Blue October @ The Showbox

I was supposed to do a live review of Blue October about 2 years ago when they traveled to Spokane to play a show. Due to a death in the family of one of the band member the show was canceled. Thus I have literally been waiting for this concert for over 2 years. Was the wait worth it, you ask? Oh it was more then worth waiting for Blue October to play again in Washington at the Seattle Showbox Market. With the release of their 7th album, Blue October have been touring in support of their new album “Sway”. Opening for Blue October on the Sway tour have been The Unlikely Candidates and Tori Vesques. Upon arrival when the doors opened I was sent to the back of a very long line of eager fans waiting to get it. Wrapping around the block nearly 200 feet it was an early sign of what was to be a great show.

Opening the night was pop singer song writer Tori Vesquez. Delivering pure fun, pure energy, and a little bit crazy her short set was the perfect way to open up the night. Not leaving anything behind, she played everything she could to entertain the crowd. From her dance moves on stage to her real passion for music coming through each song it was a great opening performance.

Next up in the night was The Unlikely Candidates. As the band assembled on stage I was expect a heavy or punk rock band to start playing. But instead they played what was borderline alternative rock/indie folk music. AND damn good music at that. With the combination of lead acoustic guitar and back up electric guitars, the tones were amazing. Paired up with the beautiful harmonies from lead singer Kyle Morris every song they played just made me enjoy the show that much more. If you are similar to me and enjoy a great stage performance Kyle Morris does not disappoint for a second. Running back and forth on the stage he makes sure to get to everyone in the crowd. Go download “Follow Your Feet” now by the Unlikely Candidates, you won’t regret it.

Scanning the crowd of all the different people in the crowd it is impossible to identify Blue October’s main fan base. There was everything from a 70 year old punk rock grandma in the front row to middle age couples, teenage rockers, and the occasional business man. Being able to each achieve such a feat was obvious as soon as the band walked on stage. Opening up with new song ‘Sway’ it was a soft song that built up momentum to explode into a great light show from behind the stage. For a band with so many hit songs its hard to play a lot of new songs, long time fans favorite b-sides, and the hits songs that got them where they are today. But after opening with a news song the band Blue October broke out into a series of hits songs. After a while the new song blended in with the hits songs cause ya know sooner or later those new songs will be a hit with all the fans. A packed Showbox Market venue full of young, old and everyone in between trying to move closer to the stage as the energy of the night intensified creating a wave of fans moving from each side of the venue back and forth. Stage performance from lead singer Justin Furstenfeld and Violin/Mandalin Ryan Delahoussaye was probably one of the highlights of the night. Getting close to the stage, singing at maximum, and engaging with the fans only one foot away. Every passing song only got better and better as the night went on. The amazing raspy vocals from Justin made songs like Say It, Calling You, Hate Me, and Into The Ocean made every pop song seem like it was trash compared to Blue October. The true artistry coming out of Blue October is something to be excited about. Keeping to their roots and expanding to new sounds with ‘Sway’ is exactly what they proved at the Showbox Market in Seattle.

Set List

Sway
HRSA
Say It
Hard Candy
Light You Up
Congratulations
Things We Don’t Know About
Calling You
Into The Ocean
Fear
Debris
Getting Over It Part
X Amount of Words
James
Bleed Out
Hate Me

Encore:
Worry List
She’s My Ride
Not Broken Anymore
Things We Do At Night