A Mad Season in Madison Square Garden 

Photos on this page courtesy of Rachel.  For more Madison Square Garden photos, click here to visit Rachel's website. 

A dramatic white curtain dropped and laser lights flashed to the beat as matchbox twenty opened their sold-out Madison Square Garden show to thousands of dedicated fans of all ages.  Following energized performances by radio newcomers, Lifehouse; and road veterans, Everclear; matchbox twenty took the stage at The Garden and for a rousing 90-plus minutes of heart-pounding entertainment.   

The band hit their stride early in the show with Rob Thomas' dynamic vocal delivery of the majority of matchbox twenty's recorded tunes.  Thomas' scream-inducing performance was balanced by the dramatic intensity of lead guitarist, Kyle Cook, and the light-hearted playfulness of rhythm guitarist, Adam Gaynor.  Paul Doucette, drums, and Brian "Pookie" Yale, bass, lived up to their trademarked low-profile personas throughout the set.

The magic and wonder of a headline performance at Madison Square Garden was clearly apparent by the bands' outstanding performance - from the opening guitar riffs of Crutch to the brightening of the overhead lighting.  Thomas paid tribute the venue by bending to kiss the stage made famous by rock legends like Led Zeppelin and Bruce Springstein.  Although the band has played to larger arena audiences, Thomas unashamedly referred to his humble childhood by jesting that "even in Florida we know about the F***in' Garden." He also shared a brief - and possibly alarming - quip between he and Cook about being able to quit now that the band has headlined Madison Square Garden.  

matchbox twenty fans were awarded a special bonus cover song that was not part of prior shows' set lists.   Thomas strummed an acoustic guitar and sang Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time accompanied only by the guitar and the vocal talents of Cook.  The unexpected cover was dedicated to Thomas' mother-in-law, who was seated in the audience amid hundreds of matchbox twenty fans.  The dedication fulfilled an earlier promise to play that song for her when matchbox twenty headlined The Garden.

Following their super-charged Madison Square Garden performance, matchbox twenty plans to continue the North American leg of the "Mad Season" tour.  The tour, promoting their sophomore album entitled "Mad Season by matchbox twenty," is scheduled into May 2001.  A full tour schedule can be found on the band's official website at www.matchboxtwenty.com.

Snug in the seventh row with amidst several hundred die-hard matchstick fans was the ideal location to experience this once-in-a-lifetime, magical performance.  Close enough to view the expressions on the band's faces, yet far enough away to capture the essence of the entire stage set.  The din of the crowd screaming between tunes was an interesting contrast to the heart-warming sing-a-long established during the songs.  In all, this show was likely to be the highlight of the entire spring tour.

For meet and greet details from this show, click here.

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