June 16, 2018

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The Gin Blossoms made a stop at the Hard Rock Live on Thursday night.  They are currently on their Mixed Reality Tour and brought two other platinum-selling acts from the ‘90s, Vertical Horizon and Tonic along for the ride.

 

Vertical Horizon was the first band to hit the stage.  Their brief six-song set consisted of songs from their 1999 debut album and their latest release titled The Lost Mile.  

 

Everyone was on their feet when the band launched into their biggest hits “You're A God” and the set closing “Everything She Wants.”

 

Tonic kicked off their set with “Open Up Your Eyes,” which is one of the most underrated rock songs from the ‘90s.  

 

This band was very impressive and were clearly having fun on stage.

 

During “You Wanted More,” Vertical Horizon lead singer Matt Scannell joined them on stage to lend his vocals and join in the fun.

 

The forty-minute set ended with their #1 Mainstream Rock hit “If You Could Only See.”

 

Gin Blossoms, the Tempe, AZ-based band first gained prominence on the radio and MTV with their 1992 multi-platinum selling album New Miserable Experience.  As expected, several hits were played from that album including “Allison Road” and “Until I Fall Away.”

 

Singer Robin Williams sounded fantastic, and he and the rest of the band played the songs exactly as they sound on the record.

 

Speaking of records, Williams announced that the band's new album was being released at midnight and he “was very pumped up” about that.  At the end of the show, he stated that they were actually selling their new CD titled Mixed Reality at the merch booth a couple of hours ahead of schedule and many fans bought a copy.

 

A handful of new tunes were played such as “Break,” “Angels Fly” and “Wonder,” and they fit perfectly into the set as they all have that classic Gin Blossoms sound and were received warmly by the Rocksino crowd.

 

The fans were dancing in the aisles as the last portion of the set saw the band play their biggest hits including “Found Out About You,” “Hey Jealousy” and the set closing “‘Til I Hear From You.”

 

The band came back along with members of Tonic and Vertical Horizon to play a great cover of The Rolling Stones classic “Wild Horses.”

 

“Follow You Down” ended the evening of great ‘90s pop rock.

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Review and photos by Greg Drugan