Yes the 90's were back in fashion down at Echo Beach (there's sand!) for this free summertime gig. Judging by the large crowd of twenty- and thirty-somethings it was to be a warm welcome too. Off to a late start it didn't take the Third Eye Blind lead singer long to have his tech swap his guitar; electric for acoustic at approximately the eight second mark of song one. From then til song seven of the set there isn't much to say as the band didn't have ANYTHING to say. (I was amazed too.... who knew they had seven songs?!) Finally during an interlude he broke his banter silence to say hello, and in a frustratingly drawn out manner eventually tell us about his recent bike crash and broken ribs. I suppose this was his excuse for doing little rocking out - unless you count posing, crossing your arms, holding the mic to the crowd or putting your hands in your pockets.
Okay, okay, okay this is all a little harsh. Especially as there was some redemption after this point. He excused the band in the second half for a solo tune and when they returned the first legitimate hit (that I know of) in Jumper was finally broken out. Yes, the massive singalong ensued. Additionally there were a couple B songs like Losing a Whole Year, Graduate, and Crystal Baller. Even Wounded was new to me but caught my ear. In dramatic fashion for the finale the singer cracked a large bunch of glow sticks and drew it out for ages tossing them one by one into the crowd, until he finally blew his load and tossed in his (first) hat too. (Hey, if their lyrics can be as blatant as they are, I'm not gonna hold back either.)
Now none of us were fooled by the momentary pause. They'd barely hit on what made them famous, and, frankly, the only reason they are still going today. (That is unless you ask super fan in front of me who sang and danced every word along the way.) Donning an identical, new hat the band returned with the opening to encore-song-one fooling me into thinking of How's It Gonna Be. Unfortunately that would be the closest I would get to that particular song as they followed with the 100% necessary Semi-Charmed Life, but to my dismay closed with something called God of Wine.
Don't get me wrong. They sounded pretty good, especially the guitarist, and worked within the standard rock realm of showmanship. Even the singer's vocals still fit, at least when he wasn't missing/jumping his queues or simply allowing us to sing it out. But overall it was rather apparent that Third Eye Blind are still riding out the nostalgia factor - a last gasp at a dying career. I guess they don't want to actually contemplate 'how it's gonna be, when we don't know them anymore'. Thanks for the memories anyhow.
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