Line-up

Venue

OC Fair & Event Center

88 Fair Ave., 92626, Costa Mesa, CA, US

www.ocfair.com/

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Additional details

Doors open: 18:30

Concert in your area for Rock, Metal, Indie & Alt, Pop, and Reggae.

Find out more about Rock, Metal, and Pop.

Sugar Ray biography

Formed in 1986 Sugar Ray started off as a funk-metal band, but later came into fame once they shifted their sound in a more fun and airy direction. The group’s realization of the success they achieved with the 1997 single “Fly” prompted their stylistic change.

The members of Sugar Ray grew up in Orange County, California, US, but initially pursued differing musical paths. Rodney Sheppard the band’s principal guitarist had played in several reggae band’s and had even collaborated with Dean Butterworth (the drummer of Good Charlotte). Later on Sheppard formed the band the Tories with future Sugar Ray drummer Stan Frazier. With the addition of bassist Murphy Karges and vocalist Mark McGrath, the group changed its name to Shrinky Dinx, but eventually settled on the name Sugar Ray.

Though the origins of the band date back to the mid 80s the group’s debut album “Lemonade and Brownies” did not come out until 1995. The album did not produce a hit single; however, it did grab the attention of several critics and acted as a platform on which the band showcased their unique blend of hip-hop, funk, and metal.

The group struck gold with their next album “Floored”. This release featured songs written in a similar vein of their previous material; however, their single “Fly” went in an entirely different direction and went on to be the band’s most successful song to date. The song reached No.1 on the Billboard’s Airplay List and pushed album sales to double platinum status. The hype surrounding this single also landed the band a cameo in the Billy Crystal and Robin Williams’ movie “Father’s Day”.

The group released their sarcastically titled follow up “14:59” in 1999. The album’s title was a statement against the criticism of those labeling the group as a one hit wonder. It was a hint that their 15 minutes of fame had not yet expired. The band’s assessment seemed to be spot on. The album debuted at No. 20 on the Billboard 200 and contained two standout singles “Every Morning”, which entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart at No. 3 and “Someday” which entered at No. 7.

Sugar Ray started off the turn of the millennium recording a cover of John Cale and Brian Eno’s “Spinning Away” for the Danny Boyle dystopian film “The Beach”. They also made another appearance in the 2002 film “Scooby-Doo”, but before that they released their 2001 self-titled album that rose to commercial success thanks due to the hit single “When It’s Over”.

In 2003 the band issued their album “In the Pursuit of Leisure”, which featured a cover of Joe Jackson’s “Is She Really Going Out with Him” . In 2005 they put out a greatest hits album that contained previously unreleased material.

Following the release of their greatest hits album the band took a break from recording and touring. They were also released from their contract with Atlantic Records during this time. The group broke this period of inactivity with the release of “Into Yesterday” which was specifically written for the “Surf’s Up” soundtrack and they also went on a small tour in Asia. Sugar Ray put out their long awaited follow up “Music For Cougars” in 2009 and subsequently did a round of nostalgic tours with artists such as Smash Mouth and the Spin Doctors.

Smash Mouth biography

Smash Mouth (formed in 1994) is an American rock band from San Jose, California, U.S. Known for the songs “Walkin’ on the Sun” (1997) and “All Star” (1999).

Smash Mouth formed in 1994 when lead singer Steve Harwell, formerly of the rap group F.O.S., was introduced to guitarist Greg Camp and bassist Paul De Lisle by his manager Kevin Coleman. The trio along with Coleman on drums played under the moniker Smashmouth mainly playing ska and punk music getting their first break when a demo of their song “Nervous in the Alley” was played on local radio. Soon after the band signed to Interscope Records, changed the band name to Smash Mouth and released their debut album “Fush Yu Mang” in 1997. The album has since gone double platinum thanks to the singles “Walkin’ on the Sun” and “The Fonz”.

The sound of the follow-up album titled “Astro Lounge” represented a shift towards accessible pop and led to a huge increase in publicity for the band. “All Star” the band’s biggest selling single, which featured has featured in several movie soundtracks including Shrek, helped the album be certified as triple platinum. Soon after the release drummer Kevin Coleman departed the group due to back problems who was replaced by Mitch Marine for the “Astro Lounge” tour, after which Michael Urbana filled the position.

Smash Mouth’s self-titled third full-length album was released in 2001 and featured the well-received cover of The Monkees’ song “I’m a Believer”, the album however didn’t chart as well as the first two albums. The band was dropped from Interscope Records shortly after the releasee of their fourth album “Get the Picture?” released in 2003, it featured the singles “You Are My Number One” and “Hang On”. Shortly after Smash Mouth signed to Universal Records and released a greatest hits compilation and a Christmas album titled “Gift of Rock” and covered artists from the Kinks to the Ramones.

