Third Eye Blind in Denver

Yesterday I happened to score some really great seats for the Third Eye Blind concert in Denver, for an awesome price I couldn’t pass up. Of course I would see them at almost any price, but these tickets were definitely a steal. I don’t have all of my pictures downloaded yet, so I’ll attach a couple and put the rest up later.

Think I’m just going to post the review of the show that I wrote for the band’s website, so if it’s worded a little funny, or you don’t know who these people are, that’s why. Stephan is the lead singer, Brad is drums, Tony is guitar, and Abe is the brand-new bassist who was brought in a couple weeks ago. Here’s the review:

Best show I've ever been to, hands down! The song choices were perfect, and the set was great! I was able to score some close orchestra tickets, and the theater staff let me stand at the stage for the whole show. I was all the way stage left, and had a great view of Brad and Abe. Abe sounded great on bass, and I really like him in the band. I really liked how they had the “Ursa” couch, and how they pulled it up to do a set of songs—it made it seem like the show was a little more

intimate. At one point during “Don’t Believe a Word”, Stephan made eye contact, so I motioned him over from where he was standing at the microphone, and he walked directly over to me and stepped up on a speaker to grab my hand, and of course I loved it. The encore was the BEST, and the acapella rendition of Bonfire at the end with the crowd clapping was amazing. I like that song a lot, and I think it works really well with the crowd. Of course they did their show staple, “Slow Motion” and also “God of Wine” in the encore as well, which were both great songs.

About halfway through the show, the members of the opening band, Low Vs. Diamond came out and stood with the crowd for a while. During “Jumper” I turned to them and told them they did a great job. They seemed to really be enjoying themselves, and a couple of them even sang along a bit.

After the show, I waited for the guys, and was able to chat with two of the permanent stage managers that tour with them. (I’m not sure if the title is “stage manager” or not, but that’s kind of what they were doing, so that’s what I’m calling them) The stage manager was cool and answered a couple of questions about the tour, and the band, which was really nice of him. I thanked him for talking to us, and he said something like, "No problem, you guys are cool, unlike that lady over there..." and he pointed to an obnoxiously drunk girl who had been throwing herself around and bothering the guys all night.

I talked to a couple of Abe's friend's, and then Abe came out and signed a couple autographs. I asked him if he was planning on joining the band, and he told me he would like to if it works out. He also said, "Tonight was the first night they let me do some vocals. Did you hear me singing?" Oh, and he said he wants to grow his beard out really long, like a pirate. (His words, not mine.)

Brad came out next and took a picture with us. He was smiling, and seemed pretty happy. He said he would go get a pen and he would sign some autographs. I asked him if Shelby signs autographs too, and he said “That would be funny. I’ll have to get her a stamp or something.” After he went and got Shelby he came back and signed my Red Star shirt and ticket stub, so that was awesome. There was an after party in the theater that the guys were going to, but they said they'd be back out. When he came back, he hung out and talked with fans for quite a while and answered a bunch of questions. He told me what his current favorite song to play live is, and answered more silly questions like that. He is super down-to-earth and just stood there and chatted away with us. Shelby was with him, and she had her own all-access pass on her collar, which was adorable. Brad took some more pictures with us, and signed some more autographs. (SIDENOTE: Brad has been my favorite band member from the moment I met him at Red Rocks in 2002 when he came out and talked with the fans. I love that he does this.)

When Tony came out, he was still wearing his sunglasses, and he shook some hands and went straight to the bus and then back into the theater. When he came out a while later, he signed autographs, and when a fan asked for a guitar pick, Tony walked over to the stuff that was being loaded into the truck, and got a pick for the fan, and signed it. He signed my Red Star shirt and ticket stub and took some pictures with us. He escaped to the bus fairly quickly, and didn’t hang out as long as the other guys did. Still cool, though.

After all the other guys came and went, and came back and got on the bus, we were still waiting for Stephan to make an appearance. Most of the people waiting outside had left by then, and just as we were contemplating giving up, Stephan came out. He was super cool, and as usual, his assistant told everyone to line up, and he would go down the line to take pictures and sign for us. He did, and just as we were set to take a picture, the camera died. The assistant said, “Battery dead” and handed it back to us as Stephan said, “Story of my life.” I asked Stephan, “Will you sign my limited edition Red Star shirt?” He said, “Of course I will.” I told him I was rocking out in the front row, and he said, “I know! I couldn’t forget that shirt.” That part made me happy. My brother said to Stephan that it was his first 3EB show, and Stephan asked him what he thought. After Stephan moved on to another group of fans, I asked someone if they could take a picture on their iPhone and send it to me. I asked the assistant and she said it was okay if we got in the end of the line. We got another attempt at a picture, but the assistant took a really crappy, blurry one and then said, “That’s it.” I told Stephan I really liked the new stuff, and he smiled really big and said, “Thank you so very much. Goodnight.” That was also freaking awesome. Then he got on the bus, and it was over.

All in all, it was an AMAZING experience. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I am suffering from rock show withdrawals, though. I am sitting here listening to every 3EB song I have in iTunes and I keep just wanting to skip to the next one because it doesn't sound quite right. They were meant to be played live. Also, I just found out that some friends of mine were able to get passes to the afterparty, and all they did was ask. That’s a bummer.