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SUGAR RAY IN CONCERT:
Sugar Ray virtually dominated late-'90s airwaves with breezy, SoCal-filtered pop earworms like "Fly" and "Every Morning." Fifteen years later they're still going as strong as ever, hitting the road to headline the 2014 Under The Sun Tour with fellow '90s favorites Smashmouth and Blues Traveler. As far as frontmen go, they don't make 'em more charismatic than Mark McGrath — fans lucky enough to catch the band live on their last tour were floored by his energy and charisma, setting expectations sky high for their upcoming shows.
BACKGROUND SNAPSHOT:
Sugar Ray formed in Newport Beach in 1986, initially playing the unique brand of funk metal heard on their 1995 debut LP Lemonade and Brownies. While the album garnered them attention in alternative circles, it wasn't until they adopted a poppier sound for 1997's Floored that they really cracked things wide open, topping charts in the US and Canada with the ubiquitous decade smash "Fly." 1999 follow-up album 14:49 was an even bigger success, going triple platinum with infectious singles like "Every Morning" and "Someday." Throughout the '00s, the band continued to find success, releasing three albums and touring extensively. In 2014, they hit the road for the Under the Sun Tour, joining bands like Smashmouth and Uncle Kracker for a seriously satisfying dose of '90s nostalgia.
FANS WHO BOUGHT TICKETS SAY:
"... Sugar Ray by far made the show! Upbeat, got the crowd moving! Seemed like he was having a blast singing!"
"... they seriously kicked ass on stage! The whole concert was just purely entertaining and listening to their '90s hits was awesome!"
"The venue was intimate and Sugar Ray made us want to dance all night. Mark McGrath is an awesome performer and interacts well with the audience. The new music was terrific and fresh and the oldies still sound great."
The show was amazing! The Line up seemed a little backwards, because Gin Blossoms played last! Don't get me wrong I love them, but I thought Sugar Ray was the big name at this concert. Doesn't matter, because it was amazing! The bands sounded great and played all the hits.
All the bands still got it! Great concert. Super fun!!
It was a terrific show ! Very good nostalgic 90's line up ! Each band played their usual unforgettable hits but , best was each group taking chances outside the box of their steadfasts ! The sound system was exceptional and mixed quite well ! If only the mist and occasional rain drop had stayed away....It would have truly been a Tour Under the Sun ...amongst the beautiful Raleigh downtown sky line !!
It was a great show, we enjoyed all the bands. The only disappointment is that it was billed as Sugar Ray headlining, but they had the opening slot! They were easily the best act of the night and late arriving people missed them (thankfully we did not). Sugar Ray should have closed the show.
Even with rain this was a great show. Sugar ray was an awesome start. Would loved to have heard more from Blues TravelGreat show shame there is curfew .
Enjoyed the overal show. Need way more Smashmouth. Could use way less Blues Traveler. Smashmouth should be headlining these types of events and they deserve more than 45 minutes of stage time.
Love the 90's music! It was great fun to sing along and dance to some of our favorite songs from that decade. Sugar Ray is so interactive with the crowd and Smashmouth gave a killer performance. Would have liked hearing more from these two bands!
Under the sun didn't happen but the evening was fun even with the rain. All 4 bands, Sugar Ray, Uncle Kracker, Smash Mouth and Blues Traveler were all great. They played their hits and they sound as good or better than the first time you heard them. Each band played for about 45 minutes and I wanted each one to play longer. Fun is about the best description of the show.
Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth, Uncle Kracker, and Blues Traveler were great! Everyone sounded awesome; they played all their popular hits; I think everyone went home happy. The weather was calling for thunder storms, but we only had slight mists from time to time (thank goodness). Nice venue - first time there.
While none of the bands are super-hot today, this tour will make you wonder why they aren't! Mark McGrath is an amazing front man, Sugar Ray was an awesome opener (although I personally think they should be later in the line up). Both Uncle Kracker and Smash Mouth kept the fans on their feet and singing along. Sean Hurwitz from Smash Mouth is AMAZING on the guitar & those guys REALLY know how to put on a show and get the fans involved. Blue Traveler was my least favorite, and many of the crowd came up to the front (empty) seats. While normally I don't mind this, people were drunk, rude & the music solos were WAAAYYYYY too long. They should have opened the show, since they really only have 3 songs to perform.
