Toad the Wet Sprocket, a band that had tremendous success in the 1990s, played Sept. 28 at The Vogel, a stage at the Count Basie Center for The Arts in Red Bank. The band sounded as crisp and clear as they did in the ’90’s and despite heavy rain, the turnout filled the small venue to capacity with 150 people.
“We wouldn’t miss this for anything,” said Richard Batting of Fair Haven said upon entering the music hall. “They were and still are my favorite band. I feel like tearing up just knowing I’ll be hearing them in a few minutes.”
People stood outside in the rain, waiting to get through security while the security guards joked with the attendees. Most of the crowd was between the ages of 40 and 70 and was taking advantage of the ’90s era hit band playing at a small venue with an intimate setting, enhanced by cocktail tables and bar snacks.
The night began with the Toad lead singer, Glen Phillips, introducing the opening act to a surprised audience. “Hi, everyone! Our good friend Megan Slankard is going to warm up the stage for us.” He took a step back and then leaned into the mic. “Yes, it’s me,” he replied to someone in the front row and grinned.
Slankard comfortably walked on stage in her cowboy boots, skirt, and flannel shirt, and stood with her acoustic guitar, smiling wide for the crowd. “Have you ever done any anxiety dreaming?” she asked the crowd. “You know, instead of resting, you start thinking about all the stupid things you did in high school. Or, that you forgot to call your mom. Which reminds me, I forgot to call my mom.” She smiled and started picking at her strings. “This song is called ‘You Got This.’”
“She sounds like a combination of Neil Diamond, Janice Joplin, and my daughter,” Doug Scales of Red Bank said over the music. “She’s terrific.”
“The next one,” Slankard went on, “is from my revenge album. Just kidding. No, but it really is,” she admitted to a laughing audience. “No exes were harmed in the making of this song,” she added.
Her upbeat opener slowly dipped into a clever heartbreak song that compared love to a frozen Trader Joe’s burrito, and then finished with the cover by Melanie: “Brand New Key.”
By the time Toad came onto the stage, the crowd was giddy. They launched right into the song “Windmills” from their fourth album “Dulcinea,” followed by “Come Down,” from their 1997 album “Coil.”
The band’s three remaining members Philips (lead singer, guitar), Todd Nichols (lead guitar), and Dean Dinning (bass) met in high school in Santa Barbara, California. Phillips wrote their first album when he was only 15, in 1988, and by 1989, they had signed with Columbia Records.
Before the third song, Philips introduced their new drummer, Carl Thompson, and with much praise, their new lap steel, keyboard, and mandolin player: John Sosin.
In 2013, the band released their first album in 16 years. It was funded by their fan base and was one of the most successful music kickstart campaigns in history, which contains “California Wasted” and “Rare Bird,” the former song played as the third song that evening. When the band picked the opening chords to “All I want,” the crowd got up and out of their seats, pushing away their cocktail tables, so they could dance and sway. Afterward everyone sat down again to listen to Philips who performed an acoustic solo: “The Sound of Drinking.”
The band got a few laughs, especially when Philips addressed the crowd: “It doesn’t matter what political party you’re with. This one is about today in Congress.” And he launched into “Something’s Always Wrong” from their fourth album, “Dulcinea.”
“I can’t believe how spot on they sound. They sound exactly the same,” Scales said as the evening came to a close and the lights came on.
Outside in the lobby, Slankard had her merch out for sale and was game for questions. “I’m sad to be leaving the tour tomorrow to head home to San Francisco for a wedding,” she said with a sad face and slightly bloodshot eyes. “This has been such a fun ride; I hate for it to be over. I love these guys.
“We feel the same way,” Batting said with a smile and a wave before exiting the theater.