More than once at Saturday night’s sold-out show at Jergel’s Rhythm Grille in Warrendale, Everclear lead singer Art Alexakis asked the crowd, “Who wants to hear some ’90s alternative rock and roll?”
And the response was overwhelming.
It’s a reasonable question. Everclear hit their peak in the 1990s with hit songs including “Santa Monica,” “I Will Buy You A New Life” and “Everything to Everyone.” Their breakout album, “Sparkle and Fade,” will have its 30th anniversary next month; as of now, the record has sold almost 1,200,000 copies and shot its way to No. 25 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
But the band hasn’t put out a new album in a decade, as Alexakis pointed out onstage Saturday night. “I have no urge to make a record. … That’s why we’re going to start making a new record. It’s going to come out next year.”
Opening for Everclear were two regional bands: The Sages, from Morgantown, W.Va., and Silver Screen, from Johnstown, Pa. The Sages played a set full of ear-catching, musically interesting songs that were elevated by their lead singer’s piercing, passionate voice. Silver Screen was a no-holds-barred rock band that ended their set with a cover of Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name” that kept the crowd nearly vibrating until the headliners came on.
Everclear kicked off their set with the titular track from their 1997 album “So Much for the Afterglow,” and Alexakis got the crowd excited and throwing their hands up at the bridge. The frontman was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis eight years ago — he wore a T-shirt with the slogan “I’m Not Drunk, I Have Multiple Sclerosis” emblazoned on its front — but he remained energetic and charismatic throughout the set.
It’s clear that this is a band that cultivates a great relationship with their fans. Bassist Freddy Herrera, who did some of the talking throughout the show, said that they will typically ask for requests on social media a couple of days before a show and try to honor those requests. At Saturday night’s show, they threw out tunes including “The Man Who Broke His Own Heart” and a cover of Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town” at the behest of fans. And Alexakis makes a pretty good Phil Lynott.
In addition to song suggestions, the audience members had plenty of love to give back to the band. They sang along to the songs, taking every call-and-response opportunity and filling in when Alexakis would go quiet for a few lines.
Everclear made sure to play their hits, generously portioned throughout their set. The siren call of the guitar at the beginning of “Everything to Everyone” began just as the first song ended. Then they played the harder-rock “Heroin Girl” before Alexakis asked, “Who wants to hear a song that used to get played on the radio back in the day?”
That song was “Father of Mine,” a very personal lyrical letter that Alexakis wrote to his own father, who left his family when Alexakis was five years old. Like many of Everclear’s songs, this one ends with a single hook of a lyric that the crowd sang along with over and over again.
Drummer Brian Nolan stood out on “Heartspark Dollarsign,” and the edge of sincerity in Alexakis’s voice was put to good use in “The Twistinside.” He spoke about his MS diagnosis and his 35 years clean and sober before performing the anthemic “Strawberry” under red, green and white lights.
They followed that with a pair of later-era hits, “Wonderful” and “AM Radio,” which preceded the only song of theirs that’s ever garnered a Grammy nomation: “El Distorto de Melodica,” a freewheeling and somewhat rebellious instrumental track that they could’ve played for 20 minutes without it getting tiring.
After that, they ended the regular set with hit “I WIll Buy You A New Life,” after Alexakis talked about how the reent California wildfires affected his Pasadena home, adding new life and dimension to the already very personal song.
After taking a brief encore break, they came back with another audience request, “Summerland.” which let the band stretch their legs again with rhythm guitar and drums knitting together and some squealing solos.
“Santa Monica” is a natural closer, not only as the band’s first big hit but also because it has a feeling of finality to it. The band sarted off subdued, letting the lyrics sit front and center, and Alexakis kicked half of the first verse to the audience, who carried it with their voices over the band’s musical assistance. The song built until it crashed like a wave to end the show.
Everclear may have originated more than three decades ago, but they’re not giving up anytime soon; they made it clear that with their “Sparkle and Fade” 30th anniversary tour, they’ll be back to Pittsburgh sooner rather than later.