After a brief yet impactful two years in Athens in the early ‘80s, the power pop/alternative rock pioneer Matthew Sweet went on to create MTV hits, gold albums and even go platinum. It’s been four years since Sweet performed locally, but he’s scheduled for a much anticipated return to the 40 Watt Club on Thursday, Aug. 29.
This show is rounding out a short run in continuation of Sweet’s spring tour, during which he’s been accompanied by his friend The Bangles drummer Debbi Peterson. The regular drummer in Sweet’s band, Ric Menck, was unable to join due to health complications and a loss in the family. Sweet says that Peterson has brought a fun and different energy to the live shows.
“She’s more of an ‘80s drummer. So it’s a little more new wave and kind of jumpy, and it’s fun. It keeps us all on our toes, and we all get along really well. So it’s a little bit different probably than what most people have seen,” says Sweet.
Another new addition to the backing band is guitarist Adrian Carter. Both Carter and Peterson are capable of providing layered background harmonies, so Sweet says the current live performances feature more complex vocals than he’s been able to do in the past. Altogether, it will be a new and refreshing return to Athens for Sweet.
When Sweet first moved from Nebraska to Athens straight out of high school to attend the University of Georgia at the urging of his pen pal, R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, he says it was “very exotic.” The heat, humidity and subsequent slower pace seemed “magical and mysterious” to Sweet, but he arrived in the Athens Golden Era with a handful of acquaintances and friends already. Within two years he left Georgia for New York City with a developmental record deal with Columbia.
Reminiscing on very Athens experiences, Sweet says he was able to meet the B-52s because they were friends with the lady who ran the boarding house where he stayed. So many places have come and gone since he was a resident, and one of his favorites was the Bluebird Cafe. Sweet describes it as a vegan breakfast place where everyone “who was sort of cool” went regularly. Having heard word that there’s now a Target downtown on Broad Street is something Sweet would never have imagined in the context of the Athens he lived in.
However, the 40 Watt Club has remained a constant fixture, albeit with its own changes, in Sweet’s touring life. After this run of shows, he’ll join an “unusual” tour this fall opening for Hanson as an acoustic trio with longtime bassist Paul Chastain and Carter. Naturally, there’s a story behind how this came about.
When the Hanson brothers were still teenagers, Sweet wrote a few songs with them, one of which became the album title track “Underneath.” The musicians have always kept a relationship throughout the years. In celebration of Underneath’s 20th anniversary, Hanson is touring this fall and contacted Sweet to join.
“I’m just getting back out touring, and the idea of playing some kind of trio acoustic shows and having a little more time off appealed to me,” says Sweet. “I’m excited about it because I’m looking forward to seeing them and the tour… I’m kind of looking forward to it as a sort of music vacation, even though it’s really not a vacation. But it’s different. It’s a thing that turned out being able to happen, and it’s goodwill. You know, I like them. They like me. I’ve never really heard them play live, you know? So that’ll be cool just to even see.”
In between shows Sweet will be working on a new album that’s already in progress. It’s entitled Midsommar, inspired by the Ari Aster film of the same name and one of Sweet’s own psychedelic cat drawings. Making art is another of Sweet’s creative outlets, and the new album will be a look inside his combined interests.
WHO: Matthew Sweet, Abe Partridge
WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 29, 7 p.m. (doors)
WHERE: 40 Watt Club
HOW MUCH: $20 (adv.), $25
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