Amanda Jacobs / Tahoe Onstage photos
Audience members became restless awaiting the Canadian headliner after the opening band, Spirit Animal, got their blood pumping.
Many of those in the crowd were die-hard fans, following Theory of a Deadman for a decade or more. For me, Theory is one of those bands I go to see because of a few hit singles I love, but I don’t realize how many songs I will recognize during the show. The grunge rock band has had numerous hit songs over their 18 years creating music together.
Members of Theory of a Deadman showed that they are pro performers, partiers, and gamblers (noting the fun of the Harrah’s Lake Tahoe casino venue). That’s not all; they care about their fans and love that what they do brings people joy and comfort.
In my opinion, Theory’s recordings don’t do their songs justice. During their live performance, the sound has a heightened power and beauty. Tyler Connolly’s vocals are crisp and impressive, even with the lack of oxygen he mentioned struggling with at the Tahoe altitude.
Connolly noted that music is such an important part of our lives: “I don’t know one person who doesn’t listen to some kind of music.”
He said when we are dealing with stress in our lives, we put on one of our favorite songs and the stress starts to melt away. I couldn’t agree more – music is transcendental and brings us together. As Connolly said, “Everyone in this room has at least one thing in common – the love of music.”
The group put on a great show, finishing their performance with an encore including “Rx (Medicate)” and “Bad Girlfriend” — two of their biggest hits that the audience danced and sang along to. The early performance ended with a bang of the drums and time to hit the casino.
The award-winning band’s seventh studio album will be out at the end of January 2020. Preorder “Say Nothing” now on Theory’s web store and watch the official video for their new single, “History of Violence,” one of my favorite songs performed at this show.
— Amanda Jacobs
