{image1}It was the debut album, "Cracked Rear View," that put Hootie & The Blowfish on the music map in 1994.
Now, a new album entitled "Looking for Lucky" has the band at it again, and according to their performance at The Pabst Theater on Wednesday night, the years have been good to them.
Skipping an opening act, Hootie & The Blowfish came out to joyous applause. On stage, it was pitch black, and Samuel L. Jackson's preaching from "Pulp Fiction" bellowed as the band arrived, but climaxed with "and you will know my name is ... Hootie & The Blowfish." The lights flashed on, and the music filled the theater. Things were off to an entertaining start.
Intertwining new material off of "Looking for Lucky" and classics such as "Time," "Let Her Cry," "I Go Blind" and "Old Man & Me," Darius Rucker and company reached into their grab bag of music and pulled out one of the best possible set lists, providing just the right amount from each of their albums for everyone to get a taste of their versatility and diversity.
At times, it felt like a rock show, other times a hoedown. Lead singer Rucker (no, his name isn't Hootie) and guitarist Mark Bryan even provided a little hip-hop for the crowd, with Kanye West's "Gold Digger" and Notorious B.I.G.'s "Big Poppa."
A cover of Led Zeppelin's "Hey Hey What Can I Do," and the Tom Waits classic "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You" off of the band's "Scattered, Smothered and Covered" album, added to the fun-filled evening.
Two encores topped the night off, and it wouldn't have been a success if the band's mega-hit "Only Wanna Be With You" wasn't the final song performed. To win over the Milwaukee crowd, the band threw in a Violent Femmes interlude, which turned many sitters into standers.
Ten years since their debut album, and for Hootie & The Blowfish, only one thing seems to have changed. They're better than ever.
