May 29th, Huntington, NY - Art Alexakis, frontman of Everclear, decided to do things a little different this time. He invited 3 of his friends, Chris Collingwood (Fountains of Wayne), Max Collins (Eve 6) and John Wozniak (Marcy Playground) to tour with him and play intimate, acoustic performances.
This was a rare opportunity for each frontman to perform acoustic versions of their hits, as well as some new songs and to share the stories behind each of them. It was interesting to hear how some of their biggest hits came to be.
They first took the stage together and performed a few songs to get the audience ready for what was going to be an epic night of music.
John, Max, Chris and Alex all had their own time on stage and even got the crowd to sing along on a few of their more popular songs. In between each solo performance, they all regrouped on stage together and performed more familiar songs.
Art, Chris, Max and John all have a uniqueness to their voice, which is what set them apart from your typical 90's bands and earned them their fanbase. Yet when they stood on stage, performing together, they harmonized perfectly like they've been playing together for years. You'd never know this was the first time they played together.
The crowd was entertained with 2+ hours of incredible music by some of the most talents artists of the 90s.
John Wozniak's set included songs like Poppies, Vampires of New York (prefaced with an interesting story) and Sex and Candy.
Max Collins did Matter of Time, a Fitness cover, which he began by saying if you google "Fitness band", you'll get a bunch of watches in the results. Fitness is a band comprised of Max Collins and Kenny Carkeet of Awolnation.
Chris Collingwood's set included Survival Car, Fire in the Canyon and their first hit, Radiation Vibe. For his last song that everyone was waiting for, he brought out John Wozniak to "dance" along to the words - it definitely made it more interesting.
Art was the last to perform. His setlist included some of Everclear's more popular tunes like "I Will Buy You a New Life", "Father of Mine", "Wonderful" and "Santa Monica". By this time the crowd was pumped with excitement and helped Art sing most of the lyrics.
They performed once last time on stage together singing "The Weight" by The Band. The show wasn't over though. Art announced they needed a few minutes to freshen up, then came back on stage with their chairs to answer questions from the audience.
There was a wide variety of questions from "Can I have a (guitar) pick?" to "Who was your musical influence" and some even asked to hear snippets of some more obscure songs, which they gladly obliged. It was one big party.
In all the concerts I've attended, I don't think I've ever seen anything like this. I highly recommend catching the "Songs and Stories" tour. You will not be disappointed.
Additional photos by Tina Zito