Matthew Perryman Jones @ Smith’s Olde Bar
This is funny. Strange occurrences happen to me all the time and I’ve written about a few. This one ranks pretty high on the list.
So I have become a fan of Audrey Spillman and her music. And had discovered Matthew Perryman Jones, based on hearing from her that they had co-written a song together and that they were working in the studio together. I had seen him at Eddie’s Attic in November (see 11/3/07 Blog) and I knew he had one of his songs used on TV and had recently had some other songs used for the shows “Private Practice” and “Eli Stone”.
From songs I had purchased/downloaded off of his Myspace page, I really liked his music. I had also heard a concert of his in Nashville that was broadcast over the internet and really like some new songs that had not been recorded. So when I heard that he was playing Smith’s Olde Bar, I thought it would be a great concert to see. The Eddie’s show was acoustic, so the Smith’s show should be a little more rockin, with electric guitars and a full band.
So after work, I grabbed dinner and headed over. I got there a little late and went upstairs to find out no one was playing yet, so I hung out downstairs until it started. An odd group from Nashville opened the show, Parachute something? I couldn’t really get into the music. Based on the billing I wasn’t sure if Matthew was up next or if the other singer, Evan McHugh was. Evan had opened for Shawn Mullins at The Variety Playhouse show that I saw on 11/24/07.
Before the music started I noticed Bob Ephlin walk into the room at Smith’s Olde bar. Bob is the owner of Eddie’s Attic and I recognized him from all the times I’ve been to Eddie’s attic for shows. I had read somewhere that Matthew once worked and started out playing at Eddie’s attic, so I guess Bob was a fan of Matthew’s music. I thought it was cool to see the owner of a competing music venue at Smith’s Olde Bar to listen to a show. One of the phrases widely used at Eddie’s Attic is, “Live Music Matters”. Seeing the actions of it’s owner, I guess that rings true.
So Matthew goes on and the performance is phenomenal. Hearing him with a band is completely different from listening to him acoustic. So, in the middle of one of his breaks between songs, he’s tuning his guitar and he asks the crowd, “so who all here went to Tucker High School?” (or something similar) and a bunch of people scream out. I think I caught myself yell out too, then start to wonder, “wait, what did he say”? I went to Tucker High School, but I didn’t understand why Matthew was singling out THS in the crowd. He continued his performance, covering all the great songs on his current album and a few that will probably be on the album he releases in a few months.
MPJ’s set list:
Without a Clue
Don’t Fall in Love with Me
Amelia
Motherless Child
Waiting on the Light to Change
Echoes of Eden
Meghan’s Song
Feels Like Letting Go
Refuge
Save You
After his performance, I see him go over and talk with Bob and assume that they know each other pretty well. And actually as Bob was leaving he stopped and asked if I was someone he knew. I told him that I wasn’t the guy he named, but that I come to shows at his place and was actually there the night before to see Brandi Shearer. And he tells me that he is a fan of Matthew Perryman Jones, confirming my suspicions.
So I notice Matthew heading to the back of the room with a group of folks. The table back there was selling his CD, so I buy one (even though I purchased & downloaded most of him current album tracks online) so that I can get him to autograph it for me. I get his attention and ask for his autograph. He looks at me and says that I look familiar and where he might have seen me. I told him that I saw his show in November at Eddie’s Attic and that I’m also a fan of Audrey Spillman and that it was through her that I learned about him and his music. He immediately realizes that he recognizes me from a picture of Audrey and me that she has running on a slide show on her MySpace page. Then I ask him about the Tucker High School reference. And he tells me that he went to Tucker and that a lot of people in the crowd went to Tucker and came to see him play. I tell him that I went to Tucker and graduated in ’88. I said that it was too funny and he agreed. So to recap: to hear about and become a fan of Matthew Perryman Jones (a guy, I went to High School with), he had to move Nashville (years ago), befriend and co-write a song with Audrey Spillman, who I would ultimately become a fan of, and who would inform me about MPJ and his music. Weird, huh!? When I get home after the show, I look in my High School yearbook and find that when I was a Senior, Matt Jones was a Sub-freshman (we had 8-12 at Tucker, so 8th grade was sub-freshman). And I think I remember him based on the yearbook photo. Take away the beard and consider Matthew as a skinny 13 y/o kid. Since we were in different grades, it wasn’t like we hung out, but I definitely think I remember him from High School. Too strange and funny to categorize.
Posted by Tom under Main Blog,Matthew Perryman Jones,MPJ,Smith's Olde Bar | Comments (0)