Vancouver Buzz: Matt Good Leaves Vancouver With Living Room Show

Matt Good headlined a concert in his living room last week. As a thank-you to his fans, he invited 20 lucky people to his house and performed for around four hours.

Good apparently posted an invitation on his website, then chose the most worthy attendees based on their email responses. When I got word of this unique event, I tried to score myself on to the invite list, but apparently I'm not "good" enough (get it?). Anyway, despite my shut out status, my friend and overzealous MGB fan Steph Smith managed to get inside the hallowed walls to give me a report on the event.

"There were people in attendance not only from Vancouver, but also from as far away as the U.K., Texas, Maryland and Edmonton as well," she said. It seems that the event featured a rather intimate exchange of songs and stories.

"In the four hours we were there, he played 12 songs," reports Smith. "They were mostly requests from people in the room. He also played two newly written songs, 'She's In It For The Money' and 'Metal Airplanes.'

"Can I not play 'Apparitions' this one time, please?" Good asked.

Instead, he played fan favourites "Prime Time Deliverance," "Tripoli," "Sort Of A Protest Song" and "Avalanche," among others."He had this going-away party as a thank-you and farewell to his fans," Smith says. "As a result, he spent a good portion of the evening talking to them, telling stories and jokes.

"There were tales of past bands and tours, friends, family and on-the-road drama. There were personal accounts of the ever-changing atmosphere of Vancouver itself, and tales of why he's leaving."

That's right, kids; Matty's leaving.

"He says he is leaving Vancouver, perhaps permanently, to travel Europe, and maybe to live," continues Smith. "With plans to travel through England, France, Germany, Belgium and Lebanon, Matt claims that he will begin writing a book, an idea he has been toying with for the better part of 10 years. He is also still under contract for one more record with Universal and has plans to write and record new material in hopes of having an album out soon.

"At this point in the evening, a barrage of questions regarding the future of Matt Good's music arose. He calmed the audience by saying that he has no plans on quitting music, as he claims that recently he has written some of the best material he has ever come up with."

From the sound in Smith's voice while she described the evening, it was obviously a memorable experience.

"The night ended around midnight. Good graciously took photos with fans, signed autographs and answered more questions on a one-on-one basis. He will come back to tour most definitely, but whether or not he comes back to live, only time will tell."

Thanks for the gossip, Steph. Mr. Good, if you have anything further to add regarding your current journey, feel free to email me from the hostels of Europe and I'll pass your travel tales along in this column.

I spoke recently with my man CC Voltage from The Spitfires. This dude is so dedicated to his craft that he's currently playing in two bands, one in London, England and one in Vancouver. Talk about a nasty commute to rehearsals. In Vancouver, he aptly handles bass duties for the freshly revived Spitfires. In the U.K., he's blastin' it out with ex-Black Halo member Rich Jones in a band called The Loyalties. "Rich and I have always talked about doing a band, and this just finally came up," says Voltage."I've been back and forth to Germany, where I was living and working, and we crossed paths a number of times there when he was touring with various bands. We started swapping ideas via internet, and then had a few brews in London, where we invited and convinced Tom Spencer of the Yo Yos/Lurkers to get this thing rolling. There is going to be an extensive Euro tour in November, followed by some shows in Canada/U.S. in the new year."

The place to be this weekend is Bumbershoot. Get your butt to Seattle and catch a host of Canuck talent, including The New Pornographers and 3 Inches Of Blood. Locally, I highly recommend checking out the powerhouse lineup of The Feminists, Cinderpop, Parlour Steps, Arctic and The Filigrees at The Lamplighter on September 8.

Before I close out, I want to give a shout-out to the mighty Thor. In this month's issue of Spin, his Keep The Dogs Away album is listed as having one of the worst covers of all time. Of course, in the same issue they spell Ottawa "Ottowa," so what do they know? In retaliation, I think the next issue of Chart should spell New York, "New Yourk."