The Matt Goss Experience / Symphony Hall / Birmingham
Tonight we headed over to Birmingham and to the magnificent Symphony Hall to see The Matt Goss Experience. That’s right Matt Goss, of Bros. Here at LiveWire we always say to our audience we intend to bring new music to a new audience, and that we should all experience new music, styles and genres. Time to practice what we preach, and this for us, is as far as you can get from our usual fair. From recent shows such as Lamb of God, The Ghost Inside, Don Broco…. To Matt Goss.
You can’t get much further from your comfort zone !
Bros were a pop sensation back in the 1980’s and were twins Matt (vocals) and Luke (drums) Goss. They charted with 8 consecutive top 10 hits including an impressive 6 top 5 hits in When Will I Be Famous? (1987 charting at #2), Drop the Boy (1988 #2), I owe You Nothing (1988 #1), I Quit (1988 #4), Cat Amongst the Pigeons (1988 #2) and Too Much (1989 #2).
In 2009 Matt headed to the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas and put on a show performing many of the classic swing hits of Frank Sinatra and others, alongside his own material and within 9 months, the show was so successful it transferred to the legendary Caesars Palace in January 2010 where it enjoyed a popular and extended run. More recently he has stared in Strictly Come Dancing and in 2022 he released his most recent album “The Beautiful Unknown”.
And here we are, in the Symphony Hall Birmingham, with a large big-band stage set and an illuminated “MG” logo on the curtain reminiscent of the classic shows of yesteryear. The MG Big Band and Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra took to the stage and the lighting switched to delicate shades of pink and blue as Matt walked out, dressed immaculately in black tuxedo and bow tie to roars from the full house crowd and we settled in for a 2 hour show.
There is no doubting Matt’s laid back welcoming manner, and how he interacts with his audience. Between songs he talks to the crowd and regularly he strolls down the steps and walks through the crowd randomly picking people to talk to.
There’s a decanter on the piano and Matt tells the crowd that every time he removed the stopper they should cry out “Ching” we practice until we get it right and then regularly through the set, with his aide “Ninja” alongside they decend into the stalls and each time a shot is poured and the audience member is invited to raise a toast, to a round of applause from the crowd. It was something I didn’t expect and I have to say thought his quick replies were really funny and enjoyable.
There feels to be a genuine love both ways between artist and audience with many having travelled to Vegas to see the show on the strip.
And the performance was immaculate too. The big band sound filled the hall effortlessly and Matts vocals captured the mood perfectly. There were plenty of swing classics on offer most notably from the American composer Cole Ported, made so famous by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jnr.
Opening the performance with a beautiful rendition of the classic Let's Fall In Love there's plenty more including Luck Be A Lady, and the amazing Fly Me To The Moon written in 1954 by Bart Howard.
At times it was also a very personal and emotional show. Before one song, which his granddad Harry used to sing around the house, Matt told a personal story about the song and the loss of his grandfather. At times it was genuinely moving.
He also talked about the loss of his mum and how he cared for her in the final days and his subsequent battle with PTSD, dedicating the song Every Time We Say Goodbye to her, written by Cole Porter and made famous by Ella Fitzgerald.
Of course there were a couple of Bros hits in there, but adapted for the show, so we got a delightful swing version of I Owe You Nothing, and later on, a reggae influenced version of When Will I Be Famous?
As the show drew to an end, Matt performed the iconic Frank classic My Way, and he, the MG Big Band and the Royal Philharmonic received a standing ovation from the packed hall.
I’ve always enjoyed a bit of nostalgia, and big band music and enjoy Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra, Sammy, Dean and of course, my favourite Nat King Cole. Matt has re-invented himself and I have to say, this show is fantastic. It’s not just the classic music, the sound of the big band, but his personal style and interaction with his audience, which creates a genuine intimate experience belying the size of the hall. Gifted with an incredible voice, the Matt Goss Experience is just that….. an incredible experience.
