Nestled within the historic Chastain Park neighborhood in northern Atlanta, Georgia, the Synovus Bank Amphitheater welcomed Grammy Award-winning recording artist Rob Thomas (of Matchbox Twenty fame) to town on Friday night. Out on the road in advance of his new album All Night Days (scheduled for release on September 5th), Thomas was supported by special guests A Great Big World. With a posted capacity of nearly 7,000, this summer-months-only outdoor facility was opened back in 1944 and has since been decreed as “Atlanta’s Oldest Outdoor Music Venue.”
With late afternoon thunderstorms threatening, New York-based A Great Big World, featuring music by singer/songwriters Ian Axel and Chad King (who is not touring due to a multiple sclerosis diagnosis and had a stand-in), took to the stage in front of the early Atlanta audience shortly after 7:30pm. Anchored in heartfelt, emotionally-laden songwriting, the Grammy Award-winning Axel (2015 Best Pop Duo/Group Performance) warmed up the crowd with piano and guitar-driven soft pop rock that included their new single, “Away We Go.”
For those unaware of their decorated musical history, A Great Big World is arguably best known for either their single “This Is the New Year,” which was performed by the cast in a Glee episode back in 2013, or through the massive attention they received through their collaboration with influential artist Christina Aguilera following a re-recorded duet version of their slow-tempo ballad, “Say Something,” which ultimately lead to their Grammy success.
A Great Big World
Ian Axel – Keyboard, vocals
Chad King – Guitar, vocals (not touring)
With the weather radar now thankfully showing limited risk to the “rain or shine” show, the venue seats quickly filled in just prior to Rob Thomas taking the stage at approximately 8:30pm. As his band settled into their places to dimmed house lights, Thomas appeared lit up and silhouetted to a large backdrop circle in the center as the group opened with “I Believe It,” immediately teasing out a tune from his pending solo release, All Night Days.
There are two sides to Thomas’s lengthy and intertwined musical journey — his solo career and his time fronting Matchbox Twenty — both of which were on display Friday night. Early in the set, the 53-year-old energetic frontman lead the band through a bunch of popular songs from his solo catalog, including “Her Diamond,” “One Less Day (Dying Young),” and “Mockingbird,” before joking that when he “isn’t out doing this, he is the lead singer of the best pop rock band in the world.” To screaming fan approval, Thomas and band then delivered their first Matchbox Twenty hit of the night in “If You’re Gone.”
What followed from there was a healthy mix of fresh or familiar for the back half of their opening night setlist, starting with the hip-swaying, arms-waving new single “Hard to Be Happy” from All Night Days. This portion of the evening also highlighted tracks like “Can’t Help Me Now” from Chip Tooth Smile (2019), Thomas’s fourth studio album that was produced by Georgia’s own Butch Walker (of Marvelous 3), as well as “Little Wonders,” a song Thomas wrote for Disney’s Meet the Robinsons (2007). Jokingly, Thomas mentioned that at the time “Little Wonders” made him the most popular musician for 8-year-olds around the world, and he was constantly being asked “how he liked being in the Goo Goo Dolls.”
However, it was the elegant piano-driven rendition of Matchbox Twenty’s “3 AM” 1997 single that really shined. Backed by such a tight band of musicians, which included Thomas’s talented son Maison on guitar, this performance really hit the mark, especially when elevated by Korel Tunador’s saxophone playing. After “3 AM,” the band pivoted back to another new All Night Days track in “Thrill Me,” followed by celebrating the 20th anniversary of Thomas’s first solo release, …Something to Be (2005), with three consecutive tracks pulled from that album in “Streetcorner Symphony,” “Lonely No More,” and “I Am an Illusion” to crest into their encore break.
Returning to the stage after a short break, Thomas and his band kicked off their 4-song encore set with the title track to their upcoming release, followed by him asking the adoring audience “how many of you out there are children of the ’80s?” To huge applause, the band then rolled into an unexpectedly fun cover performance of the INXS 1987 chart-topping song “New Sensation.” With excitement still permeating in the air, Thomas launched into the much anticipated and internationally successful single he released back in 1999 with Santana in “Smooth,” which brought a sea of cell phones up into the air. The band then wrapped up their maiden tour gig by revisiting …Something to Be with the Grammy-nominated track in “This Is How a Heart Breaks.”
The All Night Days Tour continues on now through Saturday, September 6th at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, California, when Thomas will then take a short break before picking up again at the Riverside Theatre in Perth, Australia, on Friday, October 24th.
Rob Thomas Band
Matt Beck – Guitar, keyboards
Al Carty – Bass
Kim Dawson – Background vocals
Abe Fogle – Drums
La Tanya Hall – Background vocals
Maison Thomas-Eudy – Lead guitar
Rob Thomas – Lead vocals, guitar
Korel Tunador – Guitar, keyboards, saxophone
Setlist:
1.) I Believe It
2.) Give Me the Meltdown
3.) Heaven Help Me
4.) Her Diamonds
5.) One Less Day (Dying Young)
6.) Cradlesong
7.) Mockingbird
8.) If You’re Gone (Matchbox Twenty song)
9.) Hard to Be Happy
10.) Someday
11.) Getting Late / That’s All Right (Elvis Presley cover)
12.) Can’t Help Me Now
13.) Little Wonders
14.) 3 AM (Matchbox Twenty song)
15.) Thrill Me
16.) Streetcorner Symphony
17.) Lonely No More
18.) I Am an Illusion
Encore
19.) All Night Days
20.) New Sensation (INXS cover)
21.) Smooth (Santana cover)
22.) This Is How a Heart Breaks
Follow A Great Big World Online
Follow Rob Thomas Online
Elliott is a music photographer covering shows in Atlanta, Georgia, and the surrounding area. The highlight of his photography career was back in the early ’90s, when he sold Neil Diamond the rights to his negatives from a show and then purchased a set of tires for his 1979 280ZX during college with the money.