At this point it's abundantly clear that the glory years of Matthew Good are long gone. Musically and physically, he's not the man he used to be, nor do songs like "Load Me Up" and "Apparitions" hold up quite the same as they did when Edgefest was the go-to summer festival.
That said, Good's late evening set at Rock the Shores in Victoria was surprisingly listenable, although it appeared to be the chosen background music for festival-goers that were still scrambling for dinner or navigating the massive beer garden line-ups. Those who did stay up front for Good's performance caught a set that, much like 54-40's earlier in the afternoon, brought back waves of Canadian rock nostalgia, especially for those who grew up in the '90s.
Mr. Good seemed in pleasant spirits, which was not always the case during his heyday, looking plump and comfortable in his skin while his backing band tried to breathe life into songs that haven't really aged that well. Good did his best as well; even going down on his knees to play a guitar solo in a standard rock-god pose during the end of "Hello Time Bomb," (Changed from "Everything is Automatic" upon the author's request. The solo was played during "Hello Time Bomb." - ed.) a moment that could have been highly awkward, but was actually a little sweet.
That said, Good's late evening set at Rock the Shores in Victoria was surprisingly listenable, although it appeared to be the chosen background music for festival-goers that were still scrambling for dinner or navigating the massive beer garden line-ups. Those who did stay up front for Good's performance caught a set that, much like 54-40's earlier in the afternoon, brought back waves of Canadian rock nostalgia, especially for those who grew up in the '90s.
Mr. Good seemed in pleasant spirits, which was not always the case during his heyday, looking plump and comfortable in his skin while his backing band tried to breathe life into songs that haven't really aged that well. Good did his best as well; even going down on his knees to play a guitar solo in a standard rock-god pose during the end of "Hello Time Bomb," (Changed from "Everything is Automatic" upon the author's request. The solo was played during "Hello Time Bomb." - ed.) a moment that could have been highly awkward, but was actually a little sweet.