Tuesday, 5/6/97 Logistical snafus turn Sweet performance sour
Problems with lighting, microphones cast shadow over otherwise
enjoyable concert
By Brian Remick Daily Bruin Contributor Plagued by blatant
technical problems, Matthew Sweet struggled through his concert on
Friday at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles. He is currently on
tour supporting his latest release, "Blue Sky on Mars." Sweet took
the stage Friday night before an extremely diverse crowd – a
mixture of "Altered Beast" fans who looked like they just got out
of one of Sweet’s late ’80s shows to surprised radio listeners who
just heard "Where You Get Love" off the latest album and came to
see what the big deal was about. Unfortunately for these fans, they
didn’t get a very good taste. Sweet’s performance was strong,
effectively combining tracks from almost all of his albums. He
played to the crowd extremely well, including more songs than
expected from the popular "Girlfriend" album and fewer little-known
songs from his new release. The technical problems just seeped into
every song, though. From lighting problems to unnecessary
microphone feedback, things just weren’t going Sweet’s way. The
band kicked off the show with the cheesy but fitting "Come to
California" from "Blue Sky on Mars," which Sweet enjoyed much more
than the crowd. It wasn’t until he dove into a set from
"Girlfriend" that things started to pick up. Sweet has a very
friendly and casual stage presence, something which is rare for a
musician who is over 10 years and five albums into his career
without gaining a significant amount of popularity. The band
pounded through "Divine Intervention," "Get Older," one of the best
songs from his previous release, and the hit title song
"Girlfriend" before trying any of Sweet’s newer material. The
tracks played from the new album certainly were not as well
received, but songs like "Back to You" and the first single, "Where
You Get Love," are instantly likable and held over even the casual
Sweet fans in attendance. Sweet’s vocals were somewhat ruined by a
tin-can effect on the microphone, something which Sweet uses on his
albums. However, the effect remained through every song, so even
softer performances like "Winona" were distorted by unfamiliar
sounding vocals. The band left the stage following a rushed version
of "Sick of Myself," one of Sweet’s biggest hits from "100% Fun."
After having played most (if not all) of his more popular material,
the audience was left wondering what there was left to play for the
encore. Well, when in doubt – play a bunch of cover songs. And
that’s exactly what Sweet did, covering everyone from the Kinks to
David Bowie. While his admiration for these bands is respectable,
the audience was surprised by his choice of not playing his own
material. The only song that Sweet played of his own was a
fantastic version of "Evangeline," the best song from "Girlfriend."
Sweet and his band left the stage, presumably for the last time. In
fact, even the lighting guy figured he wasn’t coming back, because
the lights in the El Rey Theater hesitantly came back on and people
started shuffling out of the show, despite the fact that the
stagehands were still retuning guitars onstage. "Turn the lights
on!" Sweet said casually as he and his guitarist came back on stage
a minute later. It was basically too late for the majority of the
audience, who were already in their cars. Sweet performed an
acoustic version of "Thought I Knew You," half of which was missed
due to the confusion of the audience. While the encore fiasco
turned out to be nothing significant (Sweet had already played most
of what people wanted to hear), it was merely the icing on the cake
for an evening full of technical problems. Zoo Entertainment
Matthew Sweet earns a favorable reaction at concert Friday despite
technical glitches. External Links: BMG Alternative