Tag: Matthew Sweet

James Iha at Metro

Jae-Ha Kim

Covering a little known Eric Anderson number near the end of his 50-minute solo set, Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha sang, “I’d love to sing my ballad/But they only wanna hear me rock ‘n’ roll.” Not after this show. The shy musician’s ballad-heavy solo debut was a stunner. And the intimate Top Note Theatre–a part of Metro, the club that gave the Pumpkins their first big break–was the perfect setting for Iha’s laid-back performance in front of a hometown crowd that included Pumpkins’ bassist D’Arcy, members of the Frogs and his parents.

Daisy: Dog’s Eye View

Jae-Ha Kim

Baring his soul with bold lyrics and plaintive vocals, singer-songwriter Peter Stuart has come up with a strong follow-up to his band’s debut. His protagonists suffer from heartache, but Stuart doesn’t wallow in misery. Like Matthew Sweet, he has a knack for marrying bittersweet words with pop melodies to create evocative vignettes. Grade: B+

Matthew Sweet’s songs skillfully blend hot and sour

Jae-Ha Kim

There is a heartache in Matthew Sweet’s voice that pegs him as a romantic who knows both the euphoria of being in love and the pain of breaking up. On his first Chicago gig as a headliner, Sweet performed a tantalizing midnight show Saturday at the Cabaret Metro where he and his tight backup band channeled his wisely ambiguous lyrics with playful abandon, letting the audience know that though he may have been beaten up emotionally, he’s not a whiner.

Matthew Sweet Gets Down to Earth

Jae-Ha Kim

When singer-songwriter Matthew Sweet was preparing for his tour earlier this year, he went to Zion to rehearse at Jeff Murphy’s studio. While there, a friend picked up a copy of the Illinois Entertainer and noticed a review of Sweet’s LP “Earth.” Instead of running over to read the review and gloat, he panicked. “I’m one of those rare people who admits to reading everything written about me,” Sweet says, laughing. “And I get really embarrassed if someone reads something about me and it’s not favorable. Luckily, the review was really nice. It was a nice introduction for me to the Illinois Entertainer as well.”