Last night, Third Eye Blind played at the Towson Center for the homecoming concert. After the opening act, Kingsfoil, the crowd was tireless, waiting nearly 30 minutes for what they paid their hard-earned 15 bucks for.
The lights finally went down while a “Third Eye Blind” banner rose up behind the stage and the crowd broke into cheers. Third Eye Blind was back and better than ever.
Third Eye Blind gets the crowd pumped up with the first few songs/ Image courtesy of Shelby Newsome
As a fan growing up listening to them, I was anxious to see what they had planned for the show. Within the first few songs, I knew that this would be the quintessential Third Eye Blind concert I had been to.
When lead singer, Stephan Jenkins, braced the stage, he was wearing a hooded jacket with the hood up, covering some of his face. The band was definitely trying to appeal to their crowd, 18 to 20-something years old college kids.
Stephan teased us for a bit, reaching to draw back the hood and then just as the crowd thought they would get a glimpse of his face, he draped it back over.
Stephan teasing the crowd/ Image courtesy of Shelby Newsome
Early on in the show, Stephan catches a girl in the front row taking a video. He lectures her (and the crowd) about living in the moment. He said that taking pictures isn’t creating the memory. Being immersed in the moment, taking it all in, is where memories come from. His lecture did not come from a fatherly perspective but rather a philosophical, “I have lived to know” stance.
The crowd is from a generation that has been taught to immerse themselves in technology like it is an extension of them. Yet Stephan is on to something. An overheard concurrence from the girl next to me shows that his thoughts resonated.
Later, as Stephan introduces the rest of the band, he says he may take this too far but he’s going to go there anyways. He presented the drummer and then promptly left the stage with the guitarist and bassist. The drummer went on to play a five-minute solo act where he incorporated a beat maker, adding a club-like feel. Again, appealing to the crowd.
After a few songs, the “Third Eye Blind” sign starts to lower, revealing a lit-up, broadway-esque version behind it. The crowd went wild.
The crowd goes wild when the sign lights up/ Image courtesy of Shelby Newsome
The crowd got even crazier when, mid-way through the show, Stephan grabs a handful of glow sticks and starts throwing them out into the crowd.
Third Eye Blind played all the classics, “Semi-Charmed Life,” “Jumper,” and “Graduate,” to name a few. They also played my favorite song, “Crystal Baller” and even threw in their “dirty” song “Slow Motion.”
In the middle of working on their fifth album, they also shared a new song with the crowd that was upbeat, getting an approval from most of the crowd.
There were a decent amount of older songs played that I was surprised the crowd knew the lyrics to. There was a strong comfort in knowing that Third Eye Blind could still relate to a younger crowd and that the younger crowd was still dedicated listeners.
When the show ended, after they were cheered back on to the stage to play two encore songs, I was in a state of euphoria. As my friend and I exited the building, I couldn’t help but notice a small crowd gathered outside a back entrance near Third Eye Blind’s tour bus.
We went over and dividers were put up to separate the crowd from what was assumed to be the exit for the band members. I was anxious; I knew that if we waited long enough, the band members would have to come out to get to their tour bus.
After 15 minutes, a crewmember came over to the crowd to tell them that they were in the middle of a meet-n-greet, but would be out soon to say hi.
Shortly thereafter, Stephan himself came out. He was very kind and greeted all of us out there individually. My night was made complete when I was able to shake his hand and get a picture with him.
Can’t believe I got to meet lead singer, Stephan Jenkins!/ Image courtesy of Cally Daschbach
Stephan told the concertgoers earlier that night that they would be back once they were finished recording their fifth album. Until then, memories of this show will have to suffice.