Sunday, October 6, 2019

Matt Hagen's Shocktober Music Series Night 1: Matt's Murder Ballads Oct. 3, 2019


     Hello beautiful people. Super crisp up here today. It was 33 when I got up this morning. Great time at Dead Set ’77. Saw a bunch of friends and some amazing music. But I am not here to talk about iconic San Fran bands, I am here to talk about iconic Burlington musicians. Specifically, Mr. Matt Hagen. He is doing an October residency at the Light Club Lamp Shop. He’s calling it Shocktober Music Series. Every Thursday is a different musical event. If you attend all five nights, he will make you a loaf of bread to be delivered after the run. So not only does my soul get artist nourishment, I will be getting consumable caloric carbs from the artist. So without further ado, The Shocktober Music Series Night 1: Matt’s Murder Ballads, October 3, 2019.


Setlist:
Watch My Stool, Hightail Honeymoon, Spirit Man, Bone Pickin’, Woman in Black, Best Friends are the Coldest Ones, ?, Wallet of Sin, Larry the Canary, Marie Laveau








     All of the songs were Hagen originals except the last one. The words were by Shel Silverstein. They were all about murder, death, and mayhem. Matt played acoustic guitar and was accompanied by the super talented Brett Lanier on pedal steel. I know very little about the pedal steel other than it is super cool. He had a pedal board which he used to great effect.

      My favorite tunes were Wallet of Sin and Larry the Canary. Wallet was about selling out your artist soul (a different kind of death) to the entertainment /industrial complex. Larry was about a canary that turns the tables on the coal miners who used him to detect high levels of poisonous gas in the mines.
     I look forward to seeing the wide range of musical styles Matt has up his sleeve for the next four weeks. It’s every Thursday at 7pm and if you can make it out I highly recommend it. See you next week.

Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
PhD Rock and Roll

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