Concert Review: Sister Hazel and Third Eye Blind

Welcome to the first episode of Oz's "I LOVE THE 90's"!

This is gonna be a quickie folks.  Last night I had the opportunity to see two of the more recognizable 90s pop rock bands: Sister Hazel and Third Eye Blind.  The best part?  It was at a local Memorial Day festival so it was only 15 bucks for both bands.  Despite not being the hugest fan of either (not that I don't know them or like them, just I've never sat down and digested their stuff): for that price, how could I say no?

One little problem, being in a wheelchair at a general admission show outside is not the best thing in the world.  I shouldnt say I saw a concert as much as heard a concert. Before the review concert advice for everyone.
1) Being drunk does not give you the right to be an asshole.  Do not grope, yell things about killing muslims or get in someones face and scream at the top of your lungs at your girlfriend.  We are all here for a good show, let it be pleasant.  I saw all of these last night.
2)If you leave the first time the band says good night when they havent played their biggest song? You're a dumbass.  There's almost always an encore nowadays.

 But with good friends, bad booze, and great music, it ended up being a pretty good night.  There were actually 3 bands.  So here..we...go.

Lionz of Zion: The "local" opener reggae rock outfit.  They weren't great but apparently will be on Warped Tour this year.  All their songs had "love" in the title and I couldn't hear the words because they had their bass turned up so high.  They had a Sublime-ish feel but they weren't anything special.  Not that they were bad, I didnt want to leave the arena or anything ( I've seen openers that bad), they just felt very generic to me.  I shouldn't talk, since I have no musical ability.  They might be really talented, but audio wise, nothing wowed me.  This was the one part of the show I could see lol.

Sister Hazel: Never heard of them you say?  Well, trust me that you have.  You probably just thought it was Blues Traveller.  "Finally I figured out, but it took a long long time..."  Half of you sang the rest of this, the rest of you started singing Run Around.  This is the band known as Sister Hazel.  They were a mellow but fun show and oddly some people were there specifically for them (Don't ask why'd you leave after a middle set of a show, seems silly to me once you're there. We did see a 45 year old woman not wearing panties though).  Highlights were of course them playing All For You, but they also busted into Hey Jude mid-song and covered Lynyrd Skynyrd's  Gimme Three Steps.  Everything sounded good and it was just a chill, enjoyable set.  Just really positive vibe and energy throughout.  I'm totally ok with that.

Third Eye Blind:  One of the biggest bands of the 90's, Third Eye Blind is that band I've always meant to get into and never gotten around to.  They sing a bunch of songs you know like "How's it Gonna Be?" "Jumper" and "Semi-Charmed Kind of Life." Once again I couldnt see but the place was packed and some of the die hard Third Eye Blind folks I was with really enjoyed it.  For me, the frontman Stephan Jenkins was cocky, but not unlikable.  He talked about summer and love and he might've been a little stoned.  My favorite moment (morons left before the encore so I could see a little bit) was during Semi Charmed Kind of Life he stopped playing and just sat with his arms crossed.  Total fucking rock star move.  I'm definitely intrigued enough that sometime this summer I'm going to sit down with Third Eye Blind and get to know them better. That's what concerts should do: make you even more interested in that artist.  This one succeeded with flying memorial day colors.

My only real gripes wasn't on the bands but on the crowd.  Its as if the majority of people knew one song from each band and thats what they were there for.  There was a crazy energy for the big hits of each band that made me wonder why that energy hadn't been out for the whole show. But them's the breaks in the Carolina's I guess.  If you have a chance to see either Sister Hazel or Third Eye Blind for a reasonable price, go see them.  It's definitely worth it, even if you're just a casual fan like me.

-Oz