I saw Sugar Ray in their heyday, back when 14:59 made fun of the claim that their 15 minutes was over, and Mark McGrath was as crazy on stage now as he was then. One of the earlier acts on the Grandview Stage at KAABOO, his Friday show saw a surprisingly large crowd for the time-slot. You can tell these people were waiting for a show…and a show they got! If you got there early enough, you enjoyed a mic-check from Mark, where he mentioned the chart topping albums, multiple accolades, and the bad reviews proven wrong…then saying, “We are SmashMouth.” The crowd erupted in laughter…then, amazingly, broke into SmashMouth’s hit “All-Star” before Mark and crew were ready to perform. It was an interesting crossover moment for this fan of Alternative Rock!
Mark was never that much of a vocalist, and his vocal chords appeared a little on the rough side, but that appeared to add a little more gruff to his crazy on-stage antics and charismatic tough-guy look. He began the set with an emphatic welcome and thank you to the crowd before introducing one of his newest tracks; “Summertime’s Coming,” which featured one sexual innuendo after another while McGrath made one obscene gesture after another. It was a flashback to that concert in 1997 where I saw my first real-life flasher; she was on her boyfriend’s shoulders…you know what I mean. It was memorable…and so was this performance as he slid through the song, ever so gently, into their Top Ten hit “Someday” from the late 90’s. Mark and Rodney still had it…featuring a new backing lineup, Sugar Ray was on a roll with the Public Service Announcement against “Late Night Drunk Social Media.”
Backed by the Bivona Brothers, Sugar Ray pleased many fans during the first day of KAABOO. You could see how happy Mark and crew were to be in San Diego, performing near the beach…with beers in hand throughout the show, I’m sure Mark was very happy. It’s always a pleasure Mark! See you when you come back!
Big Jon
