With Big Head Todd and the Monsters in town today, it feels like 90s weekend here in Cleveland, and the weekend got off to a good start last night with back to back sets from fellow 90s vets Sponge and Seven Mary Three. Attendance for the concert on the east bank of The Flats at Roc Bar Cleveland was dismal – probably 100 people at the most. Chalk it up to the fact that there is so much going on in Cleveland this weekend – the air show, Taste of Cleveland, etc. Add an Indians game into the mix, and also a $20 day of show ticket price that might have been a bit pricey for most, a shame because the show was outdoors on a beautiful day in Cleveland.
A 45 minute set from Sponge focused mainly on hits and album tracks from Rotting Pinata and Wax Ecstatic, while Seven Mary Three shot through a 90 minute setlist that featured quite a few tunes from their new CD Day & Night Driving. I got my most wanted Sponge track, the title track of Wax Ecstatic, which was as I expected, the leadoff track in their set. For Seven Mary Three, I was pulling hard for “Lucky” and the Orange Ave.-era “Over My Shoulder,” but didn’t get either, which surprised me since they were both singles. Opening with “Rock Crown” was pretty cool though, and their set really was a crowd pleaser for all in attendance.
(Note: I saw both bands previously on a great four band bill in Columbus in 2003 featuring Gin Blossoms, Spin Doctors, Seven Mary Three, and Sponge – for 10 bucks. Can you beat that ticket price for all of those bands?)
My friend Pat and I had the chance to hang out a bit with Seven Mary Three frontman Jason Ross prior to their set, and I got to talk a good bit about music with Jason. I wanted to pick his brain a bit about Springsteen after hearing back in the day that Springsteen’s The Ghost of Tom Joad album was a big influence on Ross as he was writing tracks like “Lucky” that eventually ended up on Rock Crown. I was surprised to hear that being a Springsteen fan, he still hasn’t seen a full Springsteen show.
We both talked about having a list of artists that we still need to see, and the artists like Tom Petty and Neil Young, that have been crossed off of his list in recent years. Ross is also a fan of bands like Wilco, and My Morning Jacket, who he said are probably his favorite band of today’s artists that are making music. We also talked a bit about some video work he’s been doing, shooting indie bands like Fleet Foxes. Cool dude, and definitely my favorite type of backstage experience filled with good conversation and hanging out.
Here are the setlists for both bands:
Sponge:
Wax Ecstatic
Molly
Glue
Rotting Pinata
Have You Seen Mary
Party Til We Drop
Plowed
Planet Girls
Party Til We Drop (reprise)
Seven Mary Three
Rock Crown
Was A Ghost
Wait
Settle Up
Headstrong
Upside Down
Cumbersome
Shelf Life
Sleepwalking
My My
Times Like These (R&T)
Last Kiss
Breakdown
Dislocated
Waters Edge
Big Bird (Eddie Floyd cover)
Strangely at Home Here
Relevant Links:
Sponge official website
Seven Mary Three official website
Purchase Day & Night Driving, the new album from Seven Mary Three – CD or MP3
Purchase Seven Mary Three American Standard – CD or MP3
Purchase Galore Galore, the new album from Sponge – CD or MP3
Purchase Sponge – Rotting Pinata – CD or MP3
Purchase Sponge – Wax Ecstatic – CD or MP3