![]() ![]() “I still get goosebumps thinking about it. So, he just played it through,” Scannell reflects. “I went to see Billy Joel and when it was time for him to play ‘Piano Man,’ we sang it so loud in the audience that he couldn’t even sing himself. The experience would have a profound and lasting effect on the Vertical Horizon frontman, but at the time he never imagined that his own music would on day have an equally- powerful impact fans. Matt Scannell was just a kid when he turned up to Madison Square Garden in New York to see Billy Joel in concert. That was followed by the harder-rocking 1997 Top 10 hit “Casual Affair,” but Tonic chose to end its set with a cover of Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream.” It’s such a good song that it couldn’t miss, and Tonic didn’t embarrass itself.Matt Scannell / Photo by Craig M. ![]() And Hart only briefly asked the crowd to sing along, saying, “Come on, it’s 22 years. ![]() 1 Mainstream Rick chart song “If You Could Only See,” and it was still strong, still connected and was still vital. Tonic wound down its set with its biggest hit, the 1997 No. The lighter title track from “Sugar,” the band’s sophomore disc, was also good, but several other songs didn’t meet that standard. The 2002 song “Where Do I Fit” literally sounded like Vertical Horizon-light, with the same drum thump as that band’s song “You Say” (which ironically was missing from Vertical Horizon’s playing).īut Tonic, too, showed how its high-water mark was its “Lemon Parade,” from which it played seven of the 13 songs in its 75-minute set. Especially on the 2002 minor hit “Take Me As I Am,” Hart’s vocals had the same tonality as Scannell’s, and the song the same emotional feeling, if not the depth of lyrics. One surprise was just how stylistically similar Tonic was to Vertical Horizon. The band’s core – guitarist Jeff Russo and bassist Dan Lavery – still is intact. Singer Emerson Hart’s vocals were consistently strong – with him often hitting the high notes the songs required. It wasn’t that disc’s best, but still was very good – showing just how much of a high-water mark the album was.Ĭo-headliner Tonic showed that its music also has held up surprisingly well – the opening “Open Your Eyes” from its platinum 1996 debut album “Lemon Parade” had depth and a punch, and that music it released later also measured up, such as the nice, melodic 1999 hit “You Wanted More,” or the slower, lighter – but deeper- sentiment - “On Your Feet Again” from the 2002 disc “Head on Straight.” Instead of other very good “Everything You Want” songs such as “You Say” or “Finding Me,” Vertical Horizon chose to do a cover of Foo Fighters’ “My Hero” – well performed, but superfluous, especially in a relatively short set.īut it closed with another song from that disc, “We Are” – perhaps the most muscular “Everything You Want” song. (Scannell is the only original member, and while his band was good, it didn’t reach the level of the original players.)Īnd, of course, the main set closed with Vertical Horizon’s biggest hit, “Everything You Want,” which Scannell introduced by saying, “OK, let’s do this.” The band played for all it was worth, and reminded just how good a song it is.īut that made the encore a bit underwhelming. The best of the songs not from “Everything You Want” was the first post-album single, “I’m Still Here” from “Go,” and its layered vocals conveyed that urgency listeners remember.Īnd the band knew well enough to close the main set with its hits: “You’re a God” still had impact, even though Scannell let the audience sing far too much of it and it was changed up a bit in a way that diminished it. The new disc’s first song, “I’m Gonna Save You” was, as Scannell advertised, new wave-influenced, with a techno sense to it. Scannell warned that “Time Illusion” from the new disc was a long song – he said he’s been spending time with members of the band Rush, who encouraged him to write longer tunes – but its eight minutes held up, and his singing was as strong as it was all night, as he clearly tried harder. Others were less so, but still were good. The good “Forever” from “Go,” the disc that came after “Everything You Want,” was stylistically similar, but evolved. “Heart in Hand” from the pre-hit disc “Running on Ice” clearly was a forebear of the sound – and good because of it, with singer Matt Scannell’s earnest vocals and open lyrics. ![]() Some of the set’s other songs had the same DNA as that hit album. ![]()
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