It’s 7:30 on a Sunday night, most are cringing thinking of Monday morning…back to the rat race. But not here at The Tarheel in Jacksonville, NC. Everyone here seems to be a fantastic mood sipping on a nice cold adult beverage, no thought of what tomorrow morning will bring; myself included. However, Monday morning did come, and I felt like death warmed over. But it was completely worth it!
As I stated before in my last article The Tarheel is a fantastic small venue; not a bad seat in the house. There are 10 VIP booths and the Jack Daniels Side Stage Lounge that have tables and chairs. Nice place to sit back and enjoy the entertainment. But I recommend General Admission, standing room only right in front of the thirty-five-foot stage. Get there early to get as close to the stage as possible.
Waiting for Tonic and Vertical Horizon a great local rock band from Raleigh, NC was the opening act, Needlemouse. They did an impressive job hyping up the crowd for Tonic. The abundant energy they cast from the stage was that of pure passion. You could tell these guys loved performing.
As the lights dimmed Tonic came onto the stage; the crowd moved in and the momentum picked up. Tonic with their two Grammy nominations and over 4 million records sold graced our small crowd with an amazing show. They performed their top hits like “If You Could Only See” and “You Wanted More”. The band seemed to relish in the vivacity of the crowd as they interacted with the fans. During the performance lead singer, Emerson Hart, let us know of his recent trip to St. Jude’s Hospital. He spoke very sweetly of a young fan he enjoyed spending time with, Mavery, (correct spelling unknown). He promised her that he would dedicate the song “Sugar” to her every night while on tour. As he did tonight; the crowd sang along with Mavery in mind.
Vertical Horizon kept the momentum going with little downtime between the bands. You had just enough time to refresh your beverage. The best part of the concert was when lead vocalist, Matt Scannell, stopped signing and the crowd took over. The fans didn’t miss a beat and gave all the love they had. Multiple voices filled the small roadhouse venue guiding us to a better time when we were all a little bit younger. The crowd adored hearing their favorites like “Everything You Want” and “Best I Ever Had”. The night overall was amazing, a great time had by the fans and the bands. I am certain that most, like myself, mumbled their way through Monday but it was all worth it!
Review & Photos: Christy Rouse
Check out their websites for more info!
Needlemouse
Vertical Horizon
Tonic
NEEDLEMOUSE
VERTICAL HORIZON
TONIC
The post Tonic & Vertical Horizon at The Tarheel – 7/15/18 first appeared on Rockstar Culture.
