The Gin Blossoms made the Gogue Performing Arts Center their home during their show on September 11. The well-worn band put on a tight and no-frills performance, rolled through their hits and surprised the audience with a couple of tasty covers.
The Gin Blossoms were always a band out of place. When they graduated from college radio to the pop charts in 1993 with the singles “Hey Jealousy” and “Found Out About You” the sludgy angst of the Seattle sound dominated the charts.
But the Gin Blossoms evoked an earlier musical time of southern bands like REM and Big Star, whose ringing guitars were a huge influence. And they rode the great pop songwriting of early member Doug Hopkins on their second album, "New Miserable Experience", to quadruple platinum status. But internal issues forced the band to first split in 1997, only to reunite over the years to tour and put out an occasional album.
Twenty-eight years later, the Auburn community got to hear all of this live.
After the band opened with “Lost Horizons,” lead singer Robin Wilson quipped to the crowd, “We’re the Gin Blossoms. Your favorite band from Tempe, Arizona!” They continued to lean heavily on "New Miserable Experience," playing huge hits “Hey Jealousy,” “Mrs. Rita,” “Until I Fall Away,” “Hands Are Tied,” “Found About You” and “Alison Road” from the album. The songs were complemented by some great guitar solos from guitarists Scott Johnson and Jesse Valenzuela.
The band did two encores, “Rocket Man” by Elton John and then the Plimsoul’s “A Million Miles Away.” While the crowd cheered, Valenzuela said, “I thought this was going to be a quiet crowd!”
With two more stops left on their three-month tour in the following days, the Gin Blossoms played like a band that feels at home on the stage, no matter where they’re playing.
