So last night, I saw Candlebox for the second time. The first time was some years ago, back in 2021 (I believe). For some reason, there is no review of that show here on this blog, which surprised me. It was one of the shows which I took my son to, back when he still was willing to go to shows with Dear Old Dad, something which he moved away from since, unfortunately.
This time around, I was meeting a friend from the college days. We had not seen each other in well over twenty years. Still rather difficult to believe I can actually say such things with such enormous measures of time).
Despite knowing about this show weeks (if not even months) ahead of time, it was one of those days which actually snuck up on me. Even on the day of, got caught up with the day with my girlfriend and lost track of time, so I was running late. Then a road closure and a disastrous alternate route made me lose an additional twenty minutes, on top of the original lateness. My own stress while driving was escalating, and I was not entirely confident that the GPS was actually taking me to the right place. Had to confirm with my friend, who was already there and waiting at the venue). Eventually, I got there, recognizing the nearby neighborhood, where a few years ago, I got an engine for my old Toyota. But that's beside the point.
Anyway, we caught up in the couple of hours or so we had before the show. Talked about old friends, our respective lives, and inevitably, yes, the grim political realities which would have been difficult to imagine when we were younger and the world seemed like a different place.
Finally, the time came when they opened the doors. He had gotten there really early so as to be up front, by the barricades. Which is where we remained throughout the show. This allowed us to be really close, to have that intimate feel for a concert that you want. It also gave me a chance to take some of the best concert pictures which I have taken (see some above and more below).
That was one of the different things for this show than others I have attended recently. The prior two concerts which I went to this year (Guns 'n Roses with Public Enemy in August and Renaud earlier this month) were from much, much farther away. Had not been as close to the stage as this in some years, admittedly. But there were other things that marked this show as being a bit unique, as well. It was the last show of the tour, evidently, and this allowed us to get some really cool souvenirs. My friend got a used drumstick, which was the coolest souvenir from the show. I got a couple of things, as well. One of them was the setlist for Candlebox, the other was a guitar pick. Also, this was one of those rare shows where I actually got an actual ticket, and not just a "ticket" on my phone, or a print from home ticket. What a refreshing change! Between that and the two bands, it felt a bit reminiscent of a bygone era.
First up was Sponge. They broke out in the mid-90's, not too long after Candlebox, the headliner, did. They were best known for "Molly (16 Candles)" and for "Plow," a song which always personally appealed to me. Strange, but there are two things that comes to mind whenever I hear that track. The first is my brother mentioning that it was a cool song after it played on the radio back in the day. The second was that it was playing once during a highlight reel for the '95 Stanley Cup, which was played between the New Jersey Devils and the Detroit Redwings. Detroit, of course, is where Sponge is from, although I am not entirely sure that is why they used it. But it is a cool song.
My friend was underwhelmed by Sponge. But personally, I thought that it was cool to see them. They had some catchy music, even if I was really only familiar with their two biggest hits. And I had not heard "Molly" in many, many years. It only sounded vaguely familiar at first. Then I remembered it. Of course, "Plow" has that distinctive opening guitar lick that simply always sounds wicked and awesome. Great song!
Then it was time for Candlebox. Kevin Martin is a very decent guy. And he has quite the personality while up on stage. He talked about the origins of some songs and even joked about some other bands. Like talking about how sick he is of the Chili Peppers and claiming that he gave it away years ago. I like the Peppers, but that was admittedly pretty funny.
Candlebox always puts on a solid show, and they did it again this time around, too. Took a picture of the setlist from last night's show, if you want to see the songs that they played, and in what specific order they played them in.
Below are the pictures from the show, for both Sponge and Candlebox.
Enjoy!
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