Blue October “Foiled Tour” 10.27.2007

By D.Marcher, FromTheCrowd.com Contributor
I’m not sure what it is about the Celebrity Theater that seems to terrify those that have never performed there.  Perhaps it is the chance that the stage might be set up to turn during the performance and they might get dizzy, or perhaps it is the fact that they may be surrounded by the crowd on all sides and they have to be careful what they do from all directions.  I have yet to witness a poor performance from anyone at the Celebrity; in fact, it is one of my favorite venues.  However, even on a night like tonight, when the Celebrity is at “3/4 House”, meaning the stage isn’t turning and the performer is only surrounded on the sides, there still seems to be a great deal of nervousness amongst the performers.

The Blue October “Foiled Tour” got an early start with the first band going right at 6:50 and only playing for 18 minutes.  Everyone has expected the Shiny Toy Guns, however, it was not them, it was a band called Lovedrug.  Although their set was short, it was still full of energy and the perfect lead to Yellowcard.

Yellowcard, commanded the stage shortly after, and the crowd was thrilled by their performance.  An extra talkative Ryan Keys, lead vocals, started the evening describing how nervous he was about the stage set up and apologized in advance.  No apology was necessary, as Keys and the rest of Yellowcard energetically leaped and rocked across the stationary stage.  Starting their set with songs from their latest album, the crowd enjoyed the songs, often joining in and singing. 

Keys delighted the audience with many stories through out the evening, truly making it a personable performance.  He talked about how Phoenix and the basement at the Nile, served as a launching pad for many of their old tours 10 years ago.  He also did a “shout out” to his mom, who was in the audience, when he played one of her favorite songs from their new album.  Keys also got over his nerves of the stage and later declared that “This is an awesome set up” and that this night was one of his favorites on tour.  He also explained that part of the reason they were on this tour was to promote their music in AZ, and that they were going to be back on their own tour later in the year.  At the end of the set, he asked how many people were Yellowcard fans, and everyone raised their hand, their performance had made fans out of everyone.

Blue October, couldn’t have asked for a better environment to start their set.  The crowd was still pumped from Yellowcard, and their lighting set the mood.  Backlit in blue lights, Blue October, rocked out to songs from their now platinum “Foiled” album.  Engaging the crowd, Justin Furstenfeld, lead vocals, and the rest of Blue October, covered the stage with vigorous energy.  Perhaps one of the most entertaining moments, occurred when Furstenfeld, provided an insightful speech about Karma, he explained, “Karma, if you fuck someone over, life is going to fuck you back!”  The crowd erupted into applause as the intro to “Overweight” played, a song about having to carry the weight of another, and well, Karma.  Justin and crew carried on with their performance taking the crowd along for the wild ride.  Everyone in the crowd, regardless if they were the 10 year old rocking out with his dad, standing on his chair to see the stage or the 75-year-old grandmother that had come with her 50-year-old daughter directly behind him, were glad to be on the journey.

Overall, it was a dynamic evening of music and once again, the Celebrity provided for another magical night of music.

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