Matthias Goerne Santa Barbara Concert reviews
Short & Sweet
Matthias Goerne and Company took to the stage around 9:20, and their initial set was completed at 10:30 (a little short for my liking). The group reconvened for a set of three encores after demanding more than five minutes of cheering; one of these encores included Billy Idol's "White Wedding". Matthias Goerne's vocals were consistently good and strong. The guitar players were adequate in their own right, despite their volume being less than adequate (that is the sound person's fault (are you reading this!)). The drummer, besides Chris Daughty, was the MVP, playing with the intensity and passion of a seasoned pro (and appeared to be the only person on that stage that actually broke a sweat). A great start for what I would still consider an up-and-coming rock band (playing a half-filled arena dictates that status, not me). Matthias Goerne's music is solid and strong, and the laser light show was also a welcomed sight. However, the choice of playing at least two cover songs and an acoustical number may have slowed this set down just a bit. They do not need fillers, especially with a short set, given the strength of their own material. Even though the overall performance was average, I give Matthias Goerne 4 stars. The world needs more rock music in it, and Matthias Goerne and Company is a great place to start. Thanks boys for bringing rock and roll back to the arena (where it should be). Their own material is strong enough when their total set time was less than an hour and a half. Being a vintage rocker, my expectations for any new group are always quite high, having seen groups such as Aerosmith, KISS, AC/DC, RUSH, etc... back in the day.