Concert Review: Matt Barber, Nov 18, The Music Gallery

I do not understand why Matthew Barber is not a bigger deal. An incredibly talented musician, Barber wrote, recorded, produced and played every instrument on his 6th self-titled release. For the less disconcerting audience, he has a stunning voice, sings mostly about love, and is frankly a more attractive version of Ryan Gosling. How little boys with bad hair become famous, and Matt Barber does not, I will never understand. However, selfishly, that does mean he still does relatively small and intimate gigs, like the one I had the pleasure of enjoying at The Music Gallery on Friday night.

Playing a variety of songs from the scope of his work, Matt alternated between guitar and piano throughout the set, often highlighting his lyrics with some harmonica that was just right. Usually a solo performer, Matt brought along a band of old friends that added just the right amount of rock to the heavier songs, and the perfect accompaniment to the slower romantic tunes. I particularly enjoyed some of the songs from his newest album – such as Patch In Your Jeans and I Miss You When You’re Gone, delving into the depth, greatness and tribulations of long term relationships, as well as Man in the Movie which was absolutely breathtaking on piano. The only bad thing about the night was the 10pm curfew which limited the amount of charismatic chatting between songs, and forced the show to wrap up before I was ready for it to be done.

Posted on by stacey in Concerts