“I’m going to keep things pretty simple tonight. I’m gonna play a bunch of songs. After a while, I’m gonna stop playing songs and we’ll all leave. It’ll be great…”
When a well-travelled artist – one gifted with impeccable comedic timing – greets the room with the above statement when sitting down in front of the microphone, you know that the evening ahead is going to be special. When said artist happens to be Perth-Andover, NB-raised, and currently Halifax, NS-based folk-blues musician Matt Andersen, the word special just does not cut it – and many of Matt’s fans around the globe will likely testify – when Matt Andersen is up there on stage, something extraordinary is about to happen.
Matt returned to the Jammin’ Java stage on Mother’s Day – almost three years to the day since his last tour stop in this gem of a venue on the outskirts of Washington, DC. And with both a new album (“The Hammer & The Rose” – recently reviewed here by GDW’s Douglas McLean) and a ninety-minute headlining set at his disposal, Matt curated a set list that mixed tunes old and new on this casual Sunday evening.
Warming things up with some of his popular hits, including both “Take Me Back” and “Home Sweet Home,” Matt would progress into his new material, often preceding the tunes with some tales about their origins. “This is another one from the new record. It was written by some friends of mine, the Hupman brothers, who are super talented. We’ve been friends for years, and they may have done this song on their own, but they decided to stay home and raise families and all that sort of stuff,” he offered, prior to a performance of “Countin’ Quarters.” “But they wrote this song about five years ago and I fell in love with it, and this album seemed like a great chance to record it. And I have no idea what it’s about, so I asked them, and it turns out they had no idea what it was about.”
Revisiting tales about these friends, Matt would reminisce about another co-write – this time “Round and Round,” an earlier cut which appears (to the best of my knowledge) only on his 2013 “Live from the Phoenix Theatre” album. “This song I wrote with Ryan Hupman. We were on the road together quite a bit playing shows around home, and this was our first trip across the country for either of us really,” Matt commenced. “No matter what was thrown in our way, we were just having a ball. Sleeping on people’s couches, and gas station sandwiches were still new and exciting. We used to play a game called gas station roulette where we’d all go in and pick a sandwich closest to its expiration date.” Pausing as the room filled with laughter, Matt would continue. “It wasn’t a smart game, but we were in a happy mood one day, and we wrote a happy song, and I’m pretty sure it’s the happiest song I’m ever gonna come up with. It makes me happy, and I’m pretty sure that’s all you need a song to do.”
Dazzling the room with his impeccable mastery of the acoustic guitar, Matt received plenty of bewildered looks and cheers whilst demonstrating his fretwork during both “Make You Stay” (the brief Pink Panther theme riff) and of course, some unbelievable slide action during “I Play the Fool for You” – another one with a fun tale attached. “I wrote this song quite a few years ago about a friend of mine from back home, and we’re still pretty good friends. Mostly because I don’t think he’s realized that this song is about him,” Matt joked. “It’s a song about a friend I think we’ve all had at some point in our lives and maybe you have a friend like this right now. Or maybe you’re here tonight with a friend like this. It’s a friend that has a girlfriend that nobody likes!” Pausing once more to allow the outburst of laughter to subside, Matt added his punchline before launching into the song: “After that, we’re sitting here wondering which one of your friends it is, it’s probably you!”
With some amazing performance of the new tunes “Wayaheadaya” and “Always Be Your Son” (one dedicated to his father), Matt would share another tale – this time about the album track “Tonight Belongs to You,” one he co-wrote with musician (and now elected member of parliament) David Myles. “Sometimes when you write a song, you’re halfway through before you even realize who you’re writing about. We got through a few verses of this one, changed up some stuff, and then knew who we were writing about,” he shared. “The first verse is all about her, for sure. If you ever met her, she has a very distinct laugh. We call her the tea kettle; it sounds like a high pitch whistle when she finds something funny. You didn’t need to know that, but it’ll all make sense in about forty-five seconds here.”
Following a blistering performance of “So Gone Now,” Matt would connect with his audience once more. “Thank you so much everybody for coming out. I always look forward to playing this show, you’re always fantastic,” he offered. “I was off for all of January, February and March, which was pretty rare for me, but it’s the way it worked out and I had that much time off. And I learned that sometimes you can get homesick, but sometimes you can get homesick for you, so it’s good to get back out and make you miss me again for a little bit.”
Closing with his staple tune, “Devil’s Bride,” as is customary for Matt, he would invite his touring partner to join him on stage – this time Toronto troubadour Julian Taylor. “How are you doing J.T., what’s going on?” Matt would offer as Julian sat down and plugged in his guitar. “I’m doing good,” Julian offered, before pointing out to the crowd and (in a higher pitch), asked the room how we were all doing. “We don’t talk to each other all day,” Matt added, in perfect time to elicit more laughter. “We’ve been in the van together for a long time, so we find things funny that you’re not gonna find funny. We’re at the point where we can tell if somebody isn’t in the car yet by the smell that isn’t there. It’s a superpower. Not a cool superpower, but it’s cool.” And as the duo were on cue to commence the first of their two encore numbers, Matt would inject some humor once more: “We’re gonna stop talking. We can talk in the van.”
Sharing the spotlight to deliver a cover version of the late JJ Cale tune “Magnolia” – one that Matt stated is often his song of choice for soundchecks, and now finally recorded for the new album – Matt would announce that they would do one more. I distinctly heard Julian state “Excellent, excellent, excellent” in a hushed response – if you’ve been to a Julian Taylor concert and been privy to tales about his family, you’ll no doubt understand the reference. Sending the audience home with a rousing cover of the CSNY hit “Helpless,” complete with their good friend and blues musician Suzie Vinnick (who was a spectator, having performed locally the previous evening), the room was abuzz once more as this talented trio rightfully earned their standing ovation.
What a magnificent finale, a true once in a lifetime collaboration, which for those of us who have witnessed many concerts at Jammin’ Java, know that this is just another day at the office for this venue. Musical magic often happens in this room – just as I stated in my opening paragraph – when Matt Andersen is up there on stage, something extraordinary is about to happen.
Set List:
- Come By
- Take Me Back
- Home Sweet Home
- The Hammer & The Rose
- I Play The Fool For You
- Quiet Company
- What Would Your Mama Say
- Countin’ Quarters
- Tonight Belongs To You
- Round And Round
- Make You Stay
- Wayaheadaya
- So Gone Now
- Always Be Your Son
- Devil’s Bride
Encore:
- Magnolia (JJ Cale Band cover) (ft. Julian Taylor)
- Helpless (CSNY cover) (ft. Julian Taylor & Suzie Vinnick)
Photo Credit: Tour Poster – Artist Website
The British guy that crossed the ocean and crash landed in central Pennsylvania (to quote Greg Keelor, “And I wonder what am I doing here?”). As the youngest of four siblings, exposure to music from a very early age nurtured my passion and appreciation for many musical genres. Continuing to discover some amazingly diverse and talented musicians based in Canada, I gravitate to live music experiences and remain devoted to spreading the word about such a vibrant music scene.
