Concert Review: Third Eye Blind with Taking Back Sunday – “Summer Gods Tour 2022”

PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ – 22 July 2022

A semi-charmed return after losing (almost) three whole years

There was a run between ’97 and ’05 where I didn’t miss a Warped Tour, torrential downpours or blistering heat, weather be damned. But that was 2 decades ago. I’m now fat, old and miserly. It would take something spectacular to get me to voluntarily exit the air conditioning in a heat wave where temperatures are cracking triple digits. Something like one of my favorite artists of my early adult life (and beyond) and one of the most underrated artists of my early adolescence (and beyond). Something like Third Eye Blind touring with Taking Back Sunday in support. That’s what happened to get this tubby, graying curmudgeon to brave the heat and take the 2 hour ride to check out The 2022 Summer Gods Tour.  Glad I did.

The evening began right at 7pm as Australian trio Hockey Dad took the stage.  The young three piece filled the stage, maximizing the space despite a minimalistic stage presence.  This wasn’t a band on stage to chat up the crowd; they burned through the 30 minute set with little banter.  They didn’t need to win the crowd over with their charisma and personality, they made a statement with their music alone.  I caught 0 song titles, so my coverage of the setlist will be about as bad as the rest of my writing, however that shouldn’t take away from the garage-surf rock of the indie trio.  While frontman and guitarist Zach Stephenson, howl and shredded across the set, forcing silent head-bobs out of the incoming audience, drummer Billy Fleming nursed a white claw with donning the largest grin.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a drummer so happy to play in triple digit temps, outside but the smile lasted from the first note to the last clap of the crowd.

I’ve made the argument before, and will do so again, the best live performance is never the most technical, it’s the ones who seem to relish the moment.  There was no moment on that stage that any member of the band didn’t appear to be breathing in the moment and storing mental snapshots to describe to their grandchildren deep in the future. 

With the crowd so warmed up, Long Island’s own Taking Back Sunday took the stage.  Frontman Adam Lazarra, has never been accused of subdued performances, but he was on a whole new level Friday night.  From the second the band kicked down the door with “Tidal Wave,” Lazarra must have stepped on every inch of the stage hundreds of times with the way he paced back and forth, aft and fore swinging the mic with proficiency deserving of a slogan on a t-shirt. 

Lazarra’s stage presence is part-revivalist preacher, part-70’s rock god, and he embraces the worship with a tongue in cheek fervor.  While so many of his contemporaries want to get the crowd’s energy through their own resolution to perfection, Lazarra appears to know that we are going to have a good time if he is having fun up there.  He’s up there for us by being up there for himself and his bandmates.  

The scene vets blasted their way through an even mix of classics off the first three records while the crowd didn’t seem to take a single breather from the role as background singers.  Tell All Your Friends was featured on “Timberwolves at New Jersey” and “You’re So Last Summer,” while Where You Want To Be got some love with “Set Phasers to Stun” and “Decade Under the Influence.” Louder Now was represented with “Liar (Takes One To Know One)” and “What’s It Feel Like To Be A Ghost.”  It wasn’t just the classics on the setlist, as the band even broke into the recently released single from TBS and Steve Aoki, “Just Us Two.”  The set echoed through the ampitheater as the band made the crowd swoon, performing, breakout “Cute without the E (Cut From The Team),” to let us know the end was near before slamming through set closer “MakeDamnSure.”  It was an absolutely phenomenal performance for the entire hour the set lasted, and the crowd almost sounded hurt to see TBS exit the stage. But the disappointment would be fleeting as Third Eye Blind were about to take the stage.

Despite all of their success, it’s not hard to argue that Third Eye Blind are among the most criminally underrated songwriters in modern music. The band wrote some of the most iconic, memorable and perfect songs of the xennial micro-generation, seamlessly crafting a soundtrack to so many of our lives. 

The band’s intro blasts over the speakers, the stage popping with elaborate panels of sticks and small logs that serve as the backdrop, as each member of the band individually takes their place on the beautifully laid out set decor. The final person to hit the stage was frontman Stephan Jenkins, decked out in all white with a UV glow beanie, looking like an Aaron Carter impersonator.  My gatekeeper judginess aside, the outfits didn’t matter because 3EB was tearing shit up.  Taking no breaks to chatter, the band were a whirling dervish of power pop deliciousness, steamrolling through cuts from across their discography.  From “Thanks A Lot” to “Anything,” “Crystal Baller” and “Never Let You Go” even tossing in an unbelievably perfect cover of Joy Division’s “Disorder.” 

It was evident immediately that Jenkins and crew are thrilled to be back on stage after the last few years, truly basking in the opportunity to share a space with the large crowd. We, of course, got “Graduate,” before a short solo acoustic break from Jenkins, dishing out “The Background.”  The band returned, along with Jersey’s own, Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells.  Jenkins and Krauss absolutely slayed “Losing a Whole Year,” the dichotomy of vocals adding another layer beyond the recorded version.  Krauss stuck around to perform “Screamer,” which she had originally featured on for 3EB’s 2019 studio album of the same name.  The band finished off their set with high energy and a crowd of passionate voices pumping out the classics; “Motorcycle Drive By,” “Blinded,” “Jumper,” and “Funeral Singers.”  The band exited the stage briefly before returning to give the fans a proper send off with epic hits “Semi-Charmed Life,” and “How’s It Gonna Be.” Based on my research, these appear to be the encores for every set on the tour… every set except this one.  At 10:56pm, Jenkins announced that he had made a promise to a fan that they’d play “God Of Wine,” even if it meant the show went on after the venue turned off the power.  Honestly, the venue could have cut the power an hour ago, because the electricity in the crowd would have kept the amps up the entire time.  

The chance to be part of this was exciting to me, but the opportunity to experience it was beyond my expectations.  Perfection hit the stage and the energy ebbed and flowed between all three acts and the audience washing away all the disappointments that have assailed our plans over the last (almost) three years.  This stop on the Summer Gods Tour was without flaw.