THIRD EYE BLIND in concert, with Tonic, Monday evening, March 13; one performance only.
It may be small and it may smell of brine and it may be way out of the way, but it is hard to match the fun of a rock show at Saltair.Two relatively new bands with a young following played a rousing rock show there Monday night, proving that live music can still be a lot of fun.
With only two albums and a few radio hits to its credit, Third Eye Blind headlined the night, drawing a good number of teen and college fans out of the city to brave the brine. The band delivered a lot of fun and a commendable light show for the limited stage space at Saltair, which is all the fans needed to live it up.
What they didn't get, and didn't seem to worry about, was more than average musicianship or performances. Blind's vocalist Stephan Jenkins explained that the band had spent the past 18 hours in California filming "another stupid rock video," before flying into Salt Lake City for the evening performance.
"I have never been so tired," he said. "Tonight is one of those tough ones but then I walk out here and see all my people."
The masses -- all general admission and largely female -- proved they were his people by continuing to press toward the stage and cheering wildly to show their appreciation. They failed to notice that Jenkins' voice was far from studio quality as he screamed and chanted notes more than he sang them. He didn't reach his highs with precision, sacrificing sound for stage presence.
Nobody seemed to mind this lapse at all, probably because the loyalists were screaming every lyric and likely didn't hear the little things anyway. They weren't there to appreciate musicianship or performances, but simply to have fun. The throng was repeatedly asked to step back and ease the crush on the barricade, but the sweating mass kept writhing and occasionally tossing a worn-out member over the front barricade.
Tony Freudians played a fine guitar for the Blinds, replacing guitarist Kevin Cadogan, who was recently forced out. Bassist Arion Salazar played solidly and danced and jumped energetically while drummer Brad Hargreaves simply kept rhythm.
Blind saved its MTV-launched hit "Semi-Charmed Life," to end its set and to inspire the obligatory encore, which the fans, of course, ate up. Not because it was a great performance but because they loved the fun rock songs with sharp musical hooks.
Tonic's playing was ultimately more sincere and satisfying, and they received a rousing but not rabid ovation.