Spin Doctors, Gin Blossoms and Blues Traveler rock it old school at Pittsburgh Brewing Co.
On Sunday night, Pittsburgh Brewing Co. in Creighton got a lineup that would’ve completely packed Star Lake in 1995. You can just imagine a sea of tie-dye-clad hacky-sackers rocking out to three of the moment’s hottest bands. Considering it’s 30 years later, the bill of Spin Doctors, Gin Blossoms and Blues Traveler drew an impressive crowd — despite not-always-ideal weather.
All three alt-rock-adjacent bands scored hits in the early to mid-1990s with songs that still get airplay today. The camaraderie among the acts was heartwarming and gloriously nostalgic.
Kicking off the show were Spin Doctors, who had a pair of top 20 hits in 1992 and ’93. Lead singer Chris Barron came out charismatic from the get-go, and the band jammed through a setlist that showed off surprising versatility. There were the hits, of course; “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” got a huge crowd reaction, for example.
Even lesser-known singles like “Jimmy Olson’s Blues” were pure fun, with groovy bass and strong vocals from Barron. They showed off their bluesier side with the earnest “The Heart of the Highway,” a single off of their latest album, “Face Full of Cake,” which released earlier this year. Also from the new record was “She Stands Alone,” a Zeppelin-esque tune that feels more classic rock than their ’90s output.
Barron commented on the new album, which is on Capitol Records. “That’s a major label, so that means it’s good,” he quipped.
Speaking of Zeppelin, the Spin Doctors played a faithful but invigorating cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times Bad Times” that made more sense than expected.
Just as the drum fill to start their biggest hit, “Two Princes,” echoed around the outdoor venue, the rain began. Despite a steadily increasing drizzle, the assembled audience greeted the song with enthusiasm, dancing and singing the “just go ahead now” refrain loud enough to be heard over the band.
After that spate of rain — which didn’t deter most concertgoers — the sun came out just in time for Gin Blossoms to come on. They pulled a truly pro legacy band move and started the set with one of their most recognizable songs, the swelling “Follow You Down,” a top 10 Billboard hit from 1996. The audience appreciated it too, shouting the refrain alongside lead singer Robin Wilson.
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Gin Blossoms come from Tempe, Ariz. — which explains the Phoenix Suns logo on the front of their drum kit. Their alt-rock hits have been well remembered, especially by the decent percentage of the crowd who were clearly there mainly to see them. Wilson’s voice is kind of reminiscent of a more mellow Billy Joe Armstrong from Green Day, and he really let it loose a couple of times, complementing the emotionality of the band’s lyrics.
They played the driving “Hold Me Down” and “Mrs. Rita,” which fit in perfectly with their hits. Wilson told the story of writing “As Long As It Matters” on a Saturday morning in 1995 after bandmate Jesse Valenzuela interrupted his watching “Batman: The Animated Series” to tell him an idea for a song.
It did, in fact, reach the Billboard charts.
The melodic and melancholy “Til I Fall Away” showed off the softness of Wilson’s voice, and they brought out members of both Spin Doctors and Blues Traveler to do a rousing cover of R. Dean Taylor’s “Indiana Wants Me,” the first of several onstage collabs between all the bands.
“Hands Are Tied” was one of their harder rock songs, with an ’80s indie sensibility that was really fun and got the crowd dancing. It almost felt like they were setting it up to be the finale.
Instead, they went on an incredible run of their hits, starting with “Found Out About You.” It sounded just as it did three decades ago, but with even better guitar. It’s a mild-mannered song that nonetheless has a chorus you can just scream.
Building the hype further, they transitioned to “Allison Road,” a refrain-heavy, lighter tune that kept the crowd singing.
My only request, should Gin Blossoms perform this same set list in the future, is to switch the last two songs. Because when they slammed into “Hey Jealousy” — a roaring anthem of a song that would be a perfect bookend with “Follow You Down” — the crowd truly lost it. Everything about the performance of the song was great, including the winding guitar solo at the bridge. Instead, they put a button on the set with “Til I Hear it From You,” which is still a very good song, but is gentle enough to bring the energy down a notch.
Blues Traveler appeared to a song from the animated film “Team America: World Police.” Lead singer — and maybe more importantly, harmonica player — John Popper greeted the audience with joy and gratitude. “Now enough yakking, let’s boogie!” he said before lauching into the bass-heavy groove of “Stand.”
Only just behind the legendary move of opening with a big hit is playing it second, which is what Blues Traveler did with “Run-Around,” their fast-singing biggest hit from 1995.
Most of their songs — no matter how different they sounded — flowed into one another in one extended jam. Each song featured multiple solos, including harmonica solos from Popper that brought the house down, especially on ebullient tune “But Anyway.”
Popper also has an elastic voice that can really pack a punch when he, well, lets it run around, as he did on “Carolina Blues.”
The band played for over an hour but only presented nine songs, including an immaculate extended drum solo from Brendan Hill (Popper made sure the audience applauded him twice).
Fun fact: Popper was originally a member of Spin Doctors, and he and Chris Barron attended high school together. Popper brought Barron out to duet with him on “Champipple,” a retro-jingle-style song about the favorite drink of Fred Sanford on the 1970s sitcom “Sanford and Son.” Betwen the smooth funkiness of the song and the amazing vocal chemistry Barron and Popper share — there was layered scatting! — it was actually a highlight of the evening.
Blues Traveler played their second hit, “Hook,” at an increased tempo, making Popper’s fast singing in the second verse even more of a feat. Then they left the stage … for less than 30 seconds, before returning for an encore.
“Of course we’re going to do one more, we were standing right over there!” Popper joked.
They brought out Wilson from Gin Blossoms to provide vocals for an epic cover of Tom Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.” The ripping guitar and evocative harmonica make the song a perfect fit for Blues Traveler, and Wilson’s voice adds something a little extra that made it a perfect closer to an ideal summer night of music.
Alexis Papalia is a TribLive staff writer. She can be reached at apapalia@triblive.com.
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