This past weekend I went with my father to see Toad the Wet Sprocket at the Northwestern Cahn Auditorium. Although I'd never heard of them before, I was pleasantly surprised by their set! The openers were Marcy Playground, who I have also never heard of, and I honestly didn't love them, as they were a bit too heavy metal for me. On the other hand, I felt that Toad had a great mix of upbeat and soothing songs, with unique instruments brought onstage too. I'm pretty sure one of the members was playing a banjo at some point! My favorite song that they played was their rendition of "Closer to Fine" by the Indigo Girls, which is one of my favorite ssongs of all time; we used to play it at late campfire at camp. Although I didn't know any of their songs, they were enjoyable and easy to catch onto. I specifically liked California Wasted, which felt very empowering, and The Moment. I was also delighted when they opened the show with "Going to California" by Led Zeppelin, which I've coincidentally been listening to a lot recently. Their backdrop was a dark material with lights in it, which made it look like a night sky full of stars. At the end of the show, I reached out to my friend's mom, who I know loves the Indigo Girls, and sent her my video of the cover. She was also excited to hear that I went to the Toad concert, as she liked them a lot as a kid. Overall, I would highly recommend seeing them!
- Emma Pasternak