For many, it was a dream long in coming: the opportunity to hear the classic ’90s anthem, “Semi-Charmed Life”, performed live by the band that helped define a decade for suburban teenagers. With its mildly rebellious rock riffs, you wouldn’t want your mom to listen to the lyrics. The lights turned off, and a gymnasium full of college students erupted in screams and cheers. But when the band started playing, the crowd quieted and began to murmur. Wait, is that them or another band? I don’t recognize this song, do you?
Students expecting to see the Third Eye Blind they knew from childhood Wednesday at Loyola University, may have been shocked and a little surprised at how few of its classics the band played, particularly since they haven’t put out a new album in five years. The cheers that erupted at the announcement of the band’s upcoming fourth album was diminished by the fact that, though it had been written “in blood that flowed out onto the paper,” it has yet to actually be recorded.
The few songs Third Eye played from their new material seemed odd and unoriginal. Particularly of note were the songs titled, “Non-Dairy Creamer,” which he had introduced as a “dirty song,” and “A Fever that’s About to Break,” neither of which provided the breakneck, youthful energy of their bigger hits.
The band couldn’t seem to decide what sort of concert they wanted to play, let alone what kind of band they wanted to be. Slower songs constituted almost half of the set, bringing the energy down. Emotional songs such as “Wounded” and “Jumper,” tackling relationship abuse and suicide, respectively, appealed to the emo-teen sector, while at other times the group tried to pass itself off as a legitimate hardcore rock band.
Of course, the band members themselves are aging and might be losing touch with what their audience wants. Offers to play new material elicited resounding No’s from the crowd, which was ignored. One audience member, after seeing 44-year-old lead singer Stephan Jenkins up close for the first time, said, “Dude, he looks old enough to be my dad.”
However, excitement in the crowd picked up considerably when the band played its most well-worn hits. “Crystal Baller,” the first hit played and the only song from its most recent album, was decently received, but “Jumper” and “Never Let You Go” prompted every clichéd, energized-rock-concert reaction in the book. Had the mood stayed like this for the duration, it would have been an excellent concert.
The night’s highlight was when the band ran from the front of the room to a smaller stage situated at the back, where it performed two songs. As he explained to the confused crowd, he’d always felt bad for the people who got to concerts late and had to stand in the back. It certainly gave more attendees the chance to enjoy the band up-close.
As expected, the concert ended strongly with “Semi-Charmed Life.” Although the audience called for an encore, the last two songs the band played were low-energy and unremarkable, and they left the stage without the resounding cheers they’d enjoyed a few minutes before.
Clearly, most of the students had come to revel in nostalgia and hear the songs they’d known all of the words to, not to imagine all of the possible things that non-dairy creamer could represent. With a surprise chance to get close to the band, it may have been a semi-charmed kind of concert, baby, baby, but the crowd wanted something else.