U-Wire Today- CONCERT REVIEW:Third Eye Blind, Eve 6 play at Auburn
Eve 6 filled the audience at the Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum last Friday night with enough energy to go all night, and they were just the opening act.
Eve 6 performed back-to-back songs for 45 minutes in front of a mob of fans packed together in a mosh pit. People were lifted into the air and tossed around like beach balls until falling to the ground or making it to the front of the stage where bouncers grabbed them and escorted them to safety.
"I was on the floor. I didn't like the very illegal mosh pit down in front. I got hit in the head several times. But I loved (the concert), it was awesome. Everything was fabulous," Katie Parker, a freshman in psychology, said. "We started the Bonfire Tour and this is just a continuation of it," Third Eye Blind guitarist Kevin Cadogan said of touring with MTV. "We haven't switched tours, and we haven't stopped touring. (Our touring) usually goes in three-month cycles with two weeks off. "Progressively, (the concerts) have gotten more and more elaborate. The Bonfire Tour is kind of like a combination of all of our experienced touring and what we have put together. "Our production has gone up a lot, and it's become a much bigger deal," Cadogan remarked on the band joining MTV's Campus Invasion. "MTV had an idea, and our manager had an idea. It just kind of came together, and it seemed like a good way to help each other out," he said. It was obvious to anyone in the Coliseum that everyone on the floor was having a better time. "I enjoyed it. I would have enjoyed it more on the floor just because where I was no one was dancing, and I would have had a better time dancing," Leslie Singletary, a sophomore in liberal arts, said. Cadogan also said, "If you are a Third Eye Blind fan, you will really love it, I think. And if you're not you will probably be surprised." He described the show as "an hour and 15 minutes split into three different acts. It starts out rich, dark, lush, velvety kind of vibe like an old club." As the band performed the first act, lead singer Stephen Jenkins was all over the stage. He got comfortable in a worn-out leather chair for the second song, and on top of the speakers for other songs. As the rest of the band departed for the second act, Jenkins played solo for "I Want You" unplugged. The second act was an acoustic set up where the whole band got down next to each other on a large cushion. Cadogan described it as playing "an old hippie living room kind of set-up." Candi West, a sophomore in finance, said, "It was okay. I was in section four in the back. It was just like you were sitting there listening to the radio. But you could tell that the people on the floor were having more fun. I could not understand what they were saying." "Then we have a big rock show at the end," Cadogan said. "We bring some fans up from the audience and stick them in the back of the stage above the crowd. That's kind of fun. They enjoy that." After the second act, the curtains opened to two groups of fans dancing on platforms above the stage. After a couple of songs, the dancers departed back to their seats while the band played on. "(Eve 6) has been touring with us for a while now, and we've gotten to know each other pretty good so it's been working out. It's nice to see them grow as a band," Cadogan said. After playing their hit song, "Semi-Charmed Life," the band left the stage, leaving the crowd wanting more. The band returned to play one last song, "God of Wine." Cadogan returned wearing an Auburn tank-top, which drove the crowd wild. Barry Battles, a sophomore in radio, television and film who was on the floor, said, "I really enjoyed the show. It's the best show I have seen in Auburn, or anywhere else for that matter. You could tell Third Eye Blind felt very welcome here and showed it. They were talking about how beautiful the campus is and about getting drunk in our bars. " With the band touring to different colleges, almost every day, time off is well spent. "Most of the days off are travel days. We only have one night off a week," Cadogan said. "It's not bad, (touring) is pretty easy and when you hit a rhythm it's fine. You have to get used to your world just being completely flipped around every day. "The time off is spent working on music. Our bus has turned into an arcade now. It first started with the Nintendo 64, and then they got the Playstation, and then they got the controllers, and now they have these big, giant steering wheels everywhere. Stephen (Jenkins) and Arion (Salazar, the bassist) have made it like a truck-stop arcade. They like to play video games a lot." The band is almost finished touring its debut album, "Third Eye Blind" and will begin writing and recording its next album after touring. Cadogan said, "I think we're going to tour on this until December, and then we're going to take a break for Christmas and start working on material. "We'll probably start hashing things out in February or March and maybe go into the studio in March. That's my guess anyway. But it's been such a crazy ride that it's definitely going to be time needed just to chill because we've been going." The bands influences range from The Clash to U2. Cadogan said, "Just your basic stuff, The Police, The Beastie Boys. That was my high school experience and I think it's great that a bunch of other kids are growing up with that same experience at their parties listening to the Beastie Boys. I think it's hilarious, like 10 years later. We listen to a lot of hip-hop, a lot of old '70s funk." When asked what song means the most to him, Cadogan said, "I like 'Graduate.' I don't know if it means the most to me, I just love it. It's a fun song because I always wanted to be in a band like The Clash or The Who. "When we were tracking this record I was playing around with some guitar riffs, and I started playing that one. Stephen started singing, 'Can I graduate,' spontaneously. And then the rest of the band came in, and it was just like this magical moment. That was, to me, the whole thing of being a band, experiencing the creation of something with friends of yours and hearing something for the first time. That was a special moment, I thought, that was nice," he said. "There have been others, like 'God of Wine,' that was like that too. I like 'God of Wine' because it puts me more in a melancholy mood. 'Graduate' is just a good high energy song, it's fun to play live." Some Third Eye Blind fans may or may not know the band is featured singing the theme song on the new video release "Scooby Doo's Attack on Zombie Island." "It was just a stroke of luck," Cadogan said. "They just wanted us to do it. And, of course, we were more than happy to oblige because it's Scooby Doo. The subtext of Scooby Doo just fits right in, so we were really excited about that. "We're singing the theme song. We're not like actual characters in it. That would be the ultimate. I don't think it has anything to do with being in an alternative band. It's just something fun. Just a little piece of nostalgia from your childhood. It's becoming part of your adult life." Third Eye Blind is known for keeping close to their fans by signing autographs after concerts when possible or at least taking time to hear what they have to say. "We like to go out and meet people. We definitely don't take it for granted. Every dime that I make can be traced back to some kid buying our record," Cadogan said. "I think it's important to go out and meet people. For me, it's good because I've always been very trustful of people. It's been a nice experience for me because you meet so many really cool people who have really great stories to tell about how the music affected them. It keeps us inspired and who wouldn't want to hear that?"
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