LIVE REVIEW: Candlebox Acoustic - Tupelo Music Hall - 3/24/2017

Candlebox – Brian Quinn, Dave Krusen, Kevin Martin – Mike Leslie – Adam Kury

Kevin Martin (guitar/lead vocals) and Brian Quinn (guitar) of Candlebox fame recently played to a sold out Tupelo Music Hall crowd in picturesque Derry, New Hampshire and Rock Revolt was on hand to take in the extraordinary performance.

The Tupelo Music Hall Martin and Quinn played to is a new incarnation of the venue’s brand. The owners only recently relocated from their previous home to the new space that houses nearly quadruple the capacity of their old Londonderry facility.

Still providing the intimate surroundings the venue is known for, the new iteration of the Tupelo Music Hall offers significantly more parking, a full bar that replaces the venue’s previous BYOD policy, a larger stage, as well as a state of the art sound board and PA system.

Martin and Quinn are performing acoustic versions of Candlebox hits and rarities this time out in partial support of the band’s latest release, 2016’s Disappearing in Airports.

The duo is also delighting their audiences on the road by putting unique spins on songs by artists that have inspired the pair musically over the years.

It’s entirely possible that a fan or two showed up to the venue thinking that they were going to witness the full band perform. This confusion is understandable as more than a few venues have been promoting the show as simply an “Evening with Candlebox.”

Hopefully any of those in attendance expecting to take in an electric performance by the entire band weren’t too disappointed once learning only Martin and Quinn would be performing acoustically.

Folks shouldn’t be down on being given the chance to see one of their beloved bands perform in an unplugged capacity. The fact is acoustic shows offer fans the rare opportunity to witness artists perform distinctive versions of songs they’ve loved for years in intimate surroundings.

The acoustic format also serves to a create an atmosphere that allows fans to seamlessly connect on a personal level with any artist and their music.

11-2 It’s obviously a no-brainer to to go see artists such as Jewel or Sheryl Crow perform acoustically because the nature of the genre of music they subscribe to is naturally conducive to unplugged soundscapes.

However, it’s important to note that more and more hard rock and heavy metal bands are disconnecting from their Marshall amp stacks to perform surreal acoustic shows themselves.

Well received recent tours by established rock performers, such as former Queensrÿche front man Geoff Tate, are proving acoustic tours can provide fans the chance to take in one-of-a-kind live music experiences that they may very well end up reminiscing about for decades to come.

Despite the aforementioned facts the reality is artists still have to have the balls, and more importantly the talent, to execute a proper acoustic show.

Unplugged shows simply don’t provide the mind bending light and laser displays, elaborate set pieces, nor the wide open stages bands can easily use to mask less than stellar live music performances.

Fortunately for any patrons inside the walls of the Tupelo Music Hall, Martin and Quinn are not only old pros in terms of playing superlative acoustic shows, the two are beyond gifted musicians whose technical acumen never fails to impress.

The Candelbox pair would go on to deliver a 14-song set highlighted by more than a few quirky anecdotes that accompanied each song. Some of the stories shared were humorous in nature, while others took a more serious turn.

One such tale involved Martin elaborating on his father’s experience as a foot soldier in World War II that he touched on prior to playing the pensive ‘Miss You.”

Martin is known for having a playful sense of humor while up on the lighted stage. Fans had the opportunity to bare witness to the singer’s gaiety when he called out a few women for leaving their table while Martin was in the midst of some choice story telling.

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This prompted what would end up being many roars of laughter the front man would elicit from Tupelo Music Hall crowd on the evening.

Another highlight of the night was offered up in the form of a resplendent cover of Pink Floyd’s, “Mother.”

With the song being performed acoustically in its original form and its subject matter being more relevant than ever, the classic is a perfect fit for this tour. Martin’s emotive vocals and Quinn’s subtle yet poignant guitar solo on the song allowed the pair to deliver a sublime version of the song that even Roger Waters and David Gilmour themselves would likely give high marks to.

Many fans probably never knew before the evening’s performance that one of Candlebox’s most cherished songs, and the set closer on the night, “Far Behind,” was originally penned as a tribute. Martin originally wrote the song to pay homage to fellow Seattle rocker Andy Wood, the former front man of popular grunge era outfit Mother Love Bone.

There’s something primal about going to a 20,000 seat venue, rocking out to countless explosions and flashes of fire as your favorite band plays larger than life versions of songs you’ve loved for ages. However, intimate acoustic performances, such as the one Martin and Quinn delivered, provide something that immense arena and amphitheater shows often cannot.

Acoustic shows offer an inter personal experience that unequivocally bonds people with the musicians that have been providing the soundtracks to their very own lives for decades.

It’s safe to assume most fans in attendance for Quinn and Martin’s performance at the Tupelo Music Hall will be looking forward to bonding with their friends Candelbox again, whether they show up to play another acoustic show, plug in or even if they just decide to get up on stage to share a few stories.