Once In A Blue Moon

Once in a blue moon, or should I say “Blue October,” you come across a band that you just flat out like. You like their music, you like their videos and if you are lucky enough to meet the band members, you like them too.

That is how I feel about Blue October, who plays Friday night, June 26, at the Venue at the Hub, in support of their fifth studio album, “Approaching Normal.” Known for being the band that everyone can relate to, many of Blue October’s lyrics are about mental illness, drug addiction and dysfunctional relationships. Their lead singer, Justin Furstenfeld, admits to being bipolar (he has his condition under control, stating “I’m not a danger to myself—anymore.”) and has spoken extensively about his depressed and deluded past.

After years of hard work, the band was signed to Universal in 1999, only to be dropped in 2002. They were re-signed by Universal but then faced multiple postponements of the release of their fourth studio album, “Foiled.” However, through it all, they kept the faith, touring and writing music, knowing that if they worked hard enough and put their time in, their big break would come.

And has it? Depends on your definition of success. One of Blue October’s most well knows songs, “Hate Me,” is about Jeremy’s battle with drug addiction and mental illness (“all of this crap that I had to get off my chest” Justin says). Yet last summer, while on a book tour with Stephanie Meyer—best selling author of the Twilight series—Jeremy said, “You don’t have to be broken to be a Blue October fan… I want to show my fans that it is OK to be happy.”

Is this success? And just last week bassist Matt Novensky took great pains to explain how the band has changed and evolved to a place “Approaching Normal,” if there is such a thing.

In this case, both success and normal mean no longer “...being the victim. I want to be a strong, confident individual… I don’t want to write sad songs anymore. I am a little older, and I have a child and that allows me to see the beauty and the mystery of life,” Justin said. With songs on this album like “Blue Does” and “Jumprope,” both written by Justin for his daughter Blue, he invites fans on his journey of self-discovery.

But before we get too wrapped in sunshine and rainbows, let us not forget the first single off of the album, “Dirt Room.” The video is rocking in the style of “The Burning Bed” and in society’s current state of political correctness, it does the soul good to see and hear someone finally get what they deserve.

Justin was invited on Stephanie Meyer’s “Breaking Dawn” theatre tour last summer when she released her fourth and final book in the Twilight series. Meyer, a fan of Blue October, described the “empathetic power in Blue October’s music—the listener doesn’t just sympathize with the feeling of the song, the listener has no choice but to feel the song as if the emotion was his/her own.” Justin sang an acoustic version of “My Never,” a spare, brooding song that describes how an end becomes a beginning, and is just one more style of song on an album already known for its eclectic musical choices.

And finally, totally unexpected (yet shouldn’t we have expected it?) is the album’s last song, appropriately named “The End.” A crazy, scary, out of control song that will remind you of every ex-boyfriend/girlfriend and what could have, might have, happened. “The End” is a truly frightening look at “what people think they can get away with… what in their brain is making them say ‘that’s OK,’” Justin said.

“What the f#$k is normal?” he asks. “The album is a play on how everyone’s sense of normal is at risk over something, happiness or sadness or, God forbid—madness. Blue October is a mood. Whether you listen to the words or not, the music sets a tone, and as for the lyrics, well, you either love it or hate it.”

As for the critics, they don’t know what to do. Blue October’s sound was called a “roadblock” by writer Jerry McCulley, stating that “none of the songs are unified around a single or couple of genres” and “I cringe because it’s going to be a hard trek” when referring to the band’s success with their “wide range of music.”

Does this bother the band? Absolutely not. First and foremost, these guys are musicians and when you have five different people with five different musical backgrounds and influences, you are lucky to combine a wide influx of sounds and lyrics from true artists who are breaking their musical mold over and over again.

And all I can say is thank God. Now that’s a show I don’t want to miss, and you shouldn’t either.

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INFO:

Who: Blue October
When: Fri, June 26, 6pm
Where: The Venue at the Hub
Cost: $26 in advance, $28 day of - all ages