Growing Old and Rocking Out to Candlebox

September 30, 2011
New Daisy Theater
Memphis, Tennessee
Candlebox with Cowboy Mouth

Kevin Martin fronts Candlebox at the New Daisy Theater in Memphis, TN.

Kevin Martin smiles onstage. A lot. Maybe he took his happy pills. Maybe he believes everything’s alright. But one thing’s for sure. You couldn’t douse that Colgate spokesperson smile with 10,000 horses.

Alright, alright. That’s enough corniness for one blog (maybe.) But I can’t help it. This is what Candlebox does to me. Listening to their music evokes a carefree feeling, taking me back to when the worst of my worries was turning in my US Government paper on time and finding a ride home from high school in a car deemed “socially acceptable” (a rarity indeed.) One of the first times I ever saw the Candlebox live was during high school (sometime around 1997) as the headliner on the final night of the MidSouth Fair.

A lot of things have changed since then. Clothing. Hairstyles. Heck even the MidSouth Fair itself. But Martin’s smile remains ever enigmatic and contagious.

Earlier in the night at the New Daisy Theater, New Orleans natives Cowboy Mouth opened to quite a cult following all their own. Cowboy Mouth is the quintessential party band, with fast riffs and catchy lyrics made for bouncing (a la the classic “Shout” scene in Animal House.) You get the sense that lead singer and drummer, Fred LeBlanc, wouldn’t have it any other way.

Lead singer/drummer, Fred LeBlanc, and guitarist, Matt Jones, of Cowboy Mouth.

With Cowboy Mouth, it’s much more about the experience rather than the music. Don’t get me wrong, the music is spot on, too.  But this band isn’t satisfied if you don’t leave just as sweaty and drained as each of the musicians on stage.

Proving this point, LeBlanc called a local teenager onstage to play drums. The young man, Sam, was understandably shy and timid in front of the crowd. But LeBlanc never missed a beat, telling Sam that “what other people think doesn’t matter. All that matters is what you think about yourself.” So Sam beat the snot out of those drums and left the stage amid thundering applause.

LeBlanc’s need for the crowd to have maximum concert enjoyment didn’t just extend to the youngins. During the band’s final song and perhaps biggest hit, “Jenny Says,” LeBlanc instructed the crowd to crouch down on the floor, getting ready for an explosive end to the song. A woman, who was with her teenage daughter near the front of the crowd, remained standing. This, of course, left her as the perfect target. When pointed out, she said she was too old to squat and that it hurt her knees. LeBlanc promptly responded with, “If you’re young enough to be down front, you’re young enough to squat.” So she squatted.

The crowd was more than sufficiently riled up by Cowboy Mouth’s performance and ready for the main act. Enter Candlebox with Kevin Martin… all smiles. As the band takes the stage, I notice some more changes since the last time I saw them in the late 90’s. Martin’s hair is short and clothes tight. Several of the band members have changed, too. But what’s more significant, perhaps, is what has not changed. The music.

The band set a blistering pace, blowing through both new material and sing-along hits like “You,” “Far Behind,” and “Cover Me.” New or old, the intensity was all the same. They also seemed to be on a mission to play as much music as possible, keeping banter to a minimum and even fitting in a lengthy medley mixed of their own musical influences like Led Zeppelin, KISS, Ozzy and more (see below video.)

     
Mid-show, Martin called attention to the band’s twenty year history. Hailing from the grunge epicenter of Seattle, Candlebox broke onto the scene around the same time as a long list of other well-known bands such as Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog and Pearl Jam. It’s impressive company to keep, indeed. Twenty years down the road, these are the bands whose music will fill the “classic” rock stations…. Candlebox included.

Scott Bartlett (L) and Jason Null (R) of Saving Abel, join Kevin Martin (Mid) onstage with Candlebox.

Special guests were not excluded from the evening's lineup, as members from the band Saving Abel were called to the stage. Guitarists Jason Null and Scott Bartlett were quick to take the stage and immerse themselves in the music as well. Originally from Corinth, MS and just a stone's throw from Memphis, Saving Abel previously toured with Candlebox and no doubt learned alot from one of their own musical influences.

Overall, it’s a great night filled with solid music, sentimental reminiscing and the creation of a few new memories.  As I look around at the crowd leaving the New Daisy Theater, I couldn’t help but notice some more of those inevitable changes that have occurred since I was in high school. There were a lot more “old, preppy people” in the audience than the first time I saw the band years ago. And that’s when it hit me. I’m one of those old and preppy people now too. Well, crap…