Live Review  Matt Eaton's Guitargonaut/The Dallas Guitar Show, Dallas Market Hall,
Instrumental
Spittin Jonah guitarist Matt Eaton wows crowd with songs from forthcoming solo CD Guitargonaut


First of all I would like to say thank you to my editor, Grady Smith  Darin Wakeley and to Joann Holt, publicist for the Dallas Guitar Show for allowing me the opportunity to cover the performance at the Ernie Ball Stage.  If you are familiar with local bands and local talent then you've undoubtedly heard of Spittin Jonah.  One of the areas premiere heavy metal bands.  The guitarist, and one of the founders of Spittin Jonah, Matt Eaton had an opportunity to put together some material for a solo cd which has been a dream of his for quite some time now and was able to present it to the masses for the first time at the 28th Dallas Guitar Show.  Matt puts his heart and soul into his music and it comes across in his work with Spittin Jonah and in his solo works.  Backing Matt up on stage were friends and fellow Spittin Jonah musicians Billy "The Ripper" Blax on acoustic guitar, James Young on bass, and Mike Rich on drums.  I've seen these guys perform together many times and I've always been impressed with the musicianship and talent of this band.  Now I know what you're thinking...an instrumental show?  Don't knock it until you've tried it!  The songs were excellent!  Just the right blending of acoustic with electric guitar, the bass riffs with the drums and before you knew what was happening you were nodding your head to the beat, snapping your fingers, or tapping your feet.  When the music started people were literally coming out of the building to come and see.  People that were standing in front of other stages were actually turning to see where this amazing sound was eminating from.  The crowd in front of the Ernie Ball stage was impressive but due to the heat most of the people stayed under the trees for shade.  There were a few brave souls who stood in the direct sunlight for the entire set.  The first three songs make you look around for the Trojan horse!  Pillars of Hercules, Isle of the Witch, and Troy is Burning whisked you away with the melodic sounds of the acoustic combined with Matt's shredding guitar solos.  It was very mezmerizing to watch his fingering technique.  It just left you thinking "wow!  look at that guy go!".  The rest of the songs Great Dane Head, The Ocean Between Us, The Jonas Tucker Song (which I thoroughly enjoyed!), and Blues-i-fi-cation.  They definitely left the crowd wanting more and I believe that they made some new fans that day.  So, thank you Matt, Billy, Mike, and James for the wonderful music that you bring us to enjoy!

-Neon Blonde
dallasmusic.com
www.matteatonguitar.com/

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