When the Summerland Tour pulled into Pittsburgh on June 20th it felt just like a spring Seattle day in 1995; not just because of the 90’s alternative that was playing all around, but because of the dreary/rainy day that the city was experiencing. The spring of 2014 marked the 3rd year in a row for the Summerland Tour which features acts from the 90’s that play and still record music such as this year’s participants: Everclear, Eve6, Soul Asylum and Spacehog.
The day’s event in Pittsburgh started off with an English alt rock act that goes by the name of Spacehog. I personally had never heard of these guys, and I think the same goes for most of the people who were in attendance that day, regardless of knowing their music they played a great set from start to finish. Not only did they play well as a group and play some awesome songs they were also very interactive with the crowd and just had a professional presence about them. Next to take the stage was the “great” Eve6. Their performance was kind of bland…so bland that I would suggest using that time to use the restroom and grab you a beer before their last song. Not to knock them as musicians though, they sounded great and tried everything they could to make sure the crowd had a good time. Unfortunately, that night at Stage AE just wasn’t theirs. The only highlight was their last song and possibly the only song from them that everyone knew, “Inside Out.” It seems the fact that no one really knew any of their other songs was the reason the whole performance seemed “flat” to say the least.
Following the disappointing performance by Eve6, was maybe one of the most underrated bands from the 90’s alternative scene, Soul Asylum. One of the first songs they played was their 1995 hit “Misery,” and because they started the set with a big hit like that, the crowd really got into the show and made the rest of the night smooth sailing for them. fter their allotted time was up came the epic performance of the band that most people were there to see and the band who is responsible for putting on the entire tour: Everclear. Art Alexakis, frontman of Everclear, is one of the ones responsible for the idea of this 90’s based music tour and the one who has helped make this tour a yearly event. The band took the stage playing some old school classics and fan favorites like Santa Monica, Heroin Girl, and Wonderful. They even included some new hits like Be Careful What You Ask For, which was off their latest album titled “Invisible Stars.”
Minus the few bumps that may occur during this tour, like not so popular bands and some unknown tunes, the Summerland Tour of 2014 was a very well organized and put together. Hopefully this tour continues to have a long and healthy run and these acts from the 90’s era don’t give up on us quite yet. If you were unable to catch a show during this year’s tour we suggest you keep your eyes open for next year’s dates and make it to a show; certainly a tour that’s worth attending.
Logan Rendulic, © The Rock Tribune 2014
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