Candlebox and Sugar Red Drive @ Town Ballroom, Buffalo, New York 5-9-12

One of the bands from the 1990s that seemed to get lost in the shuffle of the grunge rock movement was Seattle’s Candlebox. The band had mega hits with “Far Behind,” “You,” and “Change.” Currently comprised of original members Kevin Martin on vocals, Peter Klett on lead guitar and Scott Mercado on drums, along with Sean Hennesey on rhythm guitar and Adam Kurry on bass, the band stopped by the Town Ballroom in Buffalo, NY, this past Wednesday night.

Candlebox is currently on tour in support of their 5th studio effort titled “Love Stories & Other Musings.” Taking the stage at about 9:45pm, the band went into “Bitches Brewin’” off of the 2008 release ‘”Into the Sun.” Sporting dark shades, Martin worked the crowd from the beginning with many Buffalo references interjected throughout the set. Martin told a story of how the band was on Mushrooms when it came up with “Changes.” Martin also dedicated “Blossom” to the ladies in the house and “Breathe Me In” to the potheads attending.

Klett is a solid but not flashy guitar player who played steady throughout the show and shined on tracks like “Don’t You,” “Believe In It,” and “Stand.” The highlight of the night was Martin telling the story of how his dad was in WWII and his affiliation with the band playing many bases throughout the Middle East. He dedicated “Miss You” to the lost loved ones who gave their lives to serve. The most touching moment was when Martin read a letter from a fan who said that another fan of theirs, Casey Lee, could not be in attendance because she passed away on May 4. She was planning on coming to the show. Martin then went on to dedicate her favorite song “Cover Me” in her honor.

Not having seen the band in years, I thought the band sounded terrific! Martin commanded front and center attention but it was his band that provided a solid foundation for him to carry out the evening’s performance.

Poughkeepsie based Sugar Red Drive opened up the show. The quartet played a 30 minute set consisting of songs from their self titled debut album and their most recent release “A Story of Signs.” Lead by singer Archit Tripathi, the band seemed to get a good response. Their rhythm section of bassist Davey Alexander and drummer P.J. Gasperini worked very well and were in unison for the entire show. A good young band to check out for sure!

Candlebox Set List:

Bitches Brewin’
Simple Lessons
Don’t You
Believe In It
Underneath it All
Change
Blossom
She Come Over Me
Breathe Me In
Arrow
Stand
Turn Your Heart Around
Sweet Summertime
Miss You
Cover Me