On Friday, November 8th, a line of music lovers formed all the way down 16th Street. At 8 p.m. sharp, the doors flew open and fans began pouring into the main room of Irving Plaza. Knowing that it was a sold-out show, perfect strangers huddled closely together so as to make more room for incoming fans. It was clear from early in the night that this crowd would be a little different than most, because it wasn’t about being close to the stage and band, it was about being there in general. Every fan seemed content no matter where they stood in the one-room venue because one’s location wouldn’t make a difference once Third Eye Blind took the stage.
Opening act and New York natives, Showgirls, helped to ease the wait time for Third Eye Blind’s big arrival. The up and coming band, immediately captivated the crowd’s attention when their eerie melodies took over the venue. It was the kind of music that doesn’t really need a lot of words because the sound of the song is able to tell a story all on its own. The lead singer’s low raspy vocals only added to the momentum and feeling of each track. Audience members were so in tune with the band that they barely blinked during this 30-minute set.
Finally, it grew closer to 10 p.m. and the arrival of Third Eye Blind. All at once the stage lighting went black and familiar guitar chords started to play. The band kicked things off with popular track, “Losing A Whole Year”. However, the lighting stayed off throughout the performance so the crowd could only rely on their sense of hearing as Third Eye Blind began their set. This really made the moment a little more intimate and a little more powerful for each concertgoer. The stage lighting started to brighten up as the band made their way into their second track, “Crystal Baller”.
When looking around the venue fans weren’t really looking at the stage. They were enjoying this evening and moment with the ones they were with. There was hand-holding, dancing, hugging, kissing, and closed eyes as each person felt the lyrics and music that Third Eye Blind was feeding to them in their own way. For this New York crowd, it was really all about the music. However, when leader singer Stephen Jenkins started to croon out the lyrics to “Never Let You Go”, every single body in that small Irving Plaza space went crazy and sang along to the familiar words. Third Eye Blind followed this track up with other popular songs, “Can You Take Me” and “Graduate”.
The band switched gears as they went into their next song. The barely there background music helped put emphasis on the voice of Jenkins as he sang the lyrics: “I am missing you for so long / You’re a question mark in a scar / And you twist me up like a tourniquet / Till I don’t know who we are / I know chasing after you / Won’t change a thing / And I hope you find it through this endless wandering”. The crowd seemed to stand immobile as they listened to the haunting words. Suddenly a crescendo of sound came from the stage as the music really kicked in, the song’s tempo quickened up a notch, and the band continued playing a rare track with “Water Landing” in its entirety for New York City.
Another track that felt special for the Irving Plaza crowd was, “Motorcycle Drive By”. While this song is a little more on the popular side for Third Eye Blind, it still had a sense of newness when the band played it on this particular Friday night. The track is about unrequited love in New York City and with a sold-out crowd of New Yorkers in place the band and the fans screamed the words, “Where’s the soul, I want to know / New York City is evil / The surface is everything / But I could never do that / Someone would see through that”, in complete unison.
Third Eye Blind finished out their set with other popular tracks, “Jumper”, “Narcolepsy”, and “Semi-Charmed Life” before closing with fan-favorite, “God of Wine”. A song as candid and intimate as this was an incredible way to close an unbelievable show. The band really catered to their fans by playing an array of their hits, both new and old, and it left concertgoers feeling fulfilled as they made their exit out of Irving Plaza and into the streets of New York City.
Written by Vanessa Carlucci
){kind=link}
No comment