out in the sun for hours & then they turn around & charge an insane amount for basic drinks & food. & this is coming from someone who is used to & fine with paying $12 for a $4 hard seltzer at a venue or theater.

It was a full $50 for two drinks with no free water. & I had to drink Truly all night because I’m a celiac & the VOLUNTEERS had no idea what was in anything — that’s right, they had volunteers hocking this massively overpriced shit trying to raise money for various organizations via tips.

& you’d think with raking in all of that cash on top of massively reduced labor costs, ownership could fix the infrastructure problem, especially after it being an obvious problem for well over a decade, but nah. This is capitalism bitch, we just take your money, deliver a piss poor experience, & you’ll keep coming back because there’s no alternative.

In short, I’m back on my bullshit of actively avoiding White River again. I had a roughly 15 year streak going & I’m looking to make it last a lot longer this time.

As far as the bands go, I would say they were solidly alright. But now that I’m done bitching about the venue, let’s get into that.

Matt Nathanson

First I want to shout out the pretty girl in the pink outfit who knew every word & was shouting it devotedly at the stage. You have to admire that dedication.

But for me, this just wasn’t it. Admittedly, Nathanson’s discography is daunting. I tried to dig in & get a feeling for what was going on before the show but dude is prolific, & at best I had an overview of his last two albums going in. & while I can rock with a good singer-songwriter, it was a little monotone for me. But it works for him, it works for the pretty girl in pink, I can’t knock it.

He did try to spice things up by adding little beats of covers into the set & the crowd was digging it.

I also have to give it to Nathanson for straight up asking if there were people in the crowd offended by him cursing. His music is tolerably saccharine adult easy listening stuff & I didn’t expect one of the first words out of his mouth to be the f-bomb, so respectfully I was surprised. I did not, however, respect the two sour-faced weirdos nearby who raised their hands when he asked though.

Matt Nathanson’s golden hit was “Come on Get Higher” & it’s alright. & hey, it must be a hot girl song because both my cousin & the girl in the pink skirt were vibing.

Matchbox Twenty

I realized rather quickly into their set that I am not an assigned seat type of bitch, unless my seat is at the very edge of the row. I didn’t want to be like those weirdos at The Mars Volta show that kept getting up every three seconds, making everyone around them move. So, I wandered around & found my way into the GA grass area.

The thing is, I couldn’t be sober with Matchbox Twenty. & it wasn’t the band’s fault. This was the largest collection of people you’re likely to run into on a remote rural beach drinking Coors Light out of a dented cooler tied to the back of a boat with FJB spray painted on the side of it – the whole scene was soaked in Axe Body Spray & leaking motor oil. & they were into it, they were grooving, it was a vibe — I was the weirdo, I was incredibly uncomfortable. I felt like a pretentious asshole as I texted my bestie, “No matter how bad things get I’m never going to be the girl grinding on her man to ‘Unwell.’” 

Listen, I am overwhelmingly happy when other people are happy, when they are losing themselves in any form of art, but there was something about all of this that put me off.

I couldn’t help but look over this mass of people listening to Rob Thomas declare that they were playing everyone’s “new favorite song” that sounded so much like the last however many songs they’d played, & just feel off about the state of the music industry. 

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Matchbox Twenty, with liking Matchbox Twenty, they’re a solid dad rock band, they were vital to my late elementary & middle school soundtrack, & there’s a place for that, there’s a place for everyone. & I’m a default Rob Thomas fan even if just for his Always Sunny episode. 

But there are bands out there that are novel, inventive; bands that do something different with every composition & they are starving, scrambling for any crumb of clout or recognition that would help make them just financially stable. & here I was, in this mass of okay, soaking up the mid, & paying out the nose to do it. & it just unsettled me.

That said, after living most of my life knowing them only by “You or Someone Like You,”
I did listen to their 2002 album, “More Than You Think You Are,” & I can’t lie that “Disease” is a bop that is giving “Smooth” if it was strictly a Matchbox Twenty joint. 

& the band put on a solid show & sounded great both in the seats & in the grass. & listen, I was one stupid idiot wandering around buzzed & annoyed overanalyzing everything. If you loved it, I see you & love that for you. 

May 19, Meute

You want a tip to sell merch? Book a small/medium-sized venue on a hot-ish day – absolutely muggy, stifling Seattle gray-sky sludge when people are likely to underdress — & just crank the AC in anticipation of a sweaty dance party. Then put the merch booth next to the door, right as people come in & get hit by the wall of cold. 

I walked in dressed in shorts and a t-shirt & immediately hit the merch line, teeth chattering. Maybe three minutes earlier I was debating bringing my sweater into the venue & had decided against it because it was sunset & still warm & I expected the dance floor to be something akin to the inside of a nuclear reactor. 

It was fairplay. & hey, they got two birds stoned at once because once people poured in & started moving, it definitely justified the chilly beginning.

The venue itself was The Showbox Sodo, which I wasn’t a huge fan of at the beginning of this year — it’s a big open room that can get dicey when it’s full. But I have really grown to love the venue & the convenience of the parking-lot-peppered Sodo neighborhood (with a Silver Platters Records & a Shawn Kemp’s Cannabis within walking distance) & ease of access to both I-90 & I-5.

