Everclear Satisfies Students
Rebecca Saunders
Scene Music Critic
It was a cold and very rainy night last Friday when the Portland, Ore.- based band Everclear came to the Epcot Center of Notre Dame, otherwise known as the Stepan Center. Showing true dedication to … well, something, students trudged across the, in spots, flooding campus with hope that this show would be worth the swim to the Stepan Center — they left satisfied.
The show started off with the opening band Long Shot who, while very good, seemed almost juvenile. The dancing of the lead singer around the stage, at one point with the microphone cord wrapped around his neck, distracted from the music which otherwise was reasonably good. The second band, The Exies, was excellent. With a Notre Dame alum drummer from Keenan, the band was very well received — and they deserved to be. Their music was terrific and they are definitely a name that will be heard in the future.
Then it was time. When the lights came up and the bass echoed through the building the literally dampened spirits of the crowd shot up. Starting off with a straight set of about four of their new songs, Everclear played for almost 20 minutes before a word was spoken. With plenty of cracks about the overly protective and conservative nature of the administration, Everclear quickly won over the student crowd. In their opening greeting, Art Alexakis, the lead singer, announced in a sarcastic tone that the tattoo-covered punk rock band had been asked to "lay off the profanity" for the night.
The cracks continued as Alexakis introduced their newest single "Volvo Driving Soccer Mom," proclaiming that this song described the destiny of the women at Notre Dame. This comment of course was greeted by cheers, displaying the semi-blatant fact that the majority of the crowd was not composed of large enough Everclear fans to know any of their new stuff, but only their major hits (the song in reference being about how porn-stars become the "Volvo driving soccer moms" of the future), and as such just cheered at anything one of the band members said. However, this lack of a hugely dedicated fan base did not slow down the momentum of the show.
Everclear started off with a good number of their new songs and then, about 45 minutes into the set, transitioned into playing some of their major hits, which boosted the energy of the crowd to whole new levels.
Everclear exploited as much of the crowds' energy as they could. They asked numerous times for clapping, hands in the air, singing along, and they received each one with out even a moment of question from the audience.
This crowd participation made the audience love Everclear more and more as the show went on. The entire Stepan Center was filled with the sound of the crowd singing the na, na, na-na-na-na chorus of Everclear's hit, "Everything is Wonderful Now."
The cooperative and enthusiastic show even led the bass player, Craig Montoya to declare the Notre Dame's show as, "the best f*@%^ing college show we've ever had."
This is quite a complement, especially considering the restrictions placed on the band's content by the university and the venue of the Stepan Center in which they had to perform.
Throughout the show there was even a steady dripping of water directly onto the back area of the stage. Everclear put on a great performance throughout their set and the crowd had fallen in love with them by the end.
As if that wasn't enough, Everclear took the status of their show from good to excellent in their encore. Coming back onto the stage, each member had a very impressive solo moment as the band displayed their real musical talent. Then, in what ended up being a highlight of the night, the band invited a member of the crowd up to play a song with them.
A random Notre Dame student, lived a dream when he performed "Santa Monica," singing and playing guitar, with Everclear. This performance was followed by Everclear bring up about 50 people onto the stage; they had to receive and sign a waiver in order to be allowed up onto the stage. This was explained with laughing by Alexakis, because well, that is just the way rock concerts go at Notre Dame.
The performances of some of the students on stage were more memorable than much of the concert; the power of Everclear was on that stage, in every sense of the word. Some boys even tried to live their rock `n roll dreams by jumping off the stage onto the crowd, one was successful, the others met bitter defeat in the form of a cold and hard concrete floor.
When the concert did end, most walked away very much satisfied and for the most part surprised that the show had been so excellent. Everclear's songs aren't all amazing musically, but despite all the weaknesses the band may possess as a whole, they put on a terrific live performance.
It was cold and wet that night, even inside the leaking Stepan Center, but Everclear came through as a truly professional and talented band and made what could have been a good show a truly excellent show.
All Scene Stories for Monday, April 7, 2003
