Matchbox Twenty. Photo Credit: Jimmy Fontaine
On July 15, Matchbox Twenty brought their “Slow Dream” Tour to the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey.
Acoustic singer-songwriter Matt Nathanson served as their opening act. Despite some initial weather concerns, the show went on as planned.
Matchbox Twenty is made up of frontman Rob Thomas on lead vocals, acoustic and rhythm guitar, bassist Brian Yale, Paul Doucette on rhythm guitar, and lead guitarist Kyle Cook. At this show, Matt Beck also played multiple instruments and Stacy Jones played the drums.
The rock group performed songs from their latest studio offering “Where the Light Goes.” They kicked off their set with their new song “Friends,” and immediately broke into some retro hits as “How Far We’ve Come” and “Real World.”
Other fan favorites from the first half of the show included “Disease” and “She’s So Mean,” while they focused heavily on their latest album by performing such songs as “Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream),” “Don’t Get Me Wrong,” and “Queen of New York City.”
One of the highlight moments was when Rob Thomas and Kyle Cook performed “If You’re Gone” by themselves, as the fans lit up the venue with their cell phone lights, and this performance had a haunting and stirring vibe to it, that struck a chord with listeners.
Equally noteworthy was their medley of “Downfall,” where Kyle Cook took over the lead vocals for their rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” where everybody was singing along with them.
Rob Thomas briefly left the stage, which allowed Kyle Cook to sing lead vocals on “The Way.”
After the popular “Bent,” they rounded out their set with “Back 2 Good,” as well as their breakthrough single “Long Day,” prior to closing with the newer tune “Rebels,” which is about finding joy and fulfillment in life despite whatever their “rebellious” younger selves would have wanted.
For their encore, they played the three songs that everybody wanted to hear, such as “3 AM,” which is this music journalist’s all-time favorite song in their catalog, as well as “Unwell” and “Push,” all of which were sheer bliss. Rob Thomas also accompanied himself on piano during “Bright Lights.”
If that weren’t enough, they returned to the stage for yet another encore performance, this time, it was a cover of Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” which was fitting for a rock show of this nature.
Judging from their concert at the PNC Bank Arts Center, the songs from their new musical effort “Where the Light Goes” are bright and promising, and they blended well in their set with their classic hits (as they display the evolution of their sound).
The only downside was that Rob Thomas didn’t get to perform such solo hits as “Her Diamonds,” “Someday,” nor “Smooth,” his collaboration with Carlos Santana, but given that this was a “Matchbox Twenty” show it was understandable, especially since the group has a new album out.
Regardless, their show was a euphoric celebration of both music and life; moreover, it is neat to see this band out on the road touring again after being hunkered down for the previous three years due to the pandemic.