Toad the Wet Sprocket (with KT Tunstall and Vertical Horizon) at The Palace Theater in Albany, New York on Friday October 3, 2025
Toad the Wet Sprocket brought their A game at the Palace Theater in Albany, proving that they are not just another 90s band with a peculiar name, but an underrated live performing band that could still bring verve and vibe with their genre-expanding brand of hypnotic, melancholic, and melodic alternative rock. Toad is a thinking person’s band, whose poetic and enigmatic lyrics, unique harmonies and alternate vocal lines, and moody yet catchy pop rhythms made them stand out from many of the other bands from the 1990s – but what would you expect from a band who got their name from a Monty Python skit? Founding members Glen Phillips (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, mandolin), Todd Nichols (lead guitar, backing vocals, mandolin), and Dean Dinning (bass guitar, backing vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar) have thankfully carried on as Toad the Wet Sprocket for nearly 40 years now, and will hopefully continue to do so for many more years to come.
Right away, the band created a spectacle and energy that was palpable. The lights went down and the stage was covered in starlight, as a mandolin version of Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California” ushered the band in, and soon the ethereal guitar opening of “Windmills” began weaving its magic. You could have heard a pin drop as Phillips lamented, “I’ve spent too much time raiding windmills…” Three songs in, after Phillips threw in a few lyrics to George Harrison’s trippy Sgt. Pepper track “Within You Without You” to the end their song “Butterflies,” he addressed the assemblage with “How’s everybody feeling tonight?” The attendees were still so spellbound, Phillips commented, “Hm, quiet crowd tonight.” They spent most of the night letting the music do the speaking for them. It was great hearing the band play seven songs from their seminal 1994 Dulcinea album, including: “Fly From Heaven,” “Something Always Wrong,” “Crowing,” “Windmills,” “Nanci,” “Fall Down,” and “Inside.” Midway through the night, the band members wielded acoustic instruments and performed a bluegrass version of “Good Intentions,” which was also one of the highlights of the night. They band performed all their songs with seamless synergy, impressively well-rehearsed and yet still containing a live pulse that seemed to permeate and flow through those present.
Before their last number, the upbeat yet lyrically intense “Fall Down,” Phillips humbly asked the audience to show their appreciation for every single person involved in the night’s concert – the guitar techs, the front of house, lighting and sound – and reminded those in congregation that “Tonight proves that we are more alike than we are different.” During their encore of “Walk on the Ocean,” another hit song that received regular radio rotation back in the early 90s, they received such uproarious reaction and reception from the rapt spectators that they kicked back into the song’s waltzy sea shanty refrain a few more times, then took a group bow to enthusiastic jubilation and wonderment. The apt Talking Heads’ song “Burning Down the House” played over the Palace’s PA and had many feeling the joy and dancing out into the clear, warm, autumn October night.
More info at: https://toadthewetsprocket.com/
Vertical Horizon played a short six-song set (most of which came from their 1999 breakthrough album Everything You Want) to start out the night, getting the crowd to sing along on the choruses to “You’re a God” and “Everything You Want,” while no doubt reminiscing how their lives were in the vestiges of the final years of the last millennium. Founding member Matt Scannell still sounded great on vocals and had a few moments of fiery guitar playing during his band’s brief appearance. More info at: https://www.verticalhorizon.com/
After clearing the stage of gear and setting up a single mic, KT Tunstall came out and immediately had everyone attentive, engaged, and entertained, as she thumped, slapped, and knocked out a beat on her guitar, made multiple loop pedal tracks, clicked an array of effects pedals at her feet, and then played guitar and sang along. In between, she bantered with patrons, told stories, and espoused the beauty of the majestic and historic Palace Theater. After her opening number, “It Took Me So Long to Get Here, but Here I Am” (which she dedicated to anyone coming from out of town), a patron called out a request for “The River.” Tunstall obliged immediately, giving the light guy the heads-up. She told a quick anecdote about the riverfront trail walk she took in earlier that day, and when the song was over she exclaimed, “Shout out to the Hudson River!” She engaged with the audience and worked off their enthusiasm. At one point, she asked them to show some appreciation for Kurt, the lighting guy. She explained how she gave him surreal esoteric instructions on lighting mood, and he came up with some great results. Four songs in, and she explained that she had to play “the hit,” and told the story of hearing it played in a bar in Venice, California when she first moved there from Scotland. A local band was playing it and she stood outside listening to him play a crazy guitar solo and stare at her, not knowing or caring that she was the author of the tune. Having played it since its release at every show, Tunstall played an impressive harmonica solo during the song, then segued into Ram Jam’s “Black Betty,” and then into The White Stripes’ anthem “Seven Nation Army.” She could have ended the night there and had the crowd’s admiration, but played five more songs. She was joined by her tour manger on bass during “Crazy” (a surprising Gnarls Barkley cover), and during “Stoppin’ the Love,” she performed a stellar vocal trumpet solo, afterward commenting, “Thank you for allowing me to be silly.” She was personable, entertaining, and had the room in the palm of her hand from start to finish. More info at: https://www.kttunstall.com/
Enjoy our previous coverage here: REVIEW: KT Tunstall “Nut”
TOAD THE WET SPROCKET SETLST:
Windmills
Something’s Always Wrong
Butterflies
Inside
Transient Whales
Nanci
California Wasted
All I Want
Good Intentions
Rings
Fly From Heaven
Crowing
Brother
The Moment
Nightingale Song
Drum solo
Crazy Life
Fall Down
ENCORE:
Walk on the Ocean
KT TUNSTALL SETLIST:
It Took Me So Long to Get Here, but Here I Am
The River
Other Side of the World
Black Horse and the Cherry Tree / Black Betty (Ram Jam) / Seven Nation Army (White Stripes)
Truth as My Weapon (from her 2023 album Face to Face with Suzi Quatro)
Hallowed Ground
Stoppin’ the Love
Crazy (Gnarls Barkley cover)
Suddenly I See
VERTICAL HORIZON SETLIST
We Are
You’re a God
Now
Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning)
Heart in Hand
Everything You Want
