With super groups such as
Zwan and Audioslave in recent times having formed and played
to crowds as big as, or even bigger than the bands from which
they were born out of played. It was a slight surprise to
discover that Jackson, featuring none other than Chris Shiflett
from the Foo Fighters and boasting Pete Parada of Saves The
Day as an “honorary lifetime member” were playing
a venue the size of Dave Grohl’s guitar cupboard, despite
the absence of the latter member tonight. Shiflett was relishing
his new found outpost for his creative flair, beckoning the
audience to the front because “It is more fun”.
Then Jackson ripped into some Foo Fighters meets Saves The
Day and a dash of a Hundred Reasons style tracks, such as ‘All
The Way’ and the emotive ‘Better Life’.
They also found the time to throw in a few Blink 182 ‘Happy
Holidays You Bastards’ and ‘Adam’s Song’ style
riffs, as Shiflett paid homage to his punk roots.
A humble stroll similar to that of a sailor boarding his vessel signalled the
entrance of Matchbook Romance to the stage. A sincere Andrew Jordan was
talkative throughout, explaining what the band (formerly The Getaway) stands
for; romance. They tackle this topic with sheer emotion and razor sharp
guitars at times such as in the catchy ’14 Balloons’ that was
utilised early on. The New York quartet are like Dashboard Confessional,
without all the patronising pretension that Christopher Ender Caribba chooses
to mush up his shows and songs with these days. Matchbook Romance would
swing from soothing & tender to frenetic and frantic throughout the
evening, no better example being in the middle of the set when back to
back tracks ‘Tiger Lilly’ and ‘Playing For Keeps’ really
reached the crowd and there was not one eye on the snowfall. In fact, the
snow could have been rising up back up to the sky, instead of falling down
and no-one would have turn their fixated stare from the stage as the frenetic ‘The
Greatest Fall Of All’ got some of the crowd bouncing. Andrew Jordan
and Ryan Judas De Paolo continuously apologised for the technical problems
and occasional errors that they feel blighted their set. However, it was
apparent that the crowd didn’t really mind, as that is part of the
appeal because Matchbook Romance are, at the end of the day; human.
David Adair
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