Blind Melon ROCKS Hiro Ballroom
Blind Melon gave the second performance of their 5-month nationwide tour last night, March 1, 2008, at the sold out Hiro Ballroom at the Maritime Hotel in Chelsea. Shannon Hoon’s replacement, lead vocalist Travis Warren, surprisingly rocked the audience. I was unsure how they would perform with the new lead, given Shannon’s unique and easily distinguishable voice, but they did a great job. The sounds were familiar, the hits were all there. Many songs were dedicated to Shannon, such as “Change” Shannon’s favorite (and mine). The playlist included Soup, Galaxie, Toes Across the Floor, and of course No Rain. They also played new songs from their new album which will be out on April 22nd. Travis’ mother came out to join the vocals on Cheatem Street.
The sound quality was fantastic and the venue was small and intimate, only 250-300 tickets were sold. A lot of true fans were in the house. I was able to get pretty close to the stage. Check out a clip of No Rain.
March 2nd, 2008 at 11:52 am
The new song is “Cheatem Street” from the forthcoming CD “For My Friends.” Travis’ mom’s name is Tennessee, I believe.
Also reknowned photographer Danny Clinch played harmonica on “Change” and Jena Kraus reprised her role on “Mouth Full of Cavities” from “Soup.”
Cool venue. I thought the mix was spotty and times, though being under the weather may have contributed to that. Seeing the video, I think we were standing next to your booth. We were on the first and second steps off the floor.