Candlebox rocks

This weekend I went to the Miller Lite Crawfish Boil, a stapel of my home town. It's easy to forget I live in Mississippi when I don't go to many social events, but here I saw redneck culture in full bloom. A lot of big music acts never come to Mississippi, and when they do they rarely return, thanks to such memorable acts like the crowd throwing beer bottles at Collective Soul.

So when a band the stuff of grunge legend came to town, I called up a friend and went.

Candlebox originated almost two decades ago in Seattle. They made their mark in the 90s at the height of grunge with songs like Far Behind, Change, You, and Cover Me.

Then Lead singer Kevin Martin departed from Candlebox for several years, producing mega-catchy, softer songs such as Sometimes.

All the while fans stayed with him, wondering when, not if, the band would reunite.

That day has come. They outshined every band that Saturday, playing a longer setlist than any other at the festival. Candlebox maintained the energy of its youth, and Kevin Martin somehow elevated his high-pitched screams to soulful perfection.

They played everything, including songs from their new album, Into the Sun (due out July 22, 2008). The new songs sounded so good I listened, trying to remember what album they came from, only to have Kevin Martin conclude saying the songs would be available on their new album.

Halfway into the set, Kevin Martin surprised us all taking an acoustic guitar to center stage and launching into Sometimes, the hit from his solo career.

The wind better blow harder, because this Candlebox is burning harder than ever.