EVERCLEAR’S LUCKY 7 TOUR FILLS THE HOUSE IN DES MOINES

Alt-rock band Everclear’s one month, 24-date Lucky 7 tour made a stop to a full house in Des Moines, Iowa at Hoyt Sherman Place on Tuesday, November 10. This unique tour allowed fans to vote from a list of 21 songs, and the top seven most requested in each city would make the setlist for that night.

Hoyt Sherman Place is a beautiful venue, situated in the Sherman Hill Historic District in Des Moines, IA. Constructed in 1877, it’s the former home of banker and politician Hoyt Sherman. The historic theatre inside holds almost 1,300 guests, and it was even inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. Tonight, it was filled with fans of 1990’s post-grunge era band Everclear.

Supporting artist, American Hi-Fi, is currently on this tour with Everclear. They recently released a new single this month titled “Guitar Center,” their first new studio material in over a decade. Give it a listen, you won’t be disappointed! “The Art of Losing” was another catchy tune I enjoyed from them that evening, a single from their second album of the same name, released in 2003.

Tonight, the stage was adorned with larger-than-life face cards of a Jack, Queen, King, and Joker with the band’s name and tour title emblazoned on them. Fans arose from their seats immediately when Everclear took the stage. Not an empty seat was to be found in the house! Founder and lead vocalist Art Alexakis provided some strong vocals that night. Flanked on either side of him were guitarist Davey French and bassist Freddy Herrera. Backing them up with the beats was drummer Brian Nolan.

Opening their set with a couple of songs from their 1995 platinum-selling album Sparkle and Fade such as “You Make Me Feel Like a Whore” and “Everything to Everyone,” the evening began with a major throwback to the 90’s post-grunge era. Several songs were preceded with a video clip that would serve as an introduction for the upcoming song to be performed. This was yet another unique feature of this tour, along with the “lucky 7” songs per city.

One of the lucky 7 for Des Moines that night was “Volvo Driving Soccer Mom,” from their 2003 album Slow Motion Daydream. Quite an enjoyable tune and I can see why it made the list of most requested songs. They slowed the tempo down a bit afterwards, as Art and Davey paired up to perform “I Will Buy You a New Life,” from their 1997 album So Much for the Afterglow.

“El Distrorto de Melodica” was also on the setlist for the evening. Another song from their 1997 album So Much for the Afterglow, this instrumental number was their only Grammy nomination, received at the 41st Grammy Awards in 1999 for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

No Everclear concert would be complete without their 1997 hit “Father of Mine,” another off their So Much for the Afterglow album. The crowd went wild when they performed this one. The energy continued with “One Hit Wonder,” from (yet again) So Much for the Afterglow. Fans had their hands in the air, clapping along with this tune. Before breaking into “Wonderful,” from their fourth studio album released in 2000, Songs From an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile, the guys played around with a few old school rock and roll riffs from bands such as Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and the likes. It’s always a fun little break like these during a set that adds just a bit of uniqueness to a show.

Segueing from the rock and roll riffs, they went into performing their cover of Van Morrison’s 1967 hit “Brown Eyed Girl.” The crowd was singing along, with hands waving in the air. Before performing their final number of the evening, founder and lead vocalist Art Alexakis chatted with the crowd, providing the backstory behind their biggest, and most iconic song, “Santa Monica,” from their platinum-selling 1995 album Sparkle and Fade.

There’s still time to catch Everclear on their Lucky 7 tour, with several dates in the Midwest, until wrapping it up at the Brooklyn Bowl on November 22 in Nashville, TN. Head to https://www.everclearmusic.com/tour for more information on their Lucky 7 tour!