Houston-based rock band Blue October perform for a sold out audience at The House of Blues in Dallas

It was easy to see that the evening was going to be a night to remember gazing from the floor to the balcony of the sold out House of Blues in Dallas April 30. As the instruments sound checked behind the curtains that masked the stage, the audience cheered to every familiar chord to Houston-based post-grunge rock back, Blue October.
 
The evening was filled with the band’s signature sounds that blended pounding guitars and beautifully complex strings with lead singer Justin Furstenfeld’s scratchy and deeply emotional vocals.
 
Blue October does not need to dance around the stage or put on an over-the-top acrobatic show. I have always equated their type of movement as boring and disconnected, watching bands in the past. But their music speaks for itself, and passion drips from the band in a way that I have never seen. In fact, this band that just stands there and sings invokes their fans in the most joyful way.
 
Spending the evening singing, dancing and hugging random strangers, the crowd responded to each song in their own particular way. Hits such as “She’s My Ride Home” and “Been Down” addressed the crowd with glory while crowd-favorites “Chameleon Boy,” “Congratulations,” and “Calling You” garnered the most positive and wild reactions. 
 
Sending the crowd into frenzy, “Calling You” was one of the highlights of the evening. It was this song that allowed the crowd to completely drown out the band as they raised their hands in the air and sang the lyrics to each other: “If you’re sleepin’ are you dreamin’? If you’re dreamin’ are you dreamin’ of me?”
 
It is easy to fall in love with a band like Blue October. This Texas quintet actually makes you feel something that you did not even realize you could feel again. The life and emotion that goes into the delivery of their music is incomparable to a lot of music that is available today, and leaves me wondering why bands can’t make music like this anymore.
 
Following the departure from the stage, fans screamed for what felt like hours, until violinist Ryan Delahoussaye returned to the stage and performed a heightened solo into Black Orchid.
 
The evening ended as Blue October performed one of their biggest hits to date, “Hate Me.” Beginning with an eerie voice mail left by Furstenfeld’s mother, the moderate tempo and soft instrumentation weave this commanding song together.  Watching the band perform this song live drove the emotion behind it to life as the building full of screaming people sang, “Hate me today. Hate me tomorrow. Hate me so you can finally see what’s good for you.”
 
The high-energy and uniquely mixed sound of Blue October made this stop on their Pick up the Phone 2010 tour a night to remember.
 
For more images from the evening visit: http://slrphotography.smugmug.com/Music/blueoctober/12074411_h25i5#857681311_9UwrX

Big Names and Growing Bands Deliver at Edgefest

For the past 18 years, KDGE (The Edge) has brought together some of the best in mainstream rock for their annual Edgefest music fest. This year was not the exception as rock icons such as Courtney Love, Limp Bizkit and The Deftones performed for more than 17,000 Texans May 1 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco.

Splitting the park in half with two stages and 14 bands, The Edge by far succeeded last year’s festivities with a solid lineup of second stage bands, including Cage the Elephant, Metric and Phoenix, who encouraged a rather large following at the side stage.

 Love her or hate her, Courtney Love and her band Hole were the most highly-anticipated performers of the day. Giving up hope of ever seeing Hole perform live back in the late 90s, I was happy to indulge once again into those angst-driven years where Doc Martins, flannel tops and Nirvana ruled my life.

Continue the review and link to over 200 images here.

Puddle of Mudd reminds Dallas why we love Grunge

If you were growing up in the early portion of this decade, you would know that it was impossible not to hear the crushing guitars and gravel vocals of the band’s Puddle of Mudd or Saliva. The year 2001 reared its grungy head at The House of Blues, Monday, April 19, as fans both old and new were treated to an evening of pure rock and adrenaline.

Formed in Memphis, Tennessee in the spring of ‘96, American-rock band Saliva has released eight studio albums and has established them all over the Billboard charts. Following the March release of Moving Forward in Reverse: Greatest Hits, Saliva has been igniting stage after stage on this tour with their high-energy and engaging presence.

From the beginning of their set to the ending notes, front man Josey Scott and his band-mates had the entire crowd at the House of Blues engaged. Performing crowd-pleasing hits such as “Click Click Boom,” “Always,” “Ladies and Gentlemen” and a few new hits, Saliva lit up Dallas.
Following a very long 30-minute intermission, Kansas City post-grunge band Puddle of Mud arrived in front of a jam-packed auditorium of screaming fans.

Supporting their latest release, Volume 4: Songs in the Key of Love and Hate, Puddle of Mudd proved once again to the city of Dallas why we loved the grunge scene, fathered by bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

From the moment front-man Wes Scantlin sat down in the middle of the stage and said he was not getting up until everyone in the crowd stood up, the entire evening was filled with his amusing antics and refreshingly sociable attitude.

Setting aside a set-list that was made up of nothing but top 10 hit after hit and all of the energy and musical talent, the most enjoyable and captivating element of Puddle of Mudd’s live show was the utter enjoyment of performing that pours from the band and their ability to interact with a room full of people.

Not a moment of the band’s performance was missed by the crowd as the echoes of the audience screaming and singing along with hits such as “Psycho,” “Blurry,” and all-time favorite “She Hates Me.”

Responsible for bringing Puddle of Mudd back to the forefront, “Blurry” was one of the huge hits of the evening. With its slow and flowing verses and hard-hitting chorus, “Blurry” utilized understated bass guitar and well-timed sludgy guitar riffs to punctuate the deeply emotional lyrics.

“Psycho,” one of the bands recent hits, filled the room with a very fast-paced punching beat accented by a catchy hook and chorus. Coming alive during this performance, the drums went crazy as they melted into the rest of the sound elements.  It was one of the most well-received tracks of the night, and caused everyone in the crowd to lose control.

A cover of ACDC’s “TNT” also made an appearance, which was fitting considering ACDC was also performing in Dallas that night. Puddle of Mudd slightly modernized the beats of the track, but for the most part left it untouched. Between the screaming audience and dancing front-man, this was defiantly a highlight of the evening.

Not a better selection than “She Hates Me” could have ended the evening. It told a story of a relationship gone extremely wrong, and was one of the most anticipated moments of the night. The crowd went completely crazy as the songs opening notes flooded out of the speakers.

This guitar-heavy track features one of the most memorable hooks of it’s time, after all, it is hard to forget a song that lets you scream the “F-word” in public and not get looked at like you are crazy.
Overall, this concert full of amazing performers including opening bands, The Veer Union and Burn Halo, was an amazing night of rock. One would be hard pressed to find anyone in the crowd that wasn’t walking out with a smile and 10-year-old memories.

For more photos of Puddle of Mudd from this event including opening acts The Veer Union and Saliva click here