Everclear, Weatus | Terminal West | Atlanta, GA | October 3, 2021
Tucked away in an industrial section of West Midtown Atlanta is Terminal West, an intimate concert venue that Sunday night played host to one of the most recognizable bands of the ’90s, Everclear, along with their Summerland Tour supporting act, Wheatus.
As an avid concert goer — part of the media or as a fan — I always hope to experience a “first” when attending a show. Sunday did not disappoint; not only was this my first event that required proof of a COVID-19 vaccination to attend, but this was my long overdue opportunity to finally see Everclear live. So while I will readily admit that the majority of my music collection is still stuck in a wide variety of genres from the 80s, I have always had an appreciation for Everclear’s catalog of sing-along, ’90s alt-rock hits.
To start the night Wheatus nonchalantly took the stage, thanking the crowd for coming early to enjoy the opening act. I knew very little about Wheatus prior to the show, other than their cover of “A Little Respect” by Erasure — which sadly they didn’t play! — but I really enjoyed their musical style and songwriting. Brendan B. Brown, commonly known as BBB to Wheatus fans, maintained witty banter with both the crowd and his other bandmates, and it was clear they were having fun. With songs like “Lemonade”, “Fourteen” and “Satan’s Orders,” how could you go wrong? Even funnier, Brown explained that he wrote “Satan’s Orders” about a boss he had in the ’90s while he was repairing printers.
Now while I don’t have the complete setlist — it wasn’t taped down anywhere, and seemingly Brown and bassist Matthew Milligan were jokingly making it up as they went! — they did end with their popular 2000 single “Teenage Dirtbag,” which has been used in a number of TV and film productions, including Loser, Bully, Generation Kill, Girlboss and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
WEATUS:
Brendan B. Brown – lead vocals, guitars
Matthew Milligan – bass, electric upright bass
Karlie Bruce – backing vocals
Gabrielle Aimée Sterbenz – backing vocals
Leo Freire – drums
Joey Slater – backing vocals
Brandon Ticer – keyboards
After a quick stage change and unveiling of their banners, Art Alexakis led Everclear into their opening song of “Afterglow.” Besides Alexakis, Everclear is currently rounded out by Dave French on guitar, Freddy Herrera on bass, and Brian Nolan on drums, and fortunately the music sounds as tight as ever.
Following “Afterglow,” Everclear ripped off a handful well-known tracks, including “Everything to Everyone,” “Heroin Girl,” and of course, “Father of Mine.” One notable observation is that Alexakis changes guitars frequently between songs. At one point Herrara made a joke about the guitar changes and Alexakis’s response of “uh oh, grandpa’s got a whammy bar!” erupted the crowd in laughter.
Everclear then rolled into “California King” and “Strawberry,” before playing my favorite tune “Wonderful.” Besides the fact the song is just so touching and has a melodic flow that you can’t help but hum along and sing to, it hits home for someone like me that was a child of a divorced family, as I find it very relatable and personal. After “Wonderful,” Alexakis lead the group through “Heartspark Dollarsign” and “Amphetamine.” Then he introduced the song “I Will Buy You a New Life,” which he said he wrote for his daughters after he had such a tough upbringing. He also took time to thank the crowd for those of us that brought their kids to the show (like me!).
The encore trio set included the ever-popular Everclear songs “Summerland” and “Santa Monica.” The crowd gleefully sang along. Then the band finished by performing a killer rendition of Nirvana’s “Molly’s Lips” to conclude the evening.
EVERCLEAR:
Art Alexakis – lead vocals, guitar
Dave French – guitar, backing vocals
Freddy Herrera – bass guitar, backing vocals
Brian Nolan – drums
Setlist (10/3/21, Terminal West, Atlanta, Georgia):
- Afterglow
- Everything to Everyone
- Heroin Girl
- Father of Mine
- California King
- Strawberry
- Wonderful
- Heartspark Dollarsign
- Amphetamine
- I Will Buy You a New Life
- Summerland
- Santa Monica
- Molly’s Lips (Nirvana cover)
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Elliott is a music photographer covering shows in Atlanta, Georgia, and the surrounding area. The highlight of his photography career was back in the early ’90s, when he sold Neil Diamond the rights to his negatives from a show and then purchased a set of tires for his 1979 280ZX during college with the money.
