Matthew Good and his Band

On Friday night at the AJMC, several hundred folks attended a concert from the Whitecourt & Woodlands Performing Arts Society. The main event was the Matthew Good Band, now called Matthew Good and his Band, as the original band broke up. MGB was one of the most successful alternative rock bands in the country through the 90s/early 2000s. The singer-songwriter talked and joked with attendees in between his biggest hits, like Apparitions and Hello Time Bomb, and even got the crowd to sing along, taking over the chorus at one point. A recent life-altering change for Good has been his inability to play guitar, something he is known for doing. Last year, in mid-October, Good was diagnosed with a nerve compression syndrome (Ulnar Neuropathy), which makes his pinky and third finger numb and results in his hand seizing. In a personal update on Reddit, Good said, “As you can imagine, playing guitar with such a problem is basically untenable.” His current tour features an added member who plays guitar in his place. “I have never fronted a band as just the singer, so there’s bound to be some strangeness involved. Nevertheless, I think it’s only going to add to the show, and I’m looking forward to it,” he said. Based on the crowd’s reaction on Friday, and the loud cheering that brought Good back to the stage for an encore, he was right