How Sweet It Is: Matthew Sweet Plays Landmark on Main

It was a different crowd than usual at Landmark on Main Street on September 23rd, for the Matthew Sweet concert. Many in the audience had been in their 20’s in the early 1990’s when Sweet hit the airwaves with “Girlfriend” and “Sick of Myself.” Now, both Sweet and his audience are in their 50’s, but this doesn’t mean we can’t still rock.

Opening the show was Tommy Keane, who played a couple of songs on a jangly 12-string before switching to an electric guitar to finish out his set. Memorable was “Nighttime,” written about Alex Chilton, singer for the Box Tops and Big Star. He closed his set with my favorite of his songs, the wistful “Places That Are Gone.”

After an intermission, Matthew Sweet (armed with an electric guitar) took the stage, with his band: lead guitarist Jason Victor, bass and backup vocals by Paul Chastain, and Ric Menck on drums. That Sweet’s voice had held up was obvious as soon as he launched into his first song, “Time Capsule,” from what I believe is one of his best CD’s, Altered Beast.

Sweet has recently released a new CD, Tomorrow Forever, and continues to produce his special brand of angsty, pained, jangly pop. Particularly good from the new CD was “Pretty Please” which included some excellent slide guitar by Jason Victor. Sweet himself is clearly a capable guitarist, freeing Victor to add screaming solos. Other new songs included “Music for Love” and “Trick of Light.”

A few interesting things you (and certainly I) may not have known about Matthew Sweet – He and his wife are serious collectors of the artwork of Margaret Keane, and he was a consultant on Tim Burton’s 2014 film “Big Eyes” about the artist, which featured many painting from Sweet’s collection. He’s recorded several CDs of cover songs in partnership with Susanna Hoffs, guitarist for the Bangles. And his most recent CD, Tomorrow Forever, features former Bangles’ drummer, Debbi Peterson, and keyboardist Rod Argent from the Zombies!

Much to the audience’s delight, Sweet played his early 90’s hits, including 1991’s “Divine Intervention,” 1992’s “Girlfriend” (his highest charting song), and 1995’s “We’re the Same” and “Sick of Myself.”

Many of his songs, including “Sick of Myself,” are worth a concentrated listen – Sweet knows how to craft a song, both lyrically and musically. One of the best songs of the evening was the haunting, backing-vocal filled, “Devil With the Green Eyes,” which I’ve been listening to incessantly since the performance. Another star was “I’ve Been Waiting,” a beautiful pop love song from the Girlfriend CD, which Tommy Keane joined in on. Another standout was the heartbreaking “Someone to Pull the Trigger,” from the Altered Beast CD, a dark and tortured song, whose chorus is:

I need someone to pull the trigger

'Cause there's a hole in my heart getting bigger

And everything I'll ever be I've been

And I need someone to pull the trigger

So if you're what I think you'll be

If you're who I think I see -- shoot

Sweet was not particularly chatty with the audience, but towards the end said “this is our last song. Everything after this is an encore. We’re not going to bother going off stage and making you call us back.” Very practical!

All in all, another great performance (and demonstration of Landmark’s excellent sound system) at the Jeanne Rimsky Theater! Next up, The Chapin Family Live in Concert on October 7th. For information, visit www.landmarkonmainstreet.org