November 19, 2021 – Wellmont Theatre, Montclair NJ

Gin Blossoms dominated radio and MTV playlists for most of the 90’s. Their breakout album “New Miserable Experience” was their rise to fame, with hit singles such as: “Hey Jealousy”, “Allison Road, “Until I Fall Away”, “Mrs. Rita” and “Found Out About You”.

Gin Blossoms hit the scene in the early 90’s with their edgy pop music, which at the time was markedly different from the bulk of the 1990’s modern rock albums. They were the darlings of national radio stations as the band saw early success. Fast forward 30 years later and the Gin Blossoms still have a cultish following made up of those who seemed to be…not quite the early jumpers to the grunge scene of the 90’s.

Asa the lights dimmed on the anticipatory crowd within the Wellmont, the Gin Blossoms took their positions on stage, raising an occasion arm welcoming the audience. Then band opened with “Follow You Down”, a less traditional, “hold on to you ever so tightly” love song that the audience san along with start to finish. They played to not quite a sold out show, but the Wellmont was still packed with adoring fans.

The one set-back of this event, and pretty much any event at the Wellmont that doesn’t hold the viewers attention start to finish, is the venue acoustics. Towards the back of the venue, within closed doors of the event (not behind closed doors), are three bars serving drinks to attendees. While I enjoy the occasional cocktail (not while shooting of course), the noise from the ar scene was overwhelmingly distracting to the point where on-goers were actually “shhh’ing” the beverage patrons in an effort to hear the music. It was a loud bar scene and is a definite venue issue needing to be resolved, which in my opinion, disrespectfully affects the opening bands far more than the headliners, but also effects paying ticket holders equally as important.

Gin Blossoms consists of members Robin Wilson (lead vocals, guitar), Scott Johnson (guitar), Jesse Valenzuela (guitar), Bill Leen (Bass) and Scott Hessel (Drums). They are currently touring across 2 countries and has 57 upcoming concerts, ending in Toronto, ON on July 21, 2022.

For more info please visit http://www.ginblossoms.com