Andersen live
Award-winning blues man on tour promoting his new live album
Matt Andersen will be performing at the Silver Fox Entertainment Complex.
From the first notes of “Weightless” to the slow-dying roar of the crowd as the last licks of “Devil’s Bride” squeal out, Matt Andersen’s newest release, “Matt Andersen & The Mellotones Live at Olympic Hall” is a rollicking, sizzling night captured and preserved at the famed and historic Halifax dance hall. Fans of the blues artist can catch a performance of Andersen and his band at the Silver Fox Entertainment Complex in Summerside on Friday, July 13. Promoting his new recording, the Summerside show will be the only P.E.I. stop on his cross Canada tour. His thunderous voice and hot guitar playing mashed up with his talented friends, the 10-piece force of nature that is The Mellotones, makes for a live performance that is what Andersen calls “the most drastic thing I could do. I make an impact when I’m solo with the quiet parts more than the loud parts,” he reflects.
Having played thousands of live shows around the world, “Live at Olympic Hall” is a far cry from Andersen’s usual “one guy, one guitar” captivating and commanding notoriety. “With a band, it’s the opposite.” The Mellotones are fixtures of Halifax’s live music scene featuring a smoking horn section, keys, drums, and then some. “I felt like a rock star,” says Andersen, who holds two European Blues Awards, six Maple Blues Awards, a JUNO Award nomination, and more than 10 million views on YouTube. Talking about recroding his live album, Andersen noted, “I don’t get to play shows with everyone standing up. I usually play soft-seater shows, so it was great to get on stage and have that kind of energy.” Andersen wanted a snapshot fans could come back to again and again, much like he did as a kid with “Eric Clapton Unplugged.” “It’s a bit of a subconscious confirmation that it is real,” he says. “You can’t really fake it. “A lot of people like to have that representation of what happened. Any time I play a show, people ask: ‘Which album is most like your live show?’ They want to take home their experience. “It’s a basic connection, to be part of that energy going on,” Andersen continues, noting that, for artists who don’t get a lot of radio play, live music is vital. “I just wish everyone could come to a live show. It’s the best way to hear music, for sure.” Now with Matt Andersen & The Mellotones’s series of upcoming tour dates, they can. Watch the new video for Weightless at: https://youtu.be/ JuCRXsaY0eU Watch the video for Going Down at: https://youtu. be/7BGyCud0-Lc