After many delays and setbacks, the band’s fifth studio album, intended to be titled “Old Habits” was eventually shelved and replaced with “Summer Girl” which got its release on September 19, 2006 on Universal Records. The band experienced a plague of line-up changes from then on and the release of their sixth full-length album “Magic”, after signing with 429 Records, did little to null the changing membership.

The English Beat biography

The English Beat, known as The British Beat in Australia and simply The Beat elsewhere, are a British ska revival band formed in Birmingham, England in 1978.

The original lineup of The Beat were together for just five years, splitting in 1984 after meeting with both critical and commercial success with their blend of ska, reggae and 2 tone. In that time, they toured with some of the biggest musical names on the planet, including R.E.M., The Specials, David Bowie, Talking Heads, The Clash and The Police. Since the breakup, they’ve performed together just once - in 2003 at London’s Royal Festival Hall. VH1’s Bands Reunited television show tried, unsuccessfully, to make the reunion a permanently going concern, but instead, the two singers from the original band - Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger - have fronted their own versions of the group.

Wakeling is the singer in The English Beat, who have continued to tour and record. They contributed a couple of brand new songs to a Scooby-Doo cartoon in 2013, and announced plans in 2014 for a new album the following year, set to be titled For Crying Out Loud. It is set to be paid for via crowdfunding - in particular, PledgeMusic - and will be their first proper release since summer 2012, when they dropped a box set titled The Complete Beat. Rhythm Epkins, Matt Morrish, Kevin Lum and Larry Young round out the current lineup of The English Beat.

Live reviews

I have had the pleasure of seeing Sugar Ray in concert several times since the 1990s and most recently saw them at Coachella.

They are truly a band that is best experienced live because they lose a lot of their luster on the radio. During their live performance they bounce around the stage, interact with the audience, and infuse the crowd with an energy to just jump around and be happy.

You would never believe that Mark McGrath is almost 50. He still has the energy and stage presence of a much younger man. He was dancing and running all over the stage at Coachella. The Sugar Ray shows that I have seen have kept it simple on stage. It is usually just the band, some lights, and maybe a few fog machines.

Every time I have seen them they mixed in fan favorites like “Fly,” “Someday” and, of course, “Every Morning” with their more recent music, as well as a few covers. The line-up that I saw at Coachella was not entirely the same as it has been in the past, but the music is basic and enjoyable, and Mark McGrath is still writing and singing the songs, so nothing has really changed.

Every time that I have saw them they have also performed for at least an hour or two, unless time was limited by a festival schedule. Sugar Ray is just a classic band that is guaranteed to give you a good, entertaining show, no matter what.

Anonymous

Smash Mouth have been touring as a unit for over fifteen years and they perform as one slick, well practiced piece of rock machinery. Despite having not achieved major chart success, since their incarnation they have amassed a loyal and devoted following who adore the participatory way in which they conduct their live show.

You know that lead singer Steve Harwell is going to be continuously moving around the stage and continuously making sure the whole crowd is involved in the performance throughout. They thrash out throughout the whole setlist whilst adding extra energy to fan favourites and international hits 'All Star' and 'Can't Get Enough Of You, Baby'.

The whole audience bellows the lyrics to the entire setlist to the amazement of the performers and proves the cult like mentality of the fan base. The audience in its entirety gets involved for the finale singalong of 'Walkin' On The Sun' and Smash Mouth leaves to huge applause knowing that they have well and truly performed this evening.

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sean-ward

Simply put, to see The English Beat live is to experience profound happiness from the top of your pork pie hat to the tips of your checkered shoes!

From the moment Dave Wakeling and the rest of this legendary 2 Tone ska band take the stage, the dancing (“skanking!”) begins. Songs like “Save it for Later” are well-known classics but you may be surprised at just how many of their upbeat, saxophone-infused songs you’ll recognize.

Playing at smaller venues, Dave engages the audience between songs with funny stories of life in his hometown of Birmingham, England, and other witty commentary. They usually play a long set – upwards of two hours. And afterwards it’s not unusual for Dave and the band to shake hands & pose for pictures with their fans that crowd the front of the stage.

My love affair with The English Beat began in 1980 when they first toured the U.S. I went to see headliner, The Pretenders, but left the concert completely in love with the opening act, The English Beat. And you’ll fall in love, too, when you see them.

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