10/30 @ Basilica Hudson
Photos by Third Eye Blind
“The Halloween Horror shows are clearly a passion project for Jenkins, allowing him to throw in some songs he doesn’t normally get to play.”
If there was ever a place for a Halloween Horror concert, Basilica Hudson has to be a top three choice. The renovated and re-purposed manufacturing plant still has rustic metal pipes snaking up some of the tall brick walls, summoning echoes of ghosts from the past. Tonight, they had skeletons flanking the sides of the stage in the main room, dressed in pirate hats and other sea-faring garb. It was, after all, Third Eye Blind’s second of three stops on their “All Aboard The Ghost Ship” Halloween tour.
Fans flooded the venue in a myriad of costumes to celebrate the spooky voyage they were set to embark on — Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner, Pennywise and Georgie, Darla from Finding Nemo, an astronaut in a full suit and helmet, a lime wedge and tequila bottle, Bob Ross and a painting, and plenty of others that I definitely missed. I didn’t have much of a costume of my own, just some black clothes and a few strands of purple and silver hair tinsel applied at the last minute; I apologize for not showing up with my A-game.
Soon enough, the lights dimmed to reveal just the reds and oranges of the stage lights, slightly obscured by a thin black curtain blocking off most of the stage. A golden light appeared, highlighting the shadowy figure of a man with a lantern in hand behind the curtain. He made slow, creaking movements across the stage, acting out the events of the haunting story that was being told through the speakers. Legend has it, a perilous storm demolished a crew and their ship, all being thrown into the dark waters below, except for the captain, whose hands were tied to the wheel. When the small town ventured out to see what had landed on their shores, they were greeted by a dog jumping off ship into the water and other eerie sights. All that could be determined was that, whatever landed there, it was not intended for the living.
The band took the stage behind the curtain and began to play the first notes of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire.” Lead singer Stephan Jenkins sang the first verse and chorus, a respectable attempt at her original key even though we all knew he wasn’t getting that high. At the final note of the chorus, the curtain hit the floor and the band launched into their own fitting song, “Horror Show.” The band was dressed up as ghost pirates, complete with grey and white makeup, hats, scarves, and billowy shirts. Jenkins, though, was dressed in what I can only assume was a replica of Brendon Urie’s costume in the iconic “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” music video. I mean, you put a former emo kid in front of someone wearing a long red coat with black buttons and a black top hat and what else am I supposed to think?! Though, Jenkins’ pearl choker beats Urie’s black bowtie every time.
What followed was a series of Halloween-related Third Eye blind songs, only some of which the crowd really seemed interested in. “Get Me Out Of Here” (Halloween relation, “She’s a creature of the night”) got some reaction from the crowd, but not as much as “Narcolepsy” (“There’s a demon in my brain,” “I can feel this narcolepsy slide into another nightmare”). The band was energetic and tight, hitting each song’s climax right on the mark.
Surveying the room for the first few songs, I was disappointed with a lot of the audience’s engagement. I actually moved after the first three songs because several groups around me were continuing to have full conversations through each song. Not to sound like a snob — seriously, joke around with your friends, scream along to the words, dance your heart out, I don’t care — but are you seriously going to shout to each other over the music, especially when it’s just one headlining band? What’d you pay for?
Others were just standing stone-faced and stone-bodied, offering no reaction or energy for the band. Yet, no one that I saw was dressed as Medusa to curse them this way. Again, I get that’s how some people take in their music, but half the room giving the band nothing back? That’s not spooky, just irritating.
When they played a medley of “The Kids Are Coming,” “Wolf Like Me,” and “Company of Strangers,” the vibe started to shift towards a little more intrigue. It came on the heels of “Faster” and just before “Graduate,” intentionally upping the energy, but the crowd’s interest was definitely piqued by these more familiar songs and the unexpected mash-ups. Only a couple of songs later, though, the entire band exited the stage aside from drummer Brad Hargreaves. The drums on Third Eye Blind songs have always been a source of auditory excitement for me; they add the complexity that takes their sound from being run-of-the-mill ‘90s and ‘00s rock into something more enduring. So, for several minutes I watched, alongside the finally-engaged crowd, as Hargreaves went on a run, showing off his prowess.
When the band took the stage once more, they began not with a Third Eye Blind song, but another cover — this time, “Enter Sandman.” This turned into “Iron Man,” which turned into “Zombie,” which turned into “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” complete with two additions of the famous SNL cowbell soundbite. This “monster” medley (see what I did there?) went on for a few more songs, eventually ending with the band exiting the stage, this time leaving Jenkins up there alone. With an acoustic guitar, he slowed the night down for a moment with “Motorcycle Drive-By,” using the quietness to check in on the crowd, which he had done several times throughout the night. While he’d mentioned that it was the smallest venue they’d played to in a while, they were having a great time with each other onstage. The Halloween Horror shows are clearly a passion project for Jenkins, allowing him to throw in some songs he doesn’t normally get to play.
Of course, though, they had to play their most popular tunes, “Jumper” and “Semi-Charmed Life,” which lit up the audience and sounded remarkably just like their recordings from nearly 30 years ago — an impressive feat. They got off stage one final time, emerging once more for their encore. As Jenkins sang “Slow Motion” and then “I Want You,” the crew brought out several floor toms, placing them at the front of the stage all around Jenkins, followed by water poured on the top and towels laid down on the floor.
Each band member took up drumsticks and took their spot behind a drum, beginning to drum to the beat of The Strangeloves’ “I Want Candy.” As the crowd sang and danced along, a member of their crew threw bags of candy out into the crowd, though unfortunately I wasn’t close enough to see what was actually in the bags. Thankfully, I had some frosted animal cookies in the car to substitute for my own treat, the perfect complement for all of Third Eye Blind’s Halloween Horror Show tricks.
