Toad Serenades Knight Theater

Knight Theater, Charlotte, NC

Written by Amanda Caines

Trickling into the seats of Knight Theater, fans of Toad the Wet Sprocket shared their nostalgic stories of dorm room study tunes and emotional top-of-your-lungs road trip singing as they found their seats. From the stage, two drum kits and an array of guitars, basses, and microphones greeted the eclectic mix of patrons coming in to partake in this performance.

At the very stroke of 7:00pm, The Verve Pipe strummed their first chord! While perhaps not as well-known as the night’s headliner, they brought smiles to many faces and inspired lyrics to be synchronously recited by many lips. Kicking off the set with a somewhat up-tempo newer song, “No One’s Gonna Break This Heart (Again),” both the band and the crowd were still getting to know each other, it seemed.

Singer Brian Vander Ark’s collared, button-up shirt served as a sort of fashion metaphor for the unfolding of the evening’s festivities. He began the set with it fully buttoned, while things were lively, but reserved. After a few songs, such as “Photograph” and “Cup of Tea,” from their popular 1996 album Villains rang out from the stage, he unbuttoned the shirt, wearing it almost like the ‘90s grunge kids donned open flannel shirts over band tees. Fans offered standing ovations to show their excitement and support. By the time “Medicate Myself” rolled around the setlist, the frontman had shed all shyness and was highly animated and full of life, sharing lots of smiles with his fellow performers and the head-bobbing audience.

What stood out the most about the spirited performance that The Verve Pipe put on was how powerfully spot-on their vocal harmonies were! Some songs, including their closing cover of “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac, boasted full-on 4-part harmony, which is not a common thing in 1990s alternative bands. Then again, they are on tour with Toad the Wet Sprocket, whose cornerstones of sound are built in thick, amazing harmonies.

Vander Ark also shared a fun tidbit regarding their tourmates. Apparently one of his first “big leagues” experiences was opening for Toad the Wet Sprocket in 1992. In a way, this tour is kind of a full-circle moment.

After a brief intermission, the men of the hour graced the stage, backlit by a star curtain and surrounded by thundering applause. Uplifting, familiar arpeggios erupted as Toad the Wet Sprocket began with “Windmills” from their 1994 album, Dulcinea. Even from this very first tune, the five musicians showed a willingness to go a little “off-book” with some extra bells and whistles of improvisation, and many shining faces soaked up every ounce of it.

Lead singer Glen Phillips happily did his heartwarming, introverted between-song banter, giving us micro-insights into his contributions to the songwriting. He joked that their newest song on this set, “Hold On,” was so-called because every band needs a song called “Hold On.” There are indeed many that share the title, but Toad’s composition from their 2021 release Starting Now holds its own and deserves a listen.

Dancing between the sounds of folky bluegrass in songs like “Nanci” and “Good Intentions” and distorted alt-rock tones of “Come Down” and “Whatever I Fear,” the guitars and bass provided the foundation for those oh-so-sweet three-part harmonies that form the band’s signature sound. Some fans seemed to really want to stand up since the start, despite it being a seated theater-type venue, but by the drum intro of “All I Want” started, even the most casual of fans couldn’t stay in their seats, and just about everyone stood up to rock out!

Surprisingly, a couple of the highlights from a very rock-heavy set came from songs without so much as an overdrive pedal. For their all-acoustic performance of “Good Intentions,” touring drummer Carl Thompson got to show off his skills on the cajon, and mandolin (and lap steel/keys) player Jon Sosin really shone as the band pivoted this tune into bluegrass territory! What a delight to hear a new interpretation of an oldie-but-goodie with their two new touring members! Following that, all but Glen left the stage, and he offered up some soothing “Carolina Music” with a cover of “No Hard Feelings” by The Avett Brothers.

Riding the waves of different emotions brought fast-paced “The Moment” and the slow-and-mellow “Dam Would Break” followed by “Fly From Heaven” with some extra bits and bobs sprinkled into the vocals and guitar parts. Then, most unexpectedly, the guys pulled out a 32-year-old and seldom played powerhouse of a song in “Pray Your Gods,” from their 1991 breakout album Fear. Bassist Dean Dinning took the helm for the piano parts, while Glen and guitarist/vocalist Todd Nichols belted out the haunting counter-melodies, casting a palpable, magical energy across the entire auditorium.

From then on, Dean let us know that from this point forward, the rest of the set is “best enjoyed standing up,” which was (figurative) music to the ears of many eager fans barely containing their seated exuberance. In similar fashion, our fearless five musical tour guides spent the rest of the set entertaining a smiling, singing, mob of showgoers with all the extras, including a mandolin solo from Jon on “Nightingale Song,” followed by a percussion/drum duet with Carl and Dean, stemming from the song’s usual drum outro, then a short-but-sweet bass solo on the big hit “Fall Down.” Of course they wouldn’t leave fans wanting (including one friendly heckler) and played “Walk on the Ocean” as well. (It is the “All You Want Tour” after all.)

As all great things, Toad the Wet Sprocket’s set had come to an “end.” Instead of the usual farce of leaving the stage for a couple of minutes and returning with a silly “LOL, JK here’s another song,” for an encore, Glen gave us a heart-rending quest to love each other out there in the world, and their parting gift for their adoring fans was a deeper cut from Fear, “I Will Not Take These Things For Granted.” A perfect ending to remind us to love each other and savor life’s great, yet simple things in the moment (pun fully intended).

If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.