Review: Matchbox Twenty delivers crowd-pleasing mom rock at the State Fair grandstand

If this year’s Minnesota State Fair grandstand headliners were fair foods, then Blake Shelton would be a footlong hotdog with all the fixings. Newcomer Becky G would have to be — hmm, this is tough — fried bee-nana pie. And Matchbox Twenty, this is easy — all the (white) milk you can drink. And who doesn’t like milk?

Matchbox Twenty, which had a 10-year run of hits including “Unwell” and “Bent” starting in 1997, made its grandstand debut on Friday night. Their last Twin Cities area appearance was in 2023 at the Treasure Island Casino amphitheater.

The scene: A festive, near full house of 12,774 included lots of women over age 40 singing along and their spouses/dates/daughters mostly not singing along. That’s because, while Tom Petty, Creed and Nickelback have been called dad rock, Matchbox Twenty would be considered mom rock, along with ABBA and Bread, among others.

The music: Last year, Matchbox Twenty released its first album of new material in 11 years and undertook a major tour, though the band probably got more momentum from its song “Push” sung by an army of Kens in the “Barbie” movie than from its album. This year, the Orlando-launched band is playing only seven gigs at festivals and fairs.

Three songs from 2023′s “Where the Light Goes” were included in Friday’s 16-song, 82-minute set, including the show opener “Friends.” But the emphasis was on the hits delivered by the seven-man band, though “If You’re Gone” was presented as a sit-down duo with just singer Rob Thomas and guitarist Kyle Cook.

Biggest takeaways: Dressed in all-white (a milk man?) with a T-shirt emblazoned with “Be Good to People,” Thomas, 52, was a trouper. Sweating profusely and sounding hoarse and not full-throated at times, he was perhaps unwell. Nonetheless, he was enthusiastic and unapologetic all night long, roaming the wide stage and singing with conviction about anxiety and longing.

Coolest moments: The back-to-back favorites “3 A.M.,” “Unwell” and an emphatic “Push” as well as the dark and swirling “Bent.”

Low point: The finale of a Bowiesque reading of Simple Minds’ 1985 hit “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” sent concertgoers scurrying to the exits. That was a puzzling choice for a dud of a signoff when Thomas, the voice of the Santana smash “Smooth,” had an obvious option.

Best banter: In introducing “Push,” Thomas said he “wrote it about Ryan Gosling,” who played Ken in “Barbie.” Cute.

Thomas gave a shout out to Minnesota musical heroes Prince, Soul Asylum and the Replacements. But it was another story when he mentioned Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

After talking about how a concert creates a family and a community, Thomas said, “We don’t talk about politics even though this is home to Walz.” That brought a sizable chorus of boos from the crowd. “Shush your boos,” the singer said. “This is not politics.”

Opening act: Beauty School Dropout, whose drummer was playing his first gig with them, sounded like graduates of the School of Hard Rock with a minor in power-punk. And these 20-something dudes from Los Angeles may not have been at the top of their class.