Review By: Jordan Nathanson

Photos By: Jordan Nathanson

Disney Springs on a Friday night is known for shopping, food, drinks and getting a small fix of Disney. What people sometimes forget about is the live music that you can find through out the entire area. Not only are they playing outside but bands always stop at House of Blues Orlando. Playing this past weekend for two nights was Blue October in celebration of their new album I Hope You’re Happy. This would make their 9^thstudio album and let me tell you: it’s pure, raw and honest. The album comes from lead singer, Justin Fustenfeld’s dark past of the Rockstar lifestyle. From his own demons, Blue October released “King” off the album as a single. The lyrics themselves are heart felt in saying that “if you strip away everything/just you in my arms/I feel like a king” just knowing his wife has given him a chance to get better and to be better. When they performed the song live, you can feel the emotion in his voice as he sang these words. In fact, a lot of their songs that were performed that night brought an overwhelming emotion to the room that was both warming and haunting at the same time. “Daylight”, another song off the new album, has a very haunting melody to it. The lyrics “I wear a mask in the spot light/Backstage there’s a room so dark” I think is a metaphor for saying that while performing, you don’t truly see the real side of me and backstage is where the darkness lies. I think that speaks to a light of us who maybe dealing with depression or something we refuse to talk about. One thing that stuck with me, while on the topic of depression, is that Fustenfeld talked about his song “Into the Ocean” and how the song came out 10 years ago saying “Into the ocean/End it all”. He reflects on his past and talks about his present on how his family gave him a second chance an if he was to truly end it all, he’d lose his family all together. That there is almost the premise of their new album: a second chance. “How to Dance in Time” is another song from the new album that was performed and I felt the tears in my eyes. The melody is absolutely beautiful and the lyrics just pull at the heart strings. That right there is what I believe music is all about, making you feel a certain way. Now, I have been to countless rock shows now in my 25 years and I have only known one song from Blue October through out those years but when I heard “Things We Do at Night” you bet I played that song on repeat. It’s a fun almost poppy song that makes you want to get up a dance without a care in the world. Though the lyrics are slower than the melody, you still want to move and just let go of everything and feel free to be yourself. I can go on and on about how amazing I Hope You’re Happyis and how amazing they are live, but to know for yourself, you can now stream their new album and pick it up where ever CD’s are sold (if you’re still in to collecting CDs) and you can catch Blue October live this Fall during the Annual Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival September 25^th– 26^th.