Sometimes you just have to wait. That is what the Matchbox
Twenty fans from Houston and the surrounding area have had to do for
some time
now. With the original Matchbox Twenty show having been originally
scheduled
for August of 2020 then rescheduled for August of 2021, the thousands
of ticket
holders were now grasping on to the hope that this July show at The
Cynthia
Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, TX was finally going to
happen. With
the bulk of The Pavilion's shows always being scheduled from May
through October
it is a good bet that at least most of the shows will be held during a
typical
hot spell in Texas and this show was not going to be an exception. We
arrived
early as we usually do to the Pavilion since they open a spacious
air-conditioned
Pavilion Lounge with an indoor merch booth, liquid refreshments and hot
food for
the early arrivals that want to be pre-scanned by security and wait in
an air-conditioned line for the chance to get the best lawn seating
before the main
gates open. As a note, food and drink is not permitted to be taken out
of the lounge to enter the concert pavilion but there are plenty of
vending services
once you enter the pavilion concert grounds.
The opening band for tonight’s show had been originally scheduled
to be The Wallflowers but since the amount of time that had elapsed since the
original billing, they were unfortunately unable to join the tour this year
because of presumed scheduling conflicts. The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
always shares day of show information on their social media sites and for this June
30th, 2023 show the opening band scheduled was Matt Nathanson. Even
with the giant backdrop sporting the Matt Nathanson name and logo I am sure
some fans were still prepared to hear a little Wallflower music as a prelude to
Matchbox Twenty. Promptly at 7:30 Matt and his band took the stage. His first
order of tongue-in-cheek business was to announce to the crowd that they were
in fact The Wallflowers even though the giant backdrop banner said otherwise. I
am sure this still led to a little confusion with anyone that had not noted the
opening band change, but they soon got over it as Matt put on a very
entertaining show. Matt, who spent most of his set playing acoustic guitars
backed by his three-piece band started the set with his song named Giants which
some poker aficionados might have recognized as the opening music for the 2016
World Series of Poker. With the crowd having settled into the reality that it
was really not the The Wallflowers performing, Matt made light of the fact that
from being in front of such a large Pavillion style audience he felt like he
was a rock star by teasing a short AC/DC lead riff but then ultimately led into
a great rendition and crowd sing-along of Here We Go Again by the
rockers Whitesnake. Matt is no newbie to
being in the spotlight. His discography spans the years from 1993 to the
present and he has performed or had his music featured on many television
shows including The Bachelor, NCIS and practically every late-night show with a
live performance.
Photo: Jim Trocchio After a short set change and our quick trip to the Pavilion
Lounge for a little air-conditioned relief from the 95 degrees plus Texas summer
heat we returned to our seats. Matchbox Twenty arrived on stage about 5 minutes
past their advertised 8:45 start time. From the moment Rob Thomas, Brian Yale,
Paul Doucette and Kyle Cook stepped onto the stage, they had an energy that
instantly connected with those in attendance. Through the first three songs it
felt to me like Rob Thomas might be pacing himself just a little so that
he could get a feel for the hot conditions which were still in the lower 90’s even
though the sun was now down. Once the VIP side stage attendees were escorted
from the stage the band lit up the crowd with the 2002 release Disaease
which has always felt like to me to have a kind of a leftover vibe feel of the
#1 hit song Smooth which Rob had written and performed with Carlos
Santana in 1999, and to hear Disease live it had even more of the Latin
feel to it like Smooth has. What had worked once had worked again. Just say’n.
After running through a half dozen other songs Rob and Kyle slowed things down
a bit with a wonderful heartfelt acoustic version of If You're Gone performed
from a pair of bar stools. With the Texas heat now having cooled to a balmy 91
degrees Rob seemed to have hit his fully sweat drenched stride which did not
seem to be affecting him at the least. The only break Rob took was during the
song Parade which Kyle has the vocals on.
Photo: Jim Trocchio Rob made his Houston connection with the fans in attendance at
one point while talking about the band’s earlier days having played in smaller
venues around the area which in turn led them to eventually playing to larger
crowds starting with their performance at Buzzfest III in 1997.
Photo: Jim Trocchio The stage set was a simple but typical set up with overhead
spots, floods and a large LED background screen. With Matchbox Twenty
not known for being an over-the-top theatrical performance band it
seemed to fit
with them just fine for being so simple and complemented the music
perfectly.
The lighting effects, accompanied by a vibrant backdrop and video
graphics
added depth and dynamics to the performances, enhancing the overall
experience.
Photo: Jim Trocchio You could tell by the audience interactions with each song that
they had all grown up with the songs of Matchbox Twenty as being their
favorite genre or as we refer to here in Houston as being a “Buzz” band.
Photo: Jim Trocchio The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the band’s encore performance
of their biggest hits, including “3AM,” “Unwell,” “Push,”
and “Bright Lights.” The energy in the Pavilion was at its peak during
these iconic songs and the crowd stood and sang along to each line of each
song. It was quite a nostalgic trip down memory lane and an unwavering testament
to the timeless magic of Matchbox Twenty’s music.
Photo: Jim Trocchio In conclusion, Matchbox Twenty’s live performance at the Cynthia
Woods Mitchal Pavilion was a memorable experience. Aside from the Texas heat, which
did not seem to affect the crowd or band much, Matchbox Twenty delivered a
concert that met all expectations. Whether you are a longtime fan or new to
their music, I recommend catching Matchbox Twenty live whenever you have the
chance. You will not be disappointed in them.
