Just got back. F@ck me, that was awesome. I knew it was going to be a good night when I got there and found that due to lower than expected sales (outrageous!) the front three rows of seats had been removed and I was in the front row right in front of Matt.
I must admit that I didn't know much of his stuff before going and also didn't appreciate what an accomplished player he is. He really, really, really can play - part of me wants to give up and the other part is equaly inspired to practice harder.
His set up was kept pretty simple all night. Guitars used were the '61 strat, which has possibly the nicest strat tone I have ever heard, and the SVL Custom (tele model made by his tech) that was also pretty sweet. The strat won it hands down though. Amp was a dumble clone, based on an original 70's dumble head, and a two rock cab. Effects wise there wasn't too much - a Providence SOV2 overdrive (used pretty much as a boost with little gain), a mad professor deep blue delay (very nice analog sounding pedal) and one of these:
http://guitareffectspedalstore.com/guitar-effects-pedals.asp/pid_9863/productname_VHT-VALVULATOR-I-VACUUM-TUBE-BUFFER/POWER-SUPPLYThe tone from that set up all night was sublime. His singing is also much better than I was expecting.
The band were very good as well - I must admit that I spent most of the night not watching them though!
I had a chat with Simon Law (guitar tech) at the end of the gig, he's a really nice guy and took time to talk to me about the gig, how he sets up, the equipment used and quite a bit o detail on the amp.
Finally I had a very quick chat with Matt - really nice down to earth guy and very, very humble. He seemed a little embarrassed when I shook his hand and said the gig was awesome - he did say thank you very much and that it was appreciated.
I highly recommend catching him on tour. He'll be playing at a festival in Goucestershire soon (apparently it's free) and will be in London on 18/07 at a new blues venue (didn't catch the name of the place but can probably be found on the net somewhere)
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