Rockpool Magazine, December 1, 1991
By David Sprague
In one of the fall's more eagerly-awaited appearances, Matthew Sweet overcame some fairly long odds - a show-me audience, a comparatively unrehearsed band - to deliver a set with nary a whit of the introspection similarly sensitive guys normally radiate onstage. Clearly happy to be flexin' some muscle, Sweet led his backing quartet's full-frontal assault on a dozen or so selections from Girlfriend - extra light on the syrup. The surprsie prize, though, was the pit-bull guitar gnashing of Richard Lloyd. For years, the pressing questions about any Lloyd performance weren't about the length of his solos, but the amount of time he'd managed to stay vertical - suffice it to say, the guitarist scored high on both counts, wrenching bloody shards from songs like "Does She Talk?" and "Holy War." Sweet even managed to overcome the venue's overly-good karma by encoring with a perfectly sloppy bawl through Alex Chilton's "Don't Lie To Me." Maybe nice guys don't have to finish last after all.
Matthew Sweet With Uncle Green, Paradise Rock Club, September 12, 1992
By Chris Roberge, Arts Editor 'The Tech'
Matthew Sweet has said of his current tour in support of his excellent new album, Girlfriend, "We're looking forward to doing club shows... We want to turn our volume up loud and be messy and throw our guitars around." Sweet and his band did just that at the Paradise Rock Club Saturday night, and it was great. Uncle Green provided a competent opening to the noisy and fun concert. The show's sound was slightly hampered by a faulty speaker and slightly out-of-tune guitars, which Sweet was constantly adjusting, but the emotional level was high enough to carry the band and the audience through a great show.
Sweet's set focused mainly on selections culled from Girlfriend, with his very talented backing players adding energy and intensity to the already powerful songs. Some of the quieter tracks, such as "Nothing Lasts" and "Don't Go," were passed over, probably in an attempt to maintain the generally faster pace of the show, but the wonderfully personal "Winona" and "Looking at the Sun" did fortunately find their way into the play list.
The strongest of the sets' more intimate songs was "You Don't Love Me." On the album, the song is sorrowful and pathetic. Live, it maintained its somber tone while gaining a bristling undercurrent of vindictive energy and animus. "Day for Night" also was given a boost of power in its transition to the stage, as Sweet's vocals stretched from a hushed whisper to a jarring scream.
The personal and intimate songs blended surprisingly well with the louder and more volatile ones, which often packed a tremendously powerful punch. "Holy War" and "When I Feel Again," both from Sweet's second album, Earth, shone. Two of Sweet's more hook-laden songs, "Girlfriend" and "Evangeline," were very good, propelled forward by very strong guitars and solos with more than just flashes of brilliance. The playing was also great on a John Lennon and a Neil Young cover and an amazingly loud and playful "Does She Talk?," which was one of the concert's highlights.
Opening act Uncle Green was energetic and enjoyable. The audience wasn't behind the Atlanta-based act as much as they were for Sweet, but the band still looked like they were having fun, and their stage presence refused to be dull. Their music didn't glow with originality or innovation, but they were certainly capable of offering a short, entertaining set.