Rock 'n' Roll sitting down with Matthew Sweet at Yoshi's

(:)(:)(:)(:) Four enthusiastic snouts up for Matthew Sweet at Yoshi's San Francisco Jazz Club in the Fillmore district.  I don't even know this Athens, Ga- launched rocker, but I was blown away by his power pop music last night.  Apparently he's been around a long time.  This year he's touring by playing his 20 year old "Girlfriend" album song for song in order.  My husband tells me this is a thing.

What is also clearly a thing is watching a head-banging, kick out the jams, bash into your neighbor show, while politely sitting down nodding your head a little and sipping your $13 Grey Goose gimlet at a jazz club.  Sigh.  I guess this was inevitable when the main audience for rock 'n' roll hit an average age of 60 but c'mon people, this was an amazing show.  All but one of these songs could go head to head with REM, Fountains of Wayne, and even during the encores--the ENCORES--my husband and I were the only people standing up (and it wasn't just because we had to pee).

I'm influenced by the fact that my Grey Goose gimlet was amazingly strong and since I almost never drink and when I do it's not in public, I felt very very head-spinning by the end of this slammin' show.

My instinct, and granted, I am a spring chicken 50, was to jump up and completely frantically dance to their first encore, "I'm sick of myself"--a phenomenal song capturing a concept near and dear to my heart.

Has it really come to this, people!?  I guess so.  I also have to say that I'm not wild about the playing an album in order of song thing.  Some of his best tracks were (because when people listened to entire albums in order this used to matter) early in the album, so were barely in our seats before songs that we would normally be, well, in our seats for during the encore were played.

Absent that, he had an amazing lead guitarist and an impish bassist with an appealing look and sound and a competent drummer.  Great show and yes, I have to admit, I was perfectly happy to sit down for most of it.  I do not like standing for entire shows either--but a mixture!?