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This was Blue October's promo tour of their new album Approaching Normal.

Blue October has grown their fan base into millions+ after the release of Foiled and songs like, "Hate Me" and "Into the Ocean."My guess is that the band will shed some of its newly acquired audience with this Album. Approaching Normal is experimental rock pushed to its edges. The loyal fans will stay, the rest will have no idea what just happened, and they'll have a sort of dumb-struck expression of WTF?

The first half of the concert showcasing Approaching Normal was somewhat disorienting. You were never quite sure what was going on, the meandering ranged from melancholic ballads (yes, ballads), to pretty melodic, pop-sounding tunes, to choppy rap like diatribes. It was like having a really cool friend come over all messed up and sick, while you were stuck sitting there, waiting 'til he gets better so the two of you can have some good, old fun. That's how it felt, I just so wanted to jump up and down, scream my heart out, dance. But the moment never came. The end result was confusing compilations of songs, dissonance between music and performance, variety of experimental songs that didn't quite deliver. Songs that were reaching too far out and into too many directions, losing it's magic in the process.

Justin Furstenfeld, band's lead, put on a great performance. His body moved in uniquely unpredictable ways, he had a ton of angry energy (you'd expect from a punk rocker); his every gesture was thoroughly emphasized, and deeply felt. It was convincing, engaging, and pumped the blood running your veins, except for one minor point…. it didn't match at all the music and the lyrics that were being played.

If you discovered Blue October because of "Hate Me" and "Into the Ocean", you'll feel as if Approaching Normal was put together by a completely different band. It felt like the band altered their identify and haven't got a solid grasp on a new one. The metaphor that comes to mind is an acrobat on a trapeze, letting go of one trapeze and free falling before catching another one. Blue October is free falling in Approaching Normal. I am sure, hard core fans of Blue will forgive the band this experimental phase, and perhaps some may even enjoy it. Maybe this stage is a bridge for their next, great album; time will tell.

The band did recover towards the end of the show. When they started playing songs from previous albums, it all came together. The sound was excellent, Justin's voice seemed to be less patchy, the band didn't need anyone's f'n approval. During the first half the audience never really came along, and it was pretty visible that Justin was going "WTF?" - plus he was dealing with SF's audience that doesn't like little piggies being blown up on the big screen.

And so it goes, Blue rocked the house. I got my fix, had my magic moments and off I went somewhat confused, a little bit transformed and hopeful that these guys are just going through a phase, and more greatness is yet to come.