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INDIANAPOLIS - On the front of Matchbox Twenty's lead singer Rob Thomas' shirt was the word "Sweet" last Friday at the band's concert at Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis.
And, indeed, almost 10 years after hitting it big, Matchbox Twenty still knows how to put on a "sweet" concert.
The fan base has changed as was obvious from the crowd - it's now older, more couples, more females compared to the earlier days when the fan base was more college students, guys and girls. But Matchbox Twenty still hasn't lost their touch to put on a great show of fine music.
They played songs from all three of their albums - "Real World" and "Disease" to name a couple. And they played them perfectly, as if you were listening to the CD.
The lighting for the show was appropriate to each song, while there was very little clutter on the stage. No unnecessary props. No hundreds of dancers. Just the boys, their instruments and big screens behind them. Sometimes the screens displayed colors, other times video clips, but they went well with each song.
And despite the crowd of 8,000 being at the concert, it still felt intimate. There was a sense that the band members were playing to each person individually.
My highlight, of course, during the entire concert was when the band played my all-time favorite M20 song "3 A.M." I love that song and so did all of the crowd there.
The next song they played was "Mad Season" off their CD of the same name, and that is the song that stuck in my head all the way back from the concert. It's a song about when people leave you and everything gets messed up because of it.
Thomas is an awesome song writer and an awesome singer, and both of those talents were obvious throughout the entire show, more so when he sat at the piano and played. Thomas, Indiana native guitarist Kyle Cook and the rest of the boys in the band made a perfect night for a perfect show.
Like the other bands before them, Matchbox Twenty played a cover song - the 1980s Tears for Fears classic song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." Thomas commented that it was a song pretty appropriate for this day and age.
Other songs M20 played included "Get it Back 2 Good," "Bent," "Busted" and "Unwell."
Sugar Ray, right before Matchbox Twenty went on, played a set. I've seen Sugar Ray perform twice before and Friday's set was shorter, although similar to every performance of theirs I've seen before.
But lead vocalist Mark McGrath and the boys can still put on a good show. They played their big hits of course - "Answer the Phone," "When It's Over," "Every Morning" and "Mean Machine," which kept the audience happy and on their feet. During "Mean Machine," Sugar Ray slipped into a little Ramones, cool stuff that got a good response from the crowd.
Sugar Ray's new CD, "In the Pursuit of Leisure," comes out June 3 and they offered a selection from it - "Chasing You Forever." It is a type of song you'd expect from Sugar Ray, which means heavy radio airplay and a massive hit for them.
McGrath kept up his antics, including jokes and wild gestures, and that's why if you've seen him once, you'll see him again and again. He's an entertainer, not just a vocalist. His vocals may not win on "American Idol," but then again, "American Idol" is way overrated anyhow.
The last Sugar Ray song of the night was their breakout hit "Fly," which McGrath dedicated to all the men and women serving in the war. During that song, McGrath jumped off stage, ran around amongst the crowd and even had a little boy named Gary sing some of the song. He's a showman and it worked.
Opening the night's concert is up-and-coming band Maroon 5.
Haven't heard of them? You should. Or will soon. They sound like a cross between Placebo, Jamiroquai, New Radicals and The Verve. That's a good thing, if you didn't know.
There's some pop about them but they are more of a rock band, with strong songs and powerful vocals and lyrics.
There's even a little tinge of rhythm and blues in their sound.
However, when they covered Nine Inch Nail's "Closer," I had to wince a little bit because it wasn't nearly as industrial as the song requires. It wasn't necessarily a bad cover, just not a great cover.
Overall, I enjoyed hearing all three bands perform their sets. I will have to buy Maroon 5's CD; Sugar Ray's new CD I will buy when it comes out next week; and Matchbox Twenty, well, I'm still a fan.
