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| Everclear @ August Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Everclear launched their Fall Tour at San Francisco’s August Hall on Friday Night with Marcy Playground and Jimmie’s Chicken Shack providing opening support on a terrific triple bill. On a night filled with a catalog of fan-favorites, Everclear frontman and founder Art Alexakis valiantly fought the good fight against opening night, Friday the 13th gremlins that caused obvious sound issues to frequently plague the headliner’s set.
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| Everclear @ August Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Everclear hadn’t even gotten on stage yet when the first issue popped up. Bassist Freddy Herrera had to frantically wave off the sound man playing the intro recording for longtime opener “So Much for the Afterglow” – which had been replaced in the launch slot by the sweet title song from the album “Songs from an American Movie.” It was a glimpse of things to come as Herrera would play the role of the crowd communicator frequently throughout the concert as Alexakis went to the side stage between songs to try to remedy issues.
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| Everclear @ August Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
A huge treat for Everclear fans followed as “Unemployed Boyfriend” off the same album was played for the first time in twenty-three years and only the fifth time ever (according to setlist.fm). The song has always held a special place for me with its tale of an impulsive romantic and the embracing of optimistic possibilities. “Heroin Girl” was delivered as the third song with all the punk force and ferocity of Alexakis’ early writings.
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| Everclear @ August Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
While faster, more punk songs may have been the band’s early genre, Everclear became best known for their super melodic tunes with very approachable lyrics and catchy hooks. On this night, “Everything to Everyone” and “I Will Buy You a New Life” followed the opening songs and put that songwriting talent on full display. Sound problems aside, the band was energetic with drummer Sean Winchester keeping things well-paced, while bassist Herrera was constantly on the move and projected overwhelming enthusiasm. Guitarist Davey French on the right side of the stage (away from the sound discussions) was likewise visually entertaining while also laying down big guitar solos throughout.
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| Everclear @ August Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Did you know I lived in San Francisco for six years?” Alexakis asked the crowd. “Living in San Francisco was a dream for me then and it’s always a dream when I come back here.” While the night may not have been completely dreamlike, the crowd was still thrilled with hits like “AM Radio” and the catchy, but edgy “Father of Mine” that evolved into a singalong on Friday.
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| Everclear @ August Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
As they closed out the main set with “Learning How to Smile” (a song Alexakis said was his favorite off “Songs from An American Movie”) and then “Wonderful” as the crowd raised their arms and sang along with the chorus. After a very brief intermission where a very animated Alexakis made emphatic requests of his side stage team, the band returned for a four-song encore. The intro to “So Much for the Afterglow” was correctly played this time as the band ripped into the song with a hard, fast version of the title song off the 1997 classic album (has it really been 27 years???).
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| Everclear @ August Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Their classic version of Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Gril” followed and then led to the crowd-favorite and best known “Santa Monica.” Finally, Everclear sent everyone home with a cover of The Vaseline’s “Molly’s Lips” and headed to Alexakis’ hometown Portland for night 2 of the tour.
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| Everclear @ August Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Earlier, the night started off surprisingly early as opener Jimmie’s Chicken Shack walked onto stage at 8 pm for a show that had a posted starting time of 8:30. Lead singer Jimi Haha was tongue in cheek all night - starting off as he greeted the crowd with “Welcome to our encore!” which led to a confusing look from many in attendance. Their seven-song set was strong and amusing as the Maryland band seemed to project fun throughout the entire set.
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| Jimmy's Chicken Shack @ August Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
They wrapped their set with “Do Right” – a song that Haha told the audience is played at Baltimore’s Camden Yards whenever an opponent makes an error – and their most popular song “High.” In a moment that would seem ironic later, HaHa made a big point prior to the last song of introducing the lighting and sound technicians - asking for the houselights to be raised and the crowd to turn to the back and applaud for them. It was a moment of glory for the men behind the boards before the sound struggle that would accompany the headliner’s set.
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| Marcy Playground @ August Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Marcy Playground is best known for the 1997 mega-hit “Sex and Candy” and yet the song was by far the lightest song that they played throughout the night. I was familiar only with the hit and was pleasantly surprised with the alternative edge that the three-piece band brought to their setlist. Lead singer / guitarist John Wozniak, Bassist Dylan Keefe and drummer Shlomi Lavie set a blistering pace with songs like “Rock and Roll Heroes” and “Special.” “Wave Motion Gun” and “Punk Rock Superstar” were likewise blasted out with Keefe extremely animated throughout the evening.
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| Marcy Playground @ August Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Wozniak credited Everclear with teaching the band how to rock. “After we toured with Everclear, we played the more mellow Horde Tour. We were the band that security had to bring out barricades before our set every night,” he fondly remembered. The band didn’t save “Sex & Candy” (a song that spent four months at #1 on the charts) for the final song. They played it as the penultimate song before finishing with a hard-charging “Star Baby.” While I really enjoyed the harder edge of the band’s live performance, I ironically have caught myself frequently humming their biggest hit since that night.
All in all, it was a nicely stacked lineup and great night of music and performances – even with the sound issues. The crowd was enthusiastic from the early start of Jimmie’s Chicken Shack all the way through Everclear’s extended encore.
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