Third Eye Blind
Bill Graham Civic Center
June 15, 2019
One of the most anticipated concert tours came to the Bill Graham Civic on Saturday night as Jimmy Eat World and Third Eye Blind (TEB) came through on their Summer Gods tour with both bands playing high-energy sets to a raucous and supportive crowd.
For Third Eye Blind, it was a special kind of homecoming as the San Francisco band had not played the Civic Auditorium since they opened for Oasis in 1996. The band was unknown at the time and the show was their first big break, catapulting them to a recording contract and a string of impressive albums and tours. Throughout the night, lead singer Stephan Jenkins pointed out the historicity of the moment and how grateful he and the band were to be back playing at the venue. TEB rolled through a stacked 20-song set that included some new songs that were being performed for the first time on this tour.
The band began their set by striding onto the stage behind a giant curtain, with only their silhouettes showing as they ripped through a couple of new songs along with some classic ones. Three songs in, the curtain came down in dramatic fashion during the song “Back to Zero.”
What makes Third Eye Blind such an exhilarating live band is how their music sounds in a gigantic arena: with soaring vocal hooks and tasteful guitar licks, they are a natural fit for a big crowd. Halfway through the set, the band slowed things down as Jenkins came on stage armed with just an acoustic guitar. He performed a beautiful rendition of the ballad “Slow Motion.” While Jenkins may not be well-known for his vocal talents, he is one of the most underrated singers in the rock world as he possesses some serious skill at finding just the right notes to hit in every song.
The band then kicked things up a notch and rolled through some of their biggest songs including the anthemic “Jumper” and “How’s It Going to Be.” For the encore, TEB mixed things up by throwing in a brand-new song before jumping into the all-time classic “Semi-Charmed Life.” Over the past 22 years the song has taken on a life of its own and the crowd response was so loud that Jenkins barely even had to sing most of the parts since he was drowned out by everyone singing along.
Jimmy Eat World got the night started off right with a blistering set that featured plenty of old songs culled from their classic 2001 record Bleed American. Opening with the swirling rock of “Pain,” Jimmy Eat World wowed the crowd with some fierce playing. What makes a band like Jimmy Eat World so great is their tuneful songwriting and performances, with catchy hooks along with big guitar riffs, it was easy to get swept up in the grandeur of it all.
The band closed out their set with two of their best songs: the up-tempo scorcher “A Praise Chorus,” and the memorable “The Middle.” Both songs relied on some tasteful guitar work along with some soaring vocals from Jim Adkins plus plenty of wild audience interaction.
With two titans of rock together on the same stage, it was hard not to be jumping around with exhilaration and excitement at the whole spectacle.
Third Eye Blind
Setlist: Screamer | The Kids | Never Let You Go | Back to Zero | Can You Take Me / London | Graduate | Wounded | I Want You | Slow Motion | Motorcycle Drive By | Company of Strangers | Jumper | Bonfire | Something in You | Crystal Baller | How’s It Going to Be | | Encore|| Losing a Whole Year | (Unknown) (New Song) | Semi-Charmed Life | God of Wine
For more information about Third Eye Blind, see their website.
Jimmy Eat World
Setlist: Pain | Futures | Work | Bleed American | I Will Steal You Back | Lucky Denver Mint | Big Casino | Hear You Me | Sure and Certain | Sweetness | Love Never | Always Be | A Praise Chorus | The Middle
Find out more about Jimmy Eat World here.
