Power pop powerhouse Matthew Sweet recently dropped by the Lincoln Theatre for a career-spanning showcase with a full band of truly exciting musicians.
Steve Satzberg was there to photograph the show!
The following article is adapted from a press release.
On April 20 at the Lincoln Theatre, Matthew played his first DC-area show since 2019 with a full band that included Debbi Peterson (The Bangles) on drums, Paul Chastain (Velvet Crush) on bass, and John Foreman (The Orange Peels) on guitar. Alabama songwriter/podcaster and visual artist Abe Partridge opened the show.
The power pop pioneer is hard at work writing and recording his next studio record, due out in 2024. In addition to new material, Sweet just digitally released a live recording of one of his most fabled performances, Live at Grant Park Chicago July 1993. Originally recorded by Metro Mobile Recording for Chicago radio station WXRT, the blistering 17-song set includes hits and fan-favorites including “Girlfriend,” “I’ve Been Waiting,” “The Ugly Truth,” and a spirited cover of John Lennon’s “Crippled Inside.” Matthew played “Girlfriend,” “I’ve Been Waiting,” and “The Ugly Truth” at the Lincoln Theatre, opening the show with “The Ugly Truth.”
Watch the official music video for “The Ugly Truth” by Matthew Sweet on YouTube:
Remixed and remastered from the original DAT source by engineer Brian Kehew, known for his work with The Who, The Pretenders, The Stooges, Crazy Horse, and The Replacements, the live album captures Sweet live at the peak of the alternative rock takeover when he first achieved commercial success with a series of gold and platinum records that still hold up today. Sweet’s loyal fans will be delighted to know he recently launched a Patreon page. Sweet regularly shares writing demos, visual art and sculpture (cats!), livestreams, and more.
Matthew Sweet’s journey began with a move to Athens, Ga. in the early 1980s at the urging of his pen pal, REM’s Michael Stipe. As a student at University of Georgia, he was immersed in the college town’s burgeoning alternative rock scene, playing in pioneering acts like Oh-OK and the Buzz of Delight. At 20, he left Georgia for New York City and a major deal with Columbia, where he released his debut solo album, Inside, in 1986. Earth, his 1989 follow-up on A&M, showcased a songwriter with extraordinary pop sensibility on the cusp of something greater. A year later, amid the smoldering ashes of heartbreak and divorce and an escape from New York to the outskirts of Princeton, New Jersey, Sweet composed the songs that became 1991’s Girlfriend. Singles “Girlfriend” and “I’ve Been Waiting,” paired with their Japanese anime-laced music videos (a novelty to the American market at the time), won Sweet a lifelong international following. Altered Beast (1993) continued the hot streak with singles “Ugly Truth” and “Time Capsule,” while 1995’s 100% Fun single “Sick of Myself” reached No. 2 on rock radio, breaking him even wider.
Sweet continued to evolve over a string of well-received albums in the early 2000s. In 2006, he joined forces with Bangles frontwoman Susanna Hoffs to record a series of covers from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, Under the Covers, Vol. 1–3. Sweet’s music has appeared in numerous films, television shows, and games, including Austin Powers, Guitar Hero II, Buffy the Vampire Slayer,The Simpsons, and Scooby-Doo, among many others. Sweet was a lead consultant on Tim Burton’s Margaret Keane biopic Big Eyes in 2014. His companion albums, Tomorrow Forever (2017) and Tomorrow’s Daughter (2018) were followed by 2018’s Wicked System of Things and 2021’s Catspaw, his 15th studio effort.
Here are some photos of Matthew Sweet headlining the Lincoln Theatre in DC on April 20, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Steve Satzberg.
Here are some photos of Abe Partridge opening Matthew Sweet at the Lincoln Theatre in DC on April 20, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Steve Satzberg.
