Here’s why Matchbox Twenty filmed at a downtown Phoenix landmark

When Matchbox Twenty brings their Slow Dream tour to Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre on Wednesday night, it won’t be the first time the pop-rockers have performed in the Valley this year.

Back in late March, the multi-platinum band fronted by singer Rob Thomas came to the Icehouse in downtown Phoenix to shoot a few different music and performance videos, some of which aired on national television last month.

Matchbox Twenty manager Nick Lippman told Phoenix New Times through a spokesperson the band spent an entire day at the historic music and arts venue filming videos for the songs “Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream)” and "Don't Get Me Wrong,” both off their new album “Where the Light Goes.”

Lippman and the band also shot photos and got footage for some live content videos “that we may or may not use.”
The performance video for “Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream),” which was largely filmed in the Icehouse’s iconic open-air Cathedral Room, premiered on the April 19 episode of “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”

The video for "Don't Get Me Wrong,” which features Matchbox Twenty inside the venue’s Silver Room, was uploaded to YouTube on May 5 to coincide with the single’s release.

Both videos showcase the Icehouse, including stunning aerial and overhead shots of the roofless Cathedral Room that was filmed with a drone.

So how did Matchbox Twenty end up filming their performances in downtown Phoenix? Lippman says Atlantic Records, the band’s longtime record label, recommended the Icehouse.

He checked out the venue along with the band’s tour manager Veikko Fuhrmann and their production manager Tony Moon and confirmed it “[worked] for all the various things we needed to capture that day.”
To shoot the videos, Atlantic Records hired Tempe-based commercial media production company Reelbros.

The experience wasn’t the first time the Icehouse has hosted a memorable performance by a famous band. The property, which was originally built in 1920, has a long history as an arts and music venue.

Throughout the ‘90s and 2000s, it featured shows by such artists and acts as Sun City Girls, Moby, Porno for Pyros, and Rocket From the Crypt, as well as serving as an epicenter for the Valley’s rave scene. (It has also been the site of numerous art installations and openings.)

In early 2021, Jimmy Eat World staged the “Phoenix Sessions,” a successful series of three virtual concerts at the Icehouse during the height of the pandemic, respectively performing their albums “Surviving,” “Futures,” and “Clarity” in their entirety.

When asked what the band and its management thought of the Icehouse, Lippman says, “We loved it.”

Matchbox Twenty. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 31. Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, 2121 North 83rd Avenue. Tickets are available here.