NEW YORK (Matchbox Twenty e-mail newsletter/Fans Website) - As
Matchbox Twenty get ready to launch their fall headlining North American arena tour
September 24 - including an October date at New York's Madison
Square Garden - the band have just wrapped a completely sold-out headlining concert swing in the UK and Germany. It launched in Glasgow at the S.E.C.C.
Arena September 4 and concluded
September 12 at the Offenbacher Stadhalle in Offenbach, Germany. A highlight of the tour was Matchbox Twenty's
September 6 performance in front of 11,000 wildly enthusiastic fans at London's sold-out Wembley Arena.
The night before Matchbox Twenty - Rob Thomas (vocals), Kyle Cook (lead guitar, background vocals), Adam Gaynor (rhythm guitar, background vocals), Brian Yale (bass) and Paul DoucettE (drums, percussion) - opened their tour at the S.E.C.C. Arena in Glasgow, Rob Thomas went to see the Rolling Stones play a sold-out show at the same venue. 
Before the gig, Thomas went backstage, marking the first time he saw Mick Jagger since co-writing with him the song "Disease," a No 1 hit for Matchbox Twenty from their current (and third) album, More Than You Think You Are, now double platinum. In their chat, Jagger asked Thomas which other venues besides the S.E.C.C. Arena the band were performing at on their overseas tour. Thomas mentioned that Wembley Arena was on tap. Jagger, having just played there with the Stones recently, gave Thomas a pointer about the venue. He told Thomas to be sure and project all the way to the back of Wembley because the distance from the stage to the back wall is deceptively far away.
Since its release in November 2002, More Than You Think You Are has spawned three major hit singles: the aforementioned "Disease"; the follow-up multi-format No1 hit "Unwell" - an airplay record-shattering song that's presently the only rock track in the Top 10 on USA's "Hot 100" singles chart - and the newly released "Bright Lights" which is strongly impacting radio now. A riveting live performance video of the song, directed by Hamish Hamilton (U2, Madonna) and shot at Atlanta's Philips Arena, debuted this week on VH1, entering their countdown in the Top 20.
In "Bright Lights," a moving song about a romantic bust-up, Thomas sings to his city-bound lover: "...maybe you'll find something that's enough to keep you/But if the bright lights don't receive you, you should turn yourself around and come on home."
In the September 6 issue of Billboard, Chuck Taylor praised both "Unwell" and "Bright Lights." He wrote: "Matchbox Twenty's 'Unwell' is one of few millennium-era success stories that personifies an enduring band getting better with time-and maintaining a good relationship with radio...'Bright Lights' is certainly another illuminating moment for the best pop band of our time."
Matchbox Twenty North American 2003 tour dates:
Wed 9/24 Tallahassee, FL Leon Co Civic Center
Fri 9/26 Greenville, SC Bi Lo Center
Sat 9/27 Wilmington, NC U of NC Trask Coliseum
Sun 9/28 Winston Salem, NC Lawrence Joel Vet MemorialColiseum
Tue 9/30 Boston , MA Tweeter Center
Wed 10/1 Portland, ME Cumberland Co Civic Center
Fri 10/3 Halifax Nova Scotia Halifax Metro Centre
Sat 10/4 St John, New Brunswick Harbour Station
Mon 10/6 Ottawa Corel Centre
Tue 10/7 London, Ontario John Labatt Centre
Wed 10/8 Hamilton Copps Coliseum
Fri 10/10 Norfolk, VA Constant Covocation Center Old Dominion U
Sat 10/11 Morgantown, WV West Va. University Coliseum
Sun 10/12 Reading, PA Sovereign Center
Tue 10/14 Bridgeport, CT Arena at Harbor Yard
Wed 10/15 Glens Falls, NY Glens Falls Civic Center
Fri 10/17 Atlantic City, NJ Etess Arena
Sat 10/18 Roanoke, VA Civic Center
Sun 10/19 Richmond, VA Stuart C. Siegel Center
Tue 10/21 Salisbury, MD Wicomico Civic Center
Wed 10/22 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center
Fri 10/24 New York City, NY Madison Square Garden
Wed 11/5 Tucson, AZ Tucson Convention Center
Sat 11/8 Anaheim, CA The Pond
Sun 11/9 San Diego, CA Cox Arena
Tue 11/11 Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
Wed 11/12 Las Vegas, NV The Joint
Sat 11/15 Ft Collins, CO Budweiser Events Center
Mon 11/17 Omaha, NE Convention Center & Arena
Wed 12/3 Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Coliseum
Thu 12/4 Ft Myers, FL TECO Arena
