Blue October Comes Back to Houston
Written by Alina Velasquez on April 14, 2023
Performing at 713 Music Hall on April 8th, 2023, Blue October and the Beatnik Bandits brought an emotional and heartfelt night to Houston filled with tears, excitement, confessions and soul on the Spinning the Truth Around Tour.
Fairly new to the music scene, Beatnik Bandits, a folk-rock band from Austin, Texas, opened the night. This four-member band, Sam Lathrop (Lead Guitar) Christian Sparks (Lead Vocals/Guitar) Hunter Lenington (Drums/Percussion) Yi (Keyboardist) and Pete Legasey (Bass), mixes folk music, americana and alternative rock music to create the perfect road trip soundtrack. Using their high energy and strong abilities to keep the crowd on their feet, the band performed songs such as “Old Ghost” and “Fire Arms” from their album As Luck Would Have It and an unreleased song called “Starlight.” The audience thrived off the band’s happy-go-lucky charm and awesome dance moves. Before they left the stage, the band took one last picture with the audience, wrapping up their last performance on this tour.
With the crowd ready for a good time, Blue October, an American rock band originally from Houston, Texas, came out on stage and the crowd went wild. The band was formed in 1995 and is currently composed of Justin Furstenfeld (lead vocals, guitar), Jeremy Furstenfeld (drums, percussion), Ryan Delahoussaye (violin, mandolin, keyboard, vocals), Matt Noveskey (Bass) and Will Knaak (lead guitar). The band put out several singles that have made it on the TOP 40 list on the alternative rock chart during their long career.
The group started off strong with fan favorites such as “The Kitchen Drawer,” and “The Way I Used to Love You,” before slowly picking up speed with “This is What I Live For” and “Oh My My.” Furstenfeld’s perfect vocals sent chills through the audience as he performed with his whole soul. After the band performed “Say It,” the singer expressed his excitement by screaming out “I love rock and roll!” Furnstenfeld was not shy to remind the audience that he was born in Houston, telling everyone he, “used to ride around Heights Boulevard in a beat-up Volkswagen.” Safe to say, the band was happy to be home.
About halfway through the show, the singer read a poem from his journal talking about his broken marriage and his struggle with addiction. Furstenfeld’s vulnerability touched the audience in a personal way as they listened intently, some expressing their vulnerability as well through their own tears, screaming out “We Love you, Justin!” and “Thank you for your honesty!” The poem helped connect the artist with the crowd and reminded all of us that his lyrics are truly from the heart. The audience felt every lyric as Furstenfield performed songs “Into the Ocean” and “Hate Me” and from their 2006 platinum album Foiled.
The band performed hits “Spinning the Truth Around” and “Shut Up I Want You To Love Me Back” from their latest triple album, Spinning The Truth Around. This album will be released in three installments, the first of which was released October 14, 2022. Before performing “Coal Makes Diamonds,” Furstenfeld let the audience know that Blue October will always be here for the world to enjoy, explaining “We will always keep making music. Even if you don’t like us no more. We will keep making music to annoy you then. I like connecting with you! Smile! Happy! Joyous! Free! Now Sing this with me! Louder!”
Blue October brought us to our roots during this performance, reminding us to smile, laugh and feel every moment of our lives. The band will continue their tour into the UK. Make sure to look out for the second installment of the triple album, Spinning The Truth Around, rumored to be released very soon!