Taken as a whole, the concert was a good experience. There were plenty of high points that I have kept in mind as I think about the show, but there were also a few lows that can't be ignored. Let's start with the highs... Mark McGrath and Sugar Ray were engaging and charismatic. It was very clear that Mark was going to do all he could to hype the crowd for the show and to give everyone a good time. The venue staff realized that the crowd would be thinned out, so they allowed movement and overall freedom to the crowd to enjoy the show as they wanted. We bought lawn tickets, but ended up in seats after a staff member acknowledged that there would be plenty of folks not coming out. Blues Traveler put on one amazing show! John Popper and the boys have not lost a single thing in all these years. Their set was, far and away, the best part of the show. Now for the lows... The sound quality for Uncle Kracker and Smash Mouth was less than ideal. As a matter of fact, Steve Harwell's vocals sounded truly bad. Maybe the weather was playing a role in that situation, but in the end it was not what you would expect. Concession prices! My wife and I got a single drink a piece. I got a tall can of Yeungling Lager and she got a 16oz Pina Colada with a double shot of Bicardi Silver Rum. The grand total for the two drinks.... $25 dollars! For that price, I should been given the entire bottle of Bicardi rum and 6 pack of Yeungling! It is very obvious that someone in charge is completely out of touch with reality when it comes to these prices. The fact that there was NEVER a line at the drink stations should be a hint. If not, the littering of "airplane bottles" that were all over the venue should have been a clue. Finally, having a band like Blues Traveler take the stage at 10:30pm in a venue that has a mandatory "curfew" of 11:00pm was a serious lapse in planning. They should have taken the stage no later than 10:15pm in order for the fans in attendance to get the full experience of a Blues Traveler set. Instead, we got BT Light...
My first show at the Stone Pony was fantastic. It was a hot summer night at the Jersey Shore and the crowd was pleasant from my perspective. 3 of us got there right after Sugar Ray started, so by then GA tix were filling most of the outdoor area.. but since it was so nice - we got to mozy in and out of the Stone Pony getting drinks, taking pictures and finding friends and good place to hang. We werent commited to an any specific area which played to our advantage. Each band was awesome and "FUN" - the entire night was great, drinks were reasonable and Strong! I loved the venue and plan on going back.. and this particular summer tour of bands is great together. 90s revisited!
It was an amazing 90's throwback concert, I'm looking forward to next year's under the sun tour
This was one of the best concerts that I have been to in a while. I was able to see four of the best bands from the 90s (Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth, Uncle Kracker, and Blues Traveler) in one night! As Mark McGrath (lead singer of Sugar Ray) pointed out, there is no one group that headlines. Each performer put out their full sets with all of their greatest songs. It will be very difficult to find another show to top this one!!!
Was blown away by Smashmouth, uncle Kracker and sugar ray!! Such great energy, sang great songs and sounded just like they do on their records. Blues traveler didn't sing their big hit songs so I was a bit disappointed but they sounded great
This was a fun night, the idea of combining the bands works out great as each band plays a set of solid songs and they change bands quickly, it was a really fun night and the venue is pretty cool, hoping they do it again next year.
The music was good with Sugar Ray being, by far, the most energetic, interactive, and entertaining of the acts. We brought our kids (both under 21) and we wish we knew that the crowd would be physically divided between "under 21" and "over 21" as we probably would have made different arrangements.
The only bad thing was ticket time said 4pm. My husband and I got there on time and had to wait outside on line on the street for an hour to the minute until they could open the gates to let us in, get drinks, etc. Terrible and a definite mistake on either Ticketmaster or Stone Pony. However, once in- even from the music the dj played on the stage while waiting for bands to start was everything I loved music-wise. All the groups sounded great, were fun and Smash Mouth was awesome! Would go to Stone Pony again if ticket times were more correct!
All the bands greatest hits from back in the day and some great covers as well.
Great venue, Stone Pony out door facility in Asbury Park NJ, great 90,s line up. We had a great time, will be back to see more concerts here. Loved it!
