On Monday I opened up for Blind Melon at Harper’s Ferry in Allston. Turns out the original members (minus Shannon Hoon obviously) found a new singer, recorded a new album and setup a string of tour dates.
The new singer, Travis Warren’s impersonation of Hoon was great. From time to time he slipped sounded more like a young Rod Stewart, but bravo overall. He event went so far to emulate the swaying and gestures of the late Hoon.
I found it humorous that Warren was 25, a year younger than me. I bet when he was between the ages of 12-15 like myself had made a habit of watching countless hours of MTV. Back then between Jenny McCarthy talking about her farts on Blind Date and Real World Los Angeles the video to Blind Melon’s hit No Rain was in heavy rotation. Yah, the one with the tap dancing chubby girl in the bee costume. Everyone knows that video, but I’m reluctant to believe that most of the fans at the show Monday actually had seen it originally air on MTV.
Let’s do the math: It’s 2007. I’m 26. In 1992 No Rain was released as a single. I was 12. It hit #1 on the charts give or take a year later. I was 13. Shannon Hoon died in 1995. I was 14.
The show was 18+. A present day 18 year old was born no earlier than 1988, but let’s say the majority were born in 1989. That means that Blind Melon’s first run as a band would have come and gone by an 18 year olds 5th birthday. Eww. I wonder how the younger fans came across Blind Melon. Older sibling? Youtube? Myspace? VH1’s I love the 90’s? Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. I’m old.
