Musician Matthew Good leads a crowd-pleasing show in Kelowna Friday night. (Erin Christie/Morning Star)

Musician Matthew Good leads a crowd-pleasing show in Kelowna Friday night. (Erin Christie/Morning Star)

Matthew Good gives flawless and emotional performance in Kelowna

"I was worried. I'm so glad he made it - what a trouper."

When word got out that Burnaby-born musician Matthew Good was forced to pull out of his Prince George concert after collapsing on stage in Edmonton last week, Okanagan fans were concerned for the 46-year-old’s health, and admittedly, whether or not they’d get to see him play.

But on Friday morning, Good posted on social media that he had been released from the hospital and would be playing his last two tour stops on Friday and Saturday night in Kelowna and Abbotsford, respectively.

There never is a decision to make. You don’t cancel unless they’re rolling you out of the building on a stretcher. That’s just the way it is. That’s the way it’s always been. I want to first thank everyone at Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton who were absolutely unbelievable. So much so that they wanted me to stay the weekend. Being that it’s not prison, and you’re fully free to be a moron and leave if you so desire, I’ve chosen to play the last two shows to the best of my ability. I know that thousands of people have been looking forward to them and I do not intend to let anyone down. Thankfully, I have an award winning Lighting Director that makes me look good, which helps when you’re not 100% and will probably just be standing in one place – or, in truth, if you’re just me in general. So if you’re coming over the next two nights, do forgive me the odd hiccup. I hope you enjoy the shows. Thank you very much for all the well wishes I’ve received. My best to everyone.

A post shared by Matthew Good (@matthewgoodgram) on Mar 30, 2018 at 6:05am PDT

“You don’t cancel unless they’re rolling you out of the building on a stretcher,” Good wrote in a post on Instagram and Twitter Friday morning. “That’s the way it is.”

“I’ve always loved Matt Good,” Vernon fan Sarah Morris said while waiting for Good to come on stage at Friday’s concert.

“I was worried. I’m so glad he made it — what a trooper.”

“Technically I’m just here for Our Lady Peace,” her friend and fellow concert goer, Gina Adams added. “But I think it’s pretty amazing that he showed up being that sick.”

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Last week, Good was taken to Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital to recover from what his band confirmed was a case of pneumonia.

The illness forced him to initially delay, then cancel his Prince George performance. He offered fans a chance to refund their tickets while tour-mates Our Lady Peace and Ellevator went on to perform as planned.

On Friday morning, Good took to social media again to apologize for missing the Prince George date and to thank the hospital staff that cared for him before announcing that he would play his last two shows of the tour.

And play, he did. Still visibly uncomfortable, Good remained fairly still as he played and punctuated his otherwise flawless performance with several pauses for water between songs, noting that his sound engineer had to keep reminding him to “pause and breathe,” via his earpiece.

After kicking off his 50-minute set with a mood-lit rendition of his 1998 hit, Apparitions, Good performed a solid ten song set before being heavily applauded and led off stage by his bandmates.

The audience in turn, show him some serious love with a well-deserved standing ovation.

Thanks Kelowna, that meant a lot. ❤️ Photo by @joshmacintoshmusic

A post shared by Matthew Good (@matthewgoodgram) on Mar 30, 2018 at 10:28pm PDT

Our Lady Peace hit the stage after intermission with a crowd-pleasing set of old and new favourites, including Clumsy, Is Anybody Home and Drop Me in the Water.

In his show-stopping performance, OLP frontman, Raine Maida took a moment to point out that March 30 was also National Bi-Polar Day, and praised Good for his activism in mental health and his bravery in publicly sharing stories his own battle with the illness, before dedicating a pared-down acoustic song to his “Good friend Matt.”

Maida closed out the night with a powerhouse emotional encore that included a performance with Good as well the concert’s opener, Ellevator.

Good and Our Lady Peace’s cross-Canada tour began March 1 in St. John’s, N.L.

Erin Christie

Morning Star Staff


@VernonNewserin.christie@vernonmorningstar.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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