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| Day has played with a variety of artists, but no matter who it is, he claims he really enjoys being the opening act more: “Not that I want to open for people for the rest of my life, but right now it’s kind of fun,” he explained. “When you’re headlining, everyone comes to the show and they pay the 20 bucks to see me, and I have to live up to this expectation. They’ve probably seen the show before, or maybe they haven’t, but they have the record and they’re expecting something, and you obviously don’t want to disappoint them. I think with an opening act there’s really no pressure. It’s more of an underdog kind of feeling. On the fun scale, being the opening act is pretty fun.” For Day, no act was more fun than his most memorable moment in touring - opening for Sting. “I did two shows with him out in Colorado and I had been doing a lot of opening gigs so it was pretty run-of-the-mill. I talked to a few of the band members; they were asking about the looping stuff. So I’m doing my show and after three songs I glance over to the stage, and Sting’s standing on the side with his arms crossed just kind of watching. That made me terrified. It’s not about the 8,000 people in front of me; it’s about this one guy watching me. It was pretty memorable. It’s one of those things I’ll tell my grandkids, and they’ll be like, ‘Who’s Sting?’” Day’s quirky personality shines through that night at his solo performance at the Newport Sunset Music Festival in Rhode Island. Simply walking on stage elicits screaming from the girls and loud cheering from the guys. Thunderous applause rains after songs, and between them Day perfectly delivers his comedic stage banter which has the entire crowd roaring with laughter. Day’s songs soar however, his music a perfect entwinement of his own unique brand of instrumentation, prolific lyrics, and enchanting vocals. There are times when Day wows the audience as he stands back from the microphone to yell various vocals. Never has anyone screamed with such perfection. Day is not working on a new album just yet, but has been writing and trying out new songs. He noted that he’s just enjoying writing now, because he can do it on his own time and doesn’t have to worry about it being forced. He has, however, just released Howie Day Extras, a four-song CD with an unreleased track and three live songs. With these new songs comes yet another tour. He will play with his band this summer on a nationwide tour with O.A.R. For now, he’s just enjoying playing live with the band, and has the vision that he will be doing this for much time to come. Hopefully, as he explains, he will have a nice collection of stories to tell his grandchildren. Howie Day may be young, but he has a good head on his shoulders, even if it means having to wear a silly hat once in a while. Something tells me, however, that he is quite capable of pulling it off. Nicole Roberge is a freelance music/entertainment journalist. She can be contacted at nicolemroberge@hotmail.com |
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