I had just been to the venue the month prior for Wage War, so I was better accustomed to the layout this time. I arrived at doors so I was able to get in & get a table in the upper bar. Seating is very limited but if you get in early you may be able to snag a table. Should I have sat for this show? Probably not. But I made some irresponsible choices the night before & by the time I made it to the show, I was awake only by the grace of excessive caffeine use.

DJ Julie Herrera

The opener for this show was a local DJ, Julie Herrera. Herrera went on a half hour before the show was supposed to start & had the entire floor moving even as people were still filtering in. Her set was nothing if not smooth, often blending unlikely elements like Jefferson Airplane’s psychedelic classic “White Rabbit” with relentless house beats. But she was as much a part of the set as the music, her enthusiasm was infectious, she had people moving even where I was sitting at the very back of the bar.

Meute

Whenever I tell someone about Meute they seem immediately confused & a little intrigued — a techno marching band? & that’s the point. Meute uses an unconventional approach to do something unexpected & absolutely nails it.

& they are a force of nature on stage. They have the marching band sound & feel but they aren’t over-choreographed, they get lost in the flow of the music, in the energy of the crowd. The musicians are all consistent & it is endlessly interesting to me to see how the songs show up, interpreted through these unlikely instruments.

I tend to listen to Meute while I’m writing & editing written work because a majority of their songs don’t have lyrics & the groove is great. But watching them live is another experience, the band is seamless, all the moving parts clicking together perfectly – the various instruments, the light show, the musicians dancing along & engaging with the crowd. 

& the entire floor was moving. From my vantage point, at a raised table in the back of the raised bar area, the dance floor was packed & never stopped swaying along with the music.

Because I had a long drive over the pass that night & had started the day incredibly hung over, I ended up leaving long before I wanted to. But the show was absolutely amazing & I’m hoping that they tour again soon.

Contrast

Catching Meute the next day only deepened the off-feeling I had the night at the Matchbox Twenty show.

I am always happy when people can connect to art in any way & don’t like to judge what anyone is into. My tastes vary widely & I absolutely adore plenty of artists that people love to hate. 

& I’m not mad about Matchbox Twenty, I’m happy for their success. However, they have been doing the same thing for over twenty years with very little deviation, or experimentation. & the industry & audience has done nothing but reward them for it. There are countless bands just like them. & then people want to argue that capitalism breeds innovation.

Bands like Meute thrive in other countries for various reasons, first Germany has a robust social system that makes it incredibly unlikely you’re going to go bankrupt for breaking a leg or getting cancer – something we definitely cannot say for America. This allows people to be able to take risks with their careers because they know they’ll have basic needs covered – an actual thing that encourages innovation.

We have commoditized art so hard in this country that it all falls under the nebulous “entertainment” category, which lets be honest is just the various ways we distract ourselves from the socioeconomic anxieties that are inherent in a corrupt political system bankrolled by people incentivized to keep us anxious, stupid, & poor.

This is what I mean when I say all art is political. Popular music is not bad by default – I like plenty of pop music, including several Matchbox Twenty’s songs – but these mass produced, focus-group vetted, board-room composed acts are part of what is killing music. & it’s multifaceted. It’s not just the stagnation of experimentation or the focus being shifted to what is perceived to be most marketable, but the ways that the peripheral businesses — venues, promoters, etc. — learn to interact with touring bands.

The White River experience was by far the worst concert experience I’ve had in the last decade (since I last went to White River, tbh). & their practice of gouging & mismanaging things has trickled down to smaller venues in many respects. Increasingly, we see complaints that venues are gouging bands on their merch, that ticket agencies are gouging fans with unjustified, excessive ticket fees.

& while everything is in an upward trend, it seems that the people who end up getting squeezed out are the smaller musicians — don’t get me wrong, the terrible practices are across the board — but the bigger acts can weather it. & all things considered, it’s the smaller bands at cozier venues that I’m excited to come out for. 

Especially when you consider what constitutes a smaller band. Matchbox Twenty could pull at a huge venue like White River, but I’m seeing Sleep Token at Showbox Sodo, & I saw The Mars Volta at The Moore. While I get that Matchbox Twenty has a wider appeal, my Sleep Token tickets are easily worth over 10x what I originally paid for them in presale & Volta tickets were so competitive I sat through three presales & still ended up buying “resale” tickets for five times the original price. There are huge audiences for these smaller bands but it seems like they’re being habitually underbooked to trigger these frenzies. & it’s not the bands that are making money off of these resale battles, it’s ticketing agencies, scalpers, etc.

Anyway, the experience I had with these shows was an eye-opener. Among other things, it made me think about how I spend my money as a fan & what I’m willing to tolerate when I go out to a show. The only thing I can say in closing is please, please support the small artists you love — directly if possible.

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Verses on Verses is a weekly music column from the perspective of a poet. Inquiries can be directed to LE Francis, lefrancis@sagecigarettes.com.

LE Francis (she/her) is the managing editor of Sage Cigarettes Magazine; a columnist & staff artist for Cream Scene Carnival Magazine; co-host & staff editor of A Ghost in the Magazine & The Annegirls Podcast; & the author of THIS SPELL OF SONG & STAR available through Bottlecap Press. She is a writer, musician, & visual artist living in the rainshadow of the Washington Cascades. Find her online at nocturnical.com.