Over ten years ago, Third Eye Blind burst out of the FM radio, into the backseat of my dad's 1997 Mazda 626, and became the voice of rock and roll rebellion for me and a generation elementary school kids.
And on Saturday night, the band played a show that all but sold out three-weeks ago, at Amherst College for their spring concert. A gymnasium full of these former backseat drivers, now all drivers themselves poured into the venue to hear the hits that somehow still find themselves on our ipods over a decade later.
Third Eye Blind is our generation's Motley Crue, and i mean this in no disrespect for either band. Motley Crue are still touring, representing the bombast of the eighties in epic form, and likewise Third Eye Blind embody the Nineties in a similar way. Their sentimental, teen girl hits were just macho enough to win the favor of the boys and thus were able to win over fans from just about every musical camp.
Who else can pack a gymnasium full of every type of person imaginable, jocks, bros, former cheerleaders, current cheerleaders, my RA, with even pretentious college journalists like me eager to get in?
Starting off with "Losing a Whole Year" off their debut LP, to a chorus of shouting college girls Third Eye Blind showcased a mastery over their pop songs only losing tempo when they tried to deviate and experiment with lesser material.
The band slugged through their major hits "Jumper," "Never Let You Go," even touching all those forgotten gems like "Motorcylce Drive By," "God of Wine" and the spectacularly underrated "Graduate" which spawned crowd-surfing and thunderous applause.
Amid the set, the lead singer announced that soon the band will be releasing its long awaited fourth album. Even previewing new single "Non Dairy Creamer" a faux punk rave up about politics, sexual favors that wishes it was half as smart as it was trying to be.
Their new material lacked the luster of their older material and will most likely not spawn another radio hit for a band that has long been passed over despite the lasting success of their peers, Matchbox 20 and The Goo Goo Dolls.
Third Eye Blind may be musicians but after years being on the road their finest art is now their showmanship. True to their art the gym was equipped with not only one but two stages (front/middle). The switch they pulled on the crowd caused downright rioting near the front and ecstatic applause for the late-arrivers who had stumbled on a front-row seat. With the temperature in the gym reaching over 100 degrees, and bodies flying over head, the concert had a frat party vibe albeit to much cooler house band.
For now though, the boys aren't doing so bad for themselves. While they may never again reach the same level of success, because they are such an essential band for those of us who grew up in the time, they will never be forgotten. And what's left after that? Well they could take a page from the Crue and simply tour sold out stadiums for another two decades. Right now they're living the American dream of playing rock tunes every night to stadiums full of college women and really what more could a rock band ask for?
No comments:
Post a Comment