By Chyrisse Tabone, Tampa Correspondent
Venue: Summerland Tour 2015–Madeira Beach Waterfront Park, Madeira Beach, Florida–June 14, 2015
What do you get when you add some post-grunge, a dash of punk, a smidgen of Texas rockabilly, and lots and lots of fun? The Toadies, of course! This 90s alt band is very much alive, kicking, and producing new material, even through the break-up, make-up, and shake-up of its line-up over the years. It is hard to believe it has been a little over 20 years since the groundbreaking debut album Rubberneck was released.
I was so happy to finally see the Toadies live at their Madeira Beach Waterfront Park stop of the Summerland Tour, which is racing across the U.S. through the end of August. This annual tour was created by Everclear’s Art Alexakis and Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath in 2012 and this year’s line-up included my fav, the Toadies, as well as American Hi-Fi, Fuel, and of course, Everclear. I wanted to party like it was 1999 all over again!
A hint to the organizers for next year: change the venue location. Parking is almost non-existent (I was lucky to find a spot at the beach one-half mile away) and there was not a lick of shade. The temperature on Sunday was a very hot and steamy 93 degrees, which I am sure the bands did not appreciate. The typical afternoon dark rain clouds beckoned over the stage and massive crowd for most of the day.
At any rate, when the Toadies finally arrived on stage, my jets were finally cooled. I was ready to dance, groove, and jump to “Possum Kingdom,” while my mind time-traveled to the notorious video of a wrapped “body” being dragged through the lake. Visions of a fist slamming an ice pick repeatedly brought even more chills. Yep. We were all fooled back in the day when an exquisite ice sculpture of a fair maiden was revealed at the end.
Some of the highlights included the crowd sing-along “I Come From the Water.” “Heel” was another crowd-pleaser as well as one of the Toadies more recent hits from 2012’s Play.Rock.Music called “Rattler’s Revival.” Vaden Todd Lewis told the crowd “this is a real ass shaker” and indeed, it was as he sang “Sometimes I wish I had the heart of a snake/With no compassion, comes no mistakes…shake your tail…shake it like a rattler.”
I look forward to the next 20 years of music from this fine band.
Toadies Members: Vaden Todd Lewis (Vocals, Guitar) Mark Reznicek (Drums) Clark Vogeler (Guitar) Doni Blair (Bass), Home Town: Fort Worth, Texas
Check out the Photo Gallery below:
“Rattler’s Revival”
“Possum Kingdom”
The images may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without the written permission to Rock At Night and the photographer. Use of any image is a violation of the United States and International Copyright laws.
I grew up in a household full of rock music, studied journalism in college, and then became a scientist.Although my science career has served me well, music has always played a major role in my life. I grew up reading "Creem" magazine; I play several musical instruments as a "hobby";and it seems a camera has always been in my hand. Now, I am combining what I love the most--music and photography--serving as editor of Rock At Night. I travel between the US and UK seeking my dream! My motto: life is short...no regrets. Chyrisse
