Third Eye Blind have been around a relatively long time by ‘90s band standards. Most groups like them have gone the way of nostalgia, or worse, irrelevance. But one can make a legitimate argument that Stephan Jenkins and co. still have something to say, even if it does feel like you’re back in 1997 when you’re listening to it.
On Monday, December 16th, Portland’s famed Crystal Ballroom beheld the ‘90s gods in all their glory. Shrouded by a black hood for the first three or four songs, it was hard to tell that the guy doing the singing actually was Jenkins if it hadn’t have been for his fairly distinctive-sounding voice. But the hood eventually came off to loud cheers, which also accompanied basically anything the guy did the whole evening.
The only original members left in the group are Jenkins and hard-hitting drummer Brad Hargreaves. The rest of the crew have come on board in the last few years. Of special note are the guitar stylings of Kryz Reid, who demonstrated that he is more than capable of carrying the torch of Third Eye Blind guitarist Tony Fredianelli, who was dismissed from the band back in 2010.
From the first note of their debut album opener “Losing a Whole Year” all the way through to the end of “God of Wine” in the encore, the entire evening was high energy and all of their songs were perfectly executed. It was actually quite the experience for fans of the band. And Jenkins was in no short supply of love for the crowd, saying things like, “You are my people” and “We are a community.” He also mentioned early on in the evening that Portland holds a special place in his heart, which he later revealed was because his mother is from there.
Other songs present were the ever-popular “Semi-Charmed Life” as part of the encore, “Wounded”, “Jumper”, “Graduate”, and the songs “Water Landing” and “Can You Take Me” off of their most recent release, 2009’s Ursa Major. Fans were even treated to two new songs, for which Jenkins did not provide the names, but did say that they would be included on the band’s forthcoming studio album, which they are scheduled to begin recording in January 2014.
Despite that this was Third Eye Blind’s first tour in a long time, their energy and new songs would suggest that they don’t have plans of stopping, at least yet.
[note: photos from show at The Fillmore in San Francisco on December 19th, by Sterling Munksgard]
