Tuesday, October 21, 1997
Matchbox 20 puts on stompin’ show that lays claim to heavy-pop
fame
MUSIC Violin-singer opener Lili Haydn astounded with funky,
inventive rock music
By Jeremy Engel
Daily Bruin Contributor
A crowd of friendly minglers hunched into the El Rey Theatre to
hear Orlando-based rockers Matchbox 20 crank out a flawless stream
of tunes Thursday night.
Festivities took off as concertgoers guzzled Heinekens and shook
hands until staff pros wielded their flashlights to herd everyone
off the fire escapes just before the rock ‘n’ roll began.
Hands launched in the air and heads bopped up and down like a
pumpkin patch during an earthquake when Matchbox 20 opened its set
with "Girl Like That," a grinding number from their Top 10 album
"Yourself Or Someone Like You." When the song ended, singer Rob
Thomas welcomed the crowd to the show and was met with fervent
cheers that increased in volume each time he said the f-word. Next,
the band played "Shame," also from the album. "Funny in a certain
light, how we all look the same," Thomas sang.
Actually, Thomas’ impassioned vocals and the tight musicianship
of guitarists Kyle Cook and Adam Gaynor distinguishes the band from
other guitar-poppy-rocky fare. One could stretch and compare
Matchbox 20 to any number of other bands (Gin Blossoms, Counting
Crows, Live), but seeing them in concert affirms their ability to
rock on their own terms.
"They’re far out, bro. Good drums. They definitely have their
own sound," explained concert attendee Daryl Lophem, a Frank Zappa
look-alike who drove out from Redlands for the show.
Highlights included an energetic rendition of "Push" that
sounded better than it ever has on the video (played at 10-minute
intervals on MTV) as well as material not on the album.
"I really wanted to sleep with this girl," confided Thomas to
the crowd while explaining his inspiration for one new song in
particular, which featured churning guitars and sounded a bit like
Alice in Chains on a good day. Later, Thomas pleased fans by
busting out his Elvis guitar for a mellow go at "Hang," another
album cut.
Matchbox 20 mostly played tunes from "Yourself," such as "Kody,"
"Damn," "3 A.M." and "Back 2 Good," described by Thomas as "one of
those cheatin’ songs." Some songs started to sound similar, but
Matchbox 20 kept the crowd grooving and applauding throughout their
hour-and-a-half set. Proving itself to be a formidable live band,
Matchbox 20 should continue to create interesting music on and off
the stage.
Los Angeles’ own violin fiddlin’ rocker Lili Haydn opened for
Matchbox 20 in what she described as her "first time playing in
L.A. off the Viper Room stage." Decked out in a getup that came
straight from Elvira’s closet, she exposed a lot of midriff. The
funk-o-meter ran in the red, thanks to the drummer, as Haydn and
her entourage effused 45 minutes of catchy violin-driven rock.
Definitely a new sound, Haydn and her band played songs from the
recently released album "Lili," such as "Stranger," "Someday" and
"Take Somebody Home."
Haydn’s angelic voice often lacked the power to keep up with her
band. The vocals at times seemed unnecessary over the groovy
instrumentals. She showed a great talent for songwriting, but the
band’s sound seemed to still be a work-in-progress, as is
understandable for music this innovative.
To ruin things, some unruly concertgoers yelled out for Matchbox
20 to take the stage toward the end of her set. The crowd was
obviously unfamiliar with Haydn, even though she has jammed with
bands such as Porno For Pyros, Hootie & the Blowfish, Tracy
Chapman and No Doubt in the past. That’s a resume no other
violinist, even Itzhak Perlman, can match.
Haydn, already a gifted violin-playing lead singer, will
undoubtedly develop with her band into something groundbreaking. At
the young age of 26, she has plenty of time to fine-tune.