Review | Too Good to Take for Granted

Toad was in the house last week — that’s Santa Barbara’s beloved (and probably most famous) homegrown rock band, Toad the Wet Sprocket, to those of you who are new to town. And as we’ve come to count on, they came to the Lobero stage on August 29 bearing gifts of lovely vocals, powerful chord progressions, familiar tunes, enthusiastic friends, family, and fans, plus a strong supply of feel-good vibes. 

With the seemingly ageless vocals of founding band members Glen Phillips, harmonizing with bass player/vocalist Dean Dinning, and guitarist/vocalist Todd Nichols, now backed by drummer Carl Thompson and Jon Sosin on keyboards, mandolin, accordion, and more, it was a solid evening of mostly well-known tunes. Starting with “Something’s Always Wrong” from the 1994 album Dulcinea, they then segued into “California Wasted” from the 2013 album New Constellation. 

The palpably excited Santa Barbara crowd and historic theater have a special place in the band’s heart, and it showed in their performance. Phillips shared that the last time he was at the Lobero was a year ago, getting married. He certainly seemed happier and more lighthearted than he did in the lovely and emotional series of Facebook Live solo shows (benefiting designated nonprofits) he performed with some regularity during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. 

Back with the full band in tow and in the middle of a tour that includes co-headlining with the Gin Blossoms, opening for Barenaked Ladies, and solo dates, Toad was in fine form as they played “Something to Say” (a personal favorite of mine) from 1991’s album Fear; “Throw it All Away,” from 1997’s Coil; and a new song from the 2021 album Starting Now called “Hold On,” which Phillips explained they wrote, with tongues firmly in cheek, “because everyone needs a song called ‘Hold On.’”

Dinning, who shared in an interview with me last month that he started out playing keyboards, rather than bass, showed off his versatility as he played piano on “Whatever I Fear,” and was featured vocally in “Liars Everywhere,” and doubled up on the drums with Thompson for a tune. 

Nichols also took a spin at lead vocals, with the 1995 song “Crazy Life,” which was featured on the excellent soundtrack for Empire Records, alongside some great ’90s era bands, including The Innocence Mission, Cracker, the Gin Blossoms, and the late Dolores O’Riordan (of the Cranberries).

In addition to spotlighting various band members, Toad also gave a deserved shout-out to openers The Rainbow Girls, normally a terrific trio (I most recently saw them at SOhO opening for ALO), but who formed a cleverly improvised duet, still in fine and cheeky tune, in a set that included passing the standup bass back and forth between songs, as one of their members was out sick. 

You couldn’t tell from their ease on stage, but the barefooted Phillips shared that, “This is the most nerve-wracking show we play because all of our friends and family are here,” before continuing on with a set list that included “Good Intentions,” from the 1995 album Friends; “Windmill,” another one from 1994’s Dulcinea; and what is presumably their most well-known song, 1991’s “All I Want.” 

It’s hard not to think of Santa Barbara when you hear Toad sing “Walk on the Ocean,” which Dinning told me was his favorite Toad song to play live. As the end of the show grew near, they also played “Fall Down” (another one from Dulcinea), before Phillips said with a grin, “Pretend we walked off the stage; this is our encore.”

A fitting intro to the 1991 song, “I Will Not Take These Things for Granted.” 

It was also a fitting outro for an excellent night of music.