They came to Anderson Arena and proved that they were rock stars. On Saturday night the band wrapped up its “Back to School” tour with its final stop in Bowling Green.
Red Wanting Blue opened up the show with a set that was full of technical glitches. The band may have been impressive, but from the back of the house all that was really audible were the drums and bass guitar. The lead singer who came across as a mix of Mark McGrath and Scott Wieland with Boy George’s taste in hats, did his best effort to keep the audience’s attention.
The fans in the crowd seemed to enjoy the set, despite the electronic difficulties. “I liked them,” said BGSU student Scott Haase, “I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I liked the beat.”
Everclear came to the stage with much more energy than their last area appearance. Lead singer Art Alexakis stood behind his promise of a more rowdy set than what was delivered when they opened for matchbox twenty. There was no holding back as the band ripped through their set.
The band went through a set that was full of their massive hits, including “Wonderful,” “Santa Monica” and “A.M. Radio.” During “Rock Star” Alexakis went into the crowd and pulled up the most excited fans to join the band on-stage. The band returned to the stage for a louder-than-loud encore. This performance was a world away from the rather subdued appearance the band made in Toledo.
In an interview with The BG News Alexakis had said that he was not a fan of assigned seating. With the show being at the University, there was tight crowd control. On-stage and off, Alexakis understood why those security measures were in place. Despite that fact, Alexakis went out of his way to make sure that the crowd could get as wild as possible, which the crowd did.
The only sad fact was the house was not packed. Everclear and Red Wanting Blue put on one solid, high-energy show. Bowling Green does not get major bands like Everclear to appear in town. For those that did not go, it was a missed opportunity for a night of high-octane rock.
