On the last day of January, veteran alt-rockers Soul Asylum took an Orlando crowd back to the 1990s, when grunge, flannel, and walls of feedback were king. Playing an intimate Velvet Sessions set at the Hard Rock Hotel on 1/31/19, the Minnesota band tore through songs ranging from 1986 to 2016, from fan-favorite head-bangers to sing-along radio hits.
Though the band is best known for its melodic ballads, the majority of Soul Asylum’s performance highlighted the harder edges to the band. Beginning the set with some of the band’s heaviest songs, including “Just Like Anyone,” it was five songs into the performance before Dave Pirner and company broke out their first melodic track, the 1995 hit “Misery.”
Early in their career, Soul Asylum built the reputation of a band that reefuses to play their radio hits live. In recent years, those songs have found their way into the setlists more often. On this night, the band played all of their big hits, including the power ballads “Black Gold” and “Runaway Train” back to back midway into the set. Those hits brought out the biggest reactions in the crowd while showing off the band’s knack for playing beautiful rock melodies.
Though it was a small, intimate concert, playing for a crowd munching on hors d’oeuvres in a swanky hotel lounge, Pirner and the band did little talking between songs. Instead, they let the music speak for them.
Though the hook-laden radio hits were show stoppers, the band seemed to have the most fun rocking out to the deeper cuts, such as the head banger “99%” and the frenetic thrasher “Closer to the Stars.” Pirner’s trademark scratchy voice shrieked and howled but was often overpowered by the crunchy guitars. Pirner flailed and careened about the stage, his energetic performance matched by bassist Winston Roye and guitarist Ryan Smith, who often laughed at each other’s rock star posturing. Upon tearing through the guitar solo in “Whatcha Need,” Pirner slammed his guitar onto the stage and walked away.
The band ended the regular set with a raucous rendition of “Somebody to Shove” before returning for a brief two-song encore. For the final song, the midtempo rocker “Stand Up and Be Strong,” the band’s roadie joined them onstage to add a third guitar. It was a raw, passionate performance, full of loud guitar distortion, swirling feedback, Pirner’s howl, and a lively stage presence built on almost four decades of rocking out.
