One of the most beloved bands from Generation Y’s childhood will play live in Oxford tonight at the Lyric. Third Eye Blind is currently on tour promoting their fifth studio album, “Dopamine,” which has a sound that listeners can easily compare to songs they grew up hearing.
Bad Bad Hats will be warming up the crowd for Third Eye Blind. The band supplies indie rock music with a slight sharpness. Kerry Alexander, Chris Hoge and Noah Boswell formed the band while in college at Macalester College. In 2015, they released their first LP, “Psychic Reader.”
Third Eye Blind is widely regarded as one of the most memorable bands of the late 90s. Many of their songs are mainstay, nostalgic favorites of college students today. The band released several top ten radio hits on their self-entitled first album, “Third Eye Blind,” including “Semi-Charmed Life” and “Jumper” in 1997. The iconic cover art features a red, open-mouthed face with a hand covering it and a yellow “3eb” band logo. It spent 104 weeks on the Billboard 200 and went platinum a total of six times, making it one of the most iconic albums of the decade.
For Ole Miss student and avid Third Eye Blind fan Tripp Dowdy, the band’s music has extraordinary meaning.
“Their songs take me back to specific points in my life. I’ve grown up and learned about myself and about life, and their music has been there with me. It’s almost a part of who I am now. When I reflect on myself, my surroundings, and where I’ve come from, their music is a soundtrack to all of it,” Dowdy said.
Since the success of “Third Eye Blind,” the band has continued to make music. They’ve released four other studio albums and “A Collection,” a greatest hits album released in 2006. Their sound and style has stayed mostly the same throughout their work. The composition is filled with enough edge to feel like solid rock and roll, yet they know how to place catchy lyrics and subject matter to appeal to a wide crowd.
For many, this show will be a fulfillment of a lifelong wish to see the band play the songs they grew up knowing in person and on stage.
“This show is going to be a very special, and even spiritual, experience for me. I’ve waited for a long time to see them live, and I know every word to every song. It’s very surreal,” Dowdy said.
Third Eye Blind and Bad Bad Hats will be performing at the Lyric tonight at 9 p.m.
– Alex Presley
