Nothing But ‘Good Intentions’ with Toad the Wet Sprocket at State Theatre Portland, ME

Oct 13

By Savanna Pettengill

Toad the Wet Sprocket took their Good Intentions Tour on its fifth to last stop to grace the stage of the State Theatre Monday night, following opening acts Vertical Horizon and KT Tunstall. A packed house heard favorite hits, deep cuts, and new songs by each act, who were each genuinely vibrant in each of their own right.

Vertical Horizon’s brief set featured members Matt Scanell, John Wesley, Logan Tabor, and Ron Lavella, showcasing song such as “You’re a God”, “Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning)”, and “Everything You Want”, all will emphasizing the importance of supporting musicians directly to the audience.

KT Tunstall lit the room on fire with her humor, stories, and most of all incredible talent as she built her layered songs on her synthesizers and looping pedals, with a shining moment of her hit “Black Horse and a Cherry Tree”, which she dedicated to her earlier in the day experience getting her new passport photo taken at a CVS, that wove seamlessly into “Black Betty”, a cover of Ram Jam’s hit. Later, she was joined by her tour manager Joel Gottschalk on bass for a cover of “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley. Her song "Hallowed Ground" gave the audience collective chills that carried into her final song of the night, “Suddenly I See.”

Toad the Wet Sprocket came out to Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California”, which set a nostalgic tone for the set, showcasing primarily their Dulcinea and Fear albums with songs such as “Windmills” and “All I Want” as well as new songs speaking to the new chapters of their lives including “The Moment”, “California Wasted”, “Crazy Life”, “Good Intentions” and “Transient Whales”. Rich vocals by lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Glen Phillips, lead guitarist, and backing vocalist Todd Nichols, and bassist Dean Dinning were accompanied by the drum stylings of Carl Thomson throughout the set that ended with the band’s fan favorite “Walk on the Ocean”.

The audience left the State Theatre hopeful and grounded in the rich vocals, guitar melodies, catchy rhythms and authenticity that serenaded them for a well-rounded night of hopeful sentimentality and good fun.