Same Carleton, different Matt...
There's no law that in order to be an east coast rock star you have to be a large friendly redheaded young man named Matt, but sometimes it seems that way.
Matt Andersen, a blues guy from New Brunswick (who currently lives in Cape Breton) played two shows at the Carleton last night. (It was supposed to be one, but there was a mixup over when tickets went on sale, so the first show sold out before the sale was supposed to start, so Matt agreed to add another show the same night. As Mike of the Carleton remarked last night, "This worked out so well I don't think I'll even apologize for the confusion!" Speaking as someone who got tickets to the second show, I don't think he should, either!)
I like rootsy music but am not specifically a huge fan of modern blues (which I know will come as a considerable shock to everyone who's read my numerous posts about It Might Get Loud, in which I root for The Edge.) However, I do like it, and I like to hear musicians play stuff they're passionate about. Matt A has a great big blues voice and plays guitar like crazy, and also last night he sang us a tune about the Canadian winter blues in which he referenced a narwhal and, as he later proudly remarked, "managed to find a rhyme for 'stuck' and 'truck' without swearing!" (I believe the lyric was, "I got my truck stuck in Tuktoyaktuk/ I lost my left boot, but found a mukluk." Which I think we can all agree is more creative than swearing, and also reminded me of Wayne & Shuster's little ode to Chicoutimi, which is never a bad thing.)
I was at the back and did not get pictures or video, but here is a video from the Lunenburg Festival a couple of years ago, in which Matt sings the cover he completed last night's encore with. I love this song, and I love his version of it:
All in all, it was definitely worth being up late on a Monday!
Matt Andersen, a blues guy from New Brunswick (who currently lives in Cape Breton) played two shows at the Carleton last night. (It was supposed to be one, but there was a mixup over when tickets went on sale, so the first show sold out before the sale was supposed to start, so Matt agreed to add another show the same night. As Mike of the Carleton remarked last night, "This worked out so well I don't think I'll even apologize for the confusion!" Speaking as someone who got tickets to the second show, I don't think he should, either!)
I like rootsy music but am not specifically a huge fan of modern blues (which I know will come as a considerable shock to everyone who's read my numerous posts about It Might Get Loud, in which I root for The Edge.) However, I do like it, and I like to hear musicians play stuff they're passionate about. Matt A has a great big blues voice and plays guitar like crazy, and also last night he sang us a tune about the Canadian winter blues in which he referenced a narwhal and, as he later proudly remarked, "managed to find a rhyme for 'stuck' and 'truck' without swearing!" (I believe the lyric was, "I got my truck stuck in Tuktoyaktuk/ I lost my left boot, but found a mukluk." Which I think we can all agree is more creative than swearing, and also reminded me of Wayne & Shuster's little ode to Chicoutimi, which is never a bad thing.)
I was at the back and did not get pictures or video, but here is a video from the Lunenburg Festival a couple of years ago, in which Matt sings the cover he completed last night's encore with. I love this song, and I love his version of it:
Click to viewAll in all, it was definitely worth being up late on a Monday!