Third Eye Blind - Wilmington, NC - March 27, 2009

I remember buying my first cd.

It was Everclear's So Much for the Afterglow... but the second cd I bought was Third Eye Blind's eponymous debut album. (I have to give myself a pat on the back here for not buying into the late nineties pop machine and sacrificing my integrity for N'Sync's Bye, Bye, Bye. I have two older sisters’ whose grunge filled angst and incessant hair band trivia to thank for that.)

Third Eye Blind is that quintessential late-nineties band continuing to hypnotize with catchy choruses, stitched together flawlessly with a fine tuned mix of upbeat and dark lyrical prose. After releasing their self-titled debut in 1997, they went on to release their follow-up Blue in 1999 and Out of the Vein in 2003.

Finding just one person in this rain dampened audience without a goofy smile on their face after singing along, or at least mouthing the words, to the seminal Semi-Charmed Kind of Life would have been a near-impossible task.

After lighting incense, duct taping a rug to the floor and an intense 45 minute set change, a barefoot Stephen Jenkins and the rest of his revolving band came out on stage emitting a cheesy rock star persona and dressed completely in black.

Initially, the band started with an enigmatic, distorted and fuzz-heavy jam session amping themselves for Non-Dairy Creamer, the single off their newest EP, Red Star. Garnering all the intensity of long-time Third Eye Blind fans, they managed to make a skirt-wearing Goth kid smile and another guy with a pony tail cry.

Neither of those are lies.

After announcing they put the final wrap on their fourth studio album, they headed straight into Graduate, a song most everyone was familiar with. Jenkins emancipated his own brand of unstable energy jumping off and across anything he could find.

They pushed on for over an hour, playing new, old, the obscure and even a little bit of Nelly, meanwhile keeping the crowd moving with extended solos by original guitarist Tony Fredianelli and Jenkins' pure energy.

From stellar guitar and drum solos during Jumper to fan favorites like Motorcycle Drive-by and Slow Motion, 3EB never ceased giving an exuberantly vigorous performance - never straying far from the chart climbing singles that made their career.

www.myspace.com/thirdeyeblind

P.S. -
Dear Wilmington,
Your denizens suck. I've been to a couple on concerts in Wilmingtion and plenty of other concerts in different places, but you guys excell in the business of hoarding assholes. Just a friendly heads-up.