Toad the Wet Sprocket: A Totally Biased Concert Review

I make no apologies for the fact that the sentences to follow contain roughly 89% more subjectivity than federal regulations allow for a certified “Concert Review.” If I wanted to deconstruct artists I hardly knew, trying to be one of the cool kids by throwing in references to obscure musicians without recording contracts while coolly dismissing all music as we know it as mere cogs in the soul-crushing corporate machine that rules our very lives, I could have found a job with LA Weekly.

Instead, this is a fan’s journal.

The bizarrely-named Toad the Wet Sprocket rose to something slightly less than total obscurity in the early 1990’s with earnest, sometime opaque lyrics set to folksy electric guitar pop hooks. A gentler, less substantial cousin of R.E.M., a more melodic relative of Gin Blossoms, Toad put together a nice set of records over the course of about ten years, with a couple of genuine hits, a bunch of nice songs, appearances on a couple of tribute albums, a few soundtrack contributions, and, like most bands that reach the national level, a dedicated cadre of loyal fans.

The band has not put out a studio album since 1997, however, and essentially disbanded in 1998. However, the band members’ subsequent work has not been substantial enough to permit them to distance themselves from their work in Toad. Plus, I suspect that the bonds of boyhood that brought them together at Dos Pueblos High School in Santa Barbara have never been broken, regardless of the vicissitudes of the music business that led them to believe that the right way to proceed was separately. As a result, Toad has reunited several times for small tours or one-off concerts. After missing out on the tours from their days as a recording band, as well as subsequent tours, I made sure that I took the opportunity to see them on the current tour.

They played at the Galaxy Theater in Santa Ana, which used to be the Coachhouse. It is a little dinner theater space set in a non-descript light industrial park. The stage is small, the floor is semi-circular and intimate, and the whole setup is ringed with tables of four or six in four tiers. We arrived promptly in time for the doors to open and were shown to our table in the third tier, after a heart-stopping moment when the host could not find our reservation on the official sheet. We were seated with a young couple from Colorado, both engineers, who had come out to California to see Toad after having seen a number of the lead singer’s solo shows.

This encounter provided me with two distinct points of information; one I anticipated, one I did not. I was curious, first of all, to see what kind of folks would come out to a show like this – a band that was popular with sensitive college kids ten years ago (or so the cynics would say). My guess was just about right: most people were in their 30s and 40s, with relatively few younger than 25. Overall, it was a pretty mellow group. A bouncer, sporting a splint from a performing his official duties at a different show the night before, chuckled as he observed the line of people coming in, sharing that he was sure his night would be much easier than it had been the night before. My second reaction was how unsettled I was at suddenly being in the presence of hundreds of other fans of this band, among whom were undoubtedly dozens who were more fanatical than I am. Wait, aren’t these my guys? They came up in Santa Barbara when I was there! I took classes from the drummer’s dad! Who are all you people, getting in on my gig?

I got over it, somewhere between the limp, overdressed salad and chewy steak.

The concert opened with an energetic singer-songwriter who could draw amazingly big sounds out of his twelve-string guitar. He was amusing, in an often ribald manner, and his songcraft was strong, but he has risen to his level. Songs about her, or she, and how he lusted after her/loved her/still loves her/misses her/is bitter about how she dumped him but still kinda thinks she’s cool, can only take a songwriter so far. He did have a fun little Journey sing-along, though, so we all had a good time.

Toad then came out, and promptly ran into technical difficulties. The body strap for the bass guitar was loose, so Dean valiantly played on while a technician crouched beside him for a couple of songs securing the strap. The band played an interesting mix of songs, including some less-than obvious choices that I was very happy to hear. Interestingly, they played nearly every song several steps lower in pitch than the recorded versions, I suppose to preserve their voices. It had the effect, for me, at least, of rendering the songs somewhat more subdued than might otherwise have been the case. Nevertheless, the band was very tight in their playing, lead singer Glen showed off impressive guitar chops, guitarist Todd displayed a pleasant voice on lead vocals on two songs, Dean just seemed pleased as punch to be there, and drummer Randy was … short. Very short. But he had his wife and son with him onstage during the entire show, which was very sweet, especially considering that it was their anniversary. Glenn and his wife had recently celebrated their thirteenth anniversary, as had Cheryl and I, so the whole event came together in a nice bit of synchronicity.

I loved seeing the concert in the small venue. I will admit to getting a little charge out of seeing the Toad tour bus at the end of the parking lot. I will also admit to being just a bit underwhelmed, even though the concert was very, very good and the band played all of the right songs. I think I had it in my head that I would be within an arm’s reach of the guys, or that the room would be more energetic somehow, or that the guys would invite me backstage for a post-concert chat ... you know, realistic expectations. However, as the days have passed since the show, I find myself appreciating the concert more and more. It was a truly great show that formed the basis for a brief getaway for us. They filmed the next show, so I may even be able to relive it a little when the DVD comes out.

Now I just have to look out for their next reunion tour.