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TORONTO - East Coast rocker Matt Mays is slowly getting recognized on a national level thanks to songs like Cocaine Cowgirl and On The Hood, yet there are still parts of the country where he probably couldn't get arrested.
Just get mugged.
Halfway through his show Thursday evening at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre, Mays informed the large contingent that he was mugged earlier in the day at the corner of Carlton and Ontario near the Sherbourne St. venue.
"Anyhoo I'm alive," Mays said, but seemed to play with a bit more jump over the course of the 100-minute set in support of the Matt Mays and El Torpedo studio album Terminal Romance.
Having started in alt.country outfit The Guthries, Mays has since grown into a talented roots rock performer. And while the Nova Scotia-based musician showed plenty of that during the show, there was much more rock than roots on this evening.
Kicking things off with a lengthy intro - something akin to the intro from The Who's Baba O'Riley - Mays went into Building A Boat, a punchy, Southern flavoured, keg-opening party-starter. They would return to this vibe later on with equal success during Shining Eyes, another beefy number they fleshed out frantically.
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With new guitarist Jay Smith to his right and bassist Andy Patil to his left, Mays, wearing his Sunday best white suit and vest, delivered the Tom Petty-influenced nugget Tall Trees and also for the rapid, rambunctious punk rock ditty Rock Ranger Record.
When interviewed around the album's release, Mays stated he was excited to see the band getting "road tight." This was exemplified early and often on the slower Travelin' which had Smith, Patil, drummer Tim Jim Baker and keyboardist Adam Baldwin working on all cylinders. But perhaps the first real sign of synergy was between Mays and Smith halfway through Move Your Mind, each feeding off the other before Smith, acting like a ram, playfully ran headfirst into Mays' right shoulder.
However, Mays showcased that softer, folksy side during a three-song section beginning with a sweet rendition of Dylan's Girl From The North Country, one of the handful of Bob Dylan gems containing less than 23 verses.
Although Lost Souls didn't quite find its footing following the brief change of gears, City Of Lakes, which Mays dedicated to all from the East Coast, ratcheted up the audience who loudly contributed backing vocals during the chorus.
Looking drenched and disheveled, Mays and El Torpedo began heading home with the lengthy title track off the new album. The piano-led song, which slowly builds in the vein of Bob Seger, is a great summer-driving number. But here Mays and company built upon the song for much longer, leaving most of the band sans Baker head-banging from time to time.
While the encore contained the crowd pleasers, Mays deftly worked in a rather sparse, haunting Springsteen-leaning Spoonful Of Sugar to open as well as a strong, well-rounded cover of the Stones' Wild Horses.
Hopefully the next time Mays is in town he's accosted by a fan only.