Hoobastank Concert Review

Megan Purazrang

WCB Music Writer 

Hoobstank

Arcadia Place, Kalamazoo Greek Festival

June 2, 2012

Photo Credit: Seth Messer

On Saturday June 2, 2012 the Los Angeles based band Hoobastank took the stage at the Arcadia Creek place’s 36th annual Greek Festival stage in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan. The festival ran from May 31-June 2. (It was a two night rock event featuring San Francisco rock band Night Crawler on Friday evening). Lead vocalist Doug Robb began by giving a short, but effectively thankful spiel on being asked last minute to play at the Kalamazoo Greek Festival and obliging instantly. Upon admitting that this show was the first time playing Kalamazoo, he also added the specialty of saying that it was the first outdoor show that they have ever played.

The crowd held an aura of mixed emotions about the show that lasted just over an hour.  It was pleasing to have such a well known band of the late 1990s and early 2000s playing the remote city. However, the circling question was where have they been since their biggest hits? As the band is touring to promote what will be their fifth studio album with a mid-July release date, it is obvious that they have not been particularly main-stream in the last 10 years; however, their 2006 released album did go gold.

Most of the people who attended allowed the groove of the newest unfamiliar pop-rock musical tunes to become a comfortable flow of energy. What was recently announced as their first upcoming single “This is Gonna Hurt,” appeased the crowd immensely. The most anticipated songs were “Crawling in the Dark,” “Running Away” and the infamous song “The Reason.”

The weather was one of the downfalls of the evening, but handled with tolerance. The rain only lasted one-third of the show and the band did a considerable job of incorporating it within the set.

Kalamazoo took on the task of welcoming a more prestige band to play a beloved annual festival. The band lived up to the expectations with the simple hits from the past. If anything the excitement of sharing their company was enough, and without a doubt they have embraced the old and connected with new-found fans.