Following a 2020 Covid-19 cancellation and then a weather cancellation last year, Matchbox 20 finally, although an hour late, took the stage at iThink Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida on Friday, July 7th. While Mother Nature caused her usual South Florida weather delays, and emptied the lawn at iThink, she couldn’t dampen the spirits of the remaining crowd.
Rob Thomas and his bandmates, including two drum-line percussionists, roared through twenty-four songs, including five from the latest album, Where The Light Goes. The remainder of the setlist was all the hits and a few surprises but all were singable, danceable, feel good tracks. There was not much chit-chat or banter as the delay caused a bit of a time crunch, especially with so many numbers to perform.
The performance was lively and fun, the band clearly enjoy being on stage and playing. The visuals included circular light rigs and a giant screen that changed with the songs. There were typical up-tempo pieces, and a few that were stripped down with Rob Thomas sitting behind the piano while the other members took the lead. There was also a definite blues feel to some of the songs, especially “If You’re Gone” and “The Way”.
The opening song of the encore brought Thomas’ son onto stage to play guitar on “3 a.m.”. The remainder of the encores included fan favorites “Unwell” and “Bright Lights”, as voted on by an interactive fan poll.
Setlist
Friends
How Far We’ve Come
Disease
Wild Dogs
She’s So Mean
All I Need
Queen Of New York City
Hand Me Down
If You’re Gone (acoustic)
Mad Season
Don’t Get Me Wrong
These Hard Times
The Way
Parade
Bent
Back 2 Good
Long Day
Rebels
Encore 1
3 a.m.
Unwell
Push
Bright Lights
Encore 2
Don’t You (Forget About Me) (Simple Minds cover)
