Concert review: Summer Gods Tour offered audiences a look back to the 2000s, with voices that didn’t age a day

Third Eye Blind’s “Summer Gods Tour” kicked off at Northern Quest last Saturday, and what an impressive entrance it was.

Entering a stage as dramatic as their lyrics, the mood-setting lighting, fog machines and strobes immediately set the tone for the rest of the evening. As the set continued, the band appeared to become more comfortable with their presence on stage, especially lead singer and frontman Stephan Jenkins who gradually left the confines of his mic stand. It became difficult to tell Jenkins is nearly 60 as he danced and waved his arms like a madman (in the best way) and as he became seemingly overcome by the energy, music and moment.

Jenkins’ commanding stage presence is impressive, but his vocal chops absolutely steal the show. Jenkin’s voice remains strong and powerful, especially on the longer notes within the lower register of the impressive range he’s made a career out of. His falsetto may not be as sweet as it used to be, but impressive nonetheless and any real struggle is well covered by the band’s backing vocals.

Speaking of the band and backing vocals, the harmonies found within the set add a noticeable sense of depth – especially those between Jenkins and keyboardist/melody guitarist Colin Creev, whose high range matches Jenkins’ more comfortable lower sound perfectly.

Toward the end of the show, Jenkins’ voice did gradually succumbed to it “being a little dry and the first night of the tour,” leading to some struggles and perhaps a bit more crowd participation than usual on classics like “Jumper” and “Semi-Charmed Life.” Honestly, moments like the crowd taking over the entrance into the final chorus of “Semi-Charmed” only added to the energy of the masses simply enjoying a trip down memory lane.

The set included a relatively acoustic session where the band simply sat down and let the guitars do most of the talking, alongside a mandolin and bongo drum at times. It was beautifully simple and laid back in comparison to the rest of the show.

My personal highlight may just be the lead guitarist, Kryz Reid. Reid’s intensity, visible love for playing and beautifully shrill shrieks and solos are special in their own right and absolutely stand out within the mix.

Overall, whether it was a somber moment or a straight punk-rock wall of sound, it was difficult to ignore Third Eye Blind’s sheer force and energy.

Before Third Eye Blind took to the stage, fellow legends of the nostalgia factor, Yellowcard, immediately transported the crowd back to the 2000s pop punk scene with simple harmonies, fast focus on snare and hi-hat, lyrics of heartbreak and power chords.

As a longtime violinist, I felt truly represented by Sean Mackin rocking the bow and strings. He was unfortunately a little lost in the mix at times, but when given the time to shine, Mackin made the violin sing.

With a lot of movement, energy, crowd interaction and a voice from lead singer Ryan Key that hasn’t aged a day, it was the perfect set for the largely millennial crowd to relive the glory days of the 2000s. With Key voicing the potential of more than one new album coming from the recently reunited band, it looks like Yellowcard might just be around and performing to the tier they’ve been reaching for years to come.

Also opening was ARIZONA, who began the night.

Prior to the show, I initially wasn’t sure if a newer pop-rock sound would fit with the early alt-rock lineup, but ARIZONA came to prove me wrong.

Lead singer Zach Hannah was the highlight with a great voice and a ton of energy, especially for an opener still dealing with the daylight and the crowd slowly packing the place. Sometimes openers have a lack of energy and showmanship under conditions such as these, but you could’ve told me the group was headlining and I would’ve believed you.

For all of his energy, Hannah’s voice sounded strong, verbose and rarely out of breath despite the frontman’s amount of movement and jumping around the Northern Quest stage.

Of course, the rest of the band was tight and all around seemed to have a visible love for music and performing, but Hannah’s impressive chest voice capabilities are difficult to ignore.

Overall, the modern pop-rock sound may be different than those performing later on in the lineup, but many individual aspects of the group’s performance absolutely fit – from the heavier drum fills, shrill guitar and even the band’s introspective lyrics.