{"id":55579,"date":"2026-11-03T11:50:34","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T16:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=55579"},"modified":"2026-11-03T11:50:34","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T16:50:34","slug":"candlebox-house-of-blues-10-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2026\/11\/03\/candlebox-house-of-blues-10-28\/","title":{"rendered":"Candlebox @ House of Blues 10\/28"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photos by Sam Weber<\/p>\n

Review by Iris Broisat<\/p>\n

Before the doors even opened on Oct. 28, a line of fans stretched outside House of Blues Boston, eager to step inside the venue\u2019s neon-lit halls and watch Candlebox perform.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve already seen them three times,\u201d said one audience member. \u201cThey just keep getting better.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The night opened with Detroit rock band Sponge, whose powerful chords and heavy beats shook the ground and energized the crowd.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

After playing one of their biggest hits, \u201cPlowed,\u201d from their debut album \u201cRotting Pi<\/span>\u00f1ata<\/span>,\u201d lead singer Vinnie Dombroski introduced the headliner, a band Sponge had toured with decades before.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We\u2019re out here traveling in the Candlebox and Sponge time machine,\u201d said Dombroski. \u201cWe\u2019re throwing it back to the \u201890s.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

At 9 p.m., fans cheered as Candlebox\u2019s members took the stage one by one. Instrumental music resembling a drum roll played over the loudspeakers, giving the moment a grand and exciting feel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Seattle grunge band, formed in 1991, immediately launched into their hit song \u201cArrow.\u201d Following an impressively held-out vocal fry scream, lead singer Kevin Martin introduced each member of the band, giving a special shout-out to guitarist Peter Klett from Candlebox\u2019s original lineup.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond echoing the sound of \u201890s rock, the band\u2019s visual aesthetic reinforced the era through flannel shirts, black jeans, tattoos and long, flowing hair.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The audience was composed largely of middle-aged adults, whose teenage energy seemed revived by songs from Candlebox\u2019s self-titled 1993 debut album.<\/span><\/p>\n

The connection between the artists and the crowd was apparent throughout the night. After \u201cVexatious,\u201d an emotional commentary on social media dependence among younger generations, Martin thanked a 14-year-old girl for attending the show before reminiscing about his own first concert, Dead Kennedys, when he was 12.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The band then broke into \u201cChange,\u201d a haunting track filled with reverbed guitar riffs, raspy vocals and satisfying shifts in intensity, with softer verses transitioning into thunderous choruses.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote that song when I was tripping on mushrooms,\u201d Martin said, sparking laughter in the crowd.<\/span><\/p>\n

The singer\u2019s dry sense of humor surfaced throughout the show. Before \u201cBlossom,\u201d Martin dedicated the song to the women in the audience while joking about why it was made.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote this for my girlfriend when [Candlebox] got signed. Then I broke up with her.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s set touched on more serious topics as well. \u201cRiptide\u201d was written to raise money for the Riptide Society, an organization that helps youth in foster care. After a speech by Martin about the cause, soft acoustic chords filled the venue, followed by touching vocals.<\/span><\/p>\n

The band then transitioned into \u201cCellphone Jesus\u201d with an unexpected question.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you could pick up the phone and call Jesus, what would you ask him?” said Martin before joking, “Will the Red Sox win the championship next year?”<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The crowd\u2019s energy dropped slightly during these songs, likely as a result of the band performing some of their more underground tracks. Martin noticed the shift and acknowledged it with humor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know it’s hard. Stupid band wants to play new stupid stuff.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

After \u201cNothing Left to Lose,\u201d featuring a return from Dombroski, Candlebox broke into their hit song \u201cCover Me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis song is about why we do what we do,\u201d Martin said. \u201cThis one is for you.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The crowd immediately sang along, matching the band\u2019s energy. Bassist Adam Kury banged his head, drummer Scott Mercado vigorously crashed his cymbals and Martin danced across the stage so much that a stagehand frequently had to rush over to untangle his microphone cord.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This liveliness continued as they performed \u201cCover Me,\u201d a song about questioning organized religions based on Martin\u2019s experience as a former Roman Catholic, and \u201cFar Behind,\u201d the band\u2019s biggest hit. Martin dedicated the latter to Andrew Wood, Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley and Chris Cornell, the iconic voices of grunge who have died.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Candlebox closed its 16-song set with another hit from its debut album, \u201cYou,\u201d tossing guitar picks and signed drumsticks into the audience before leaving the stage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\" \"\" \"\" \u00a0\"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photos by Sam Weber Review by Iris Broisat Before the doors even opened on Oct. 28, a line of fans stretched outside House of Blues Boston, eager to step inside the venue\u2019s neon-lit halls and watch Candlebox perform. \u201cI\u2019ve already seen them three times,\u201d said one audience member. \u201cThey just keep getting better.\u201d\u00a0 The night […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26199,"featured_media":55593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1895,1525,1523,15,1530],"tags":[2819,517,327,202],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55579"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55579"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55642,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55579\/revisions\/55642"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}