Gin Blossoms bloom at Denver's Hard Rock Cafe

Arizona band rocks out for a good cause

November 19, 2009

The Gin Blossoms played as intimate a show as anyone could ask for Thursday night at the Hard Rock Cafe, capping the Starz Denver Film Festival's music series in style.

The event served as a benefit for the Love Hope Strength Foundation, a music-centric cancer charity and a favorite cause of Gin Blossoms singer Robin Wilson. The concert was a true bar show, with the band performing on a foot-high stage at one end of the packed bar while the crowd milled around freely.

The band members, several of whom have been performing together for more than two decades, looked every bit their age, but a little seasoning seems to suit the act. Radio hits such as "Follow," Hey Jealousy" and "Allison Road," already heavily influenced by classic rock and surf music, were even more compelling with some of the '90s alt-rock edges rounded off. That's not to say the Gin Blossoms have given up on the rock and roll lifestyle, though: Wilson drank whiskey steadily during the set, at one point announcing, "I'm not sure I can drink all this, but dammit, I'm gonna try!"