Blue October came into El Paso Saturday night and brought with them a fellow Texas band, Icarus Bell. The two bands were a great tour match-up, and what an honor for them to open for Blue October for the “Argue With A Tree Tour,” which is sweeping across the great state of Texas. The crowd was pumped as they entered the historic Plaza Theater in the heart of El Paso.
The crowd was still filtering in when Icarus Bell walked out on stage. They are from Austin, Texas, and shared their version of East Texas music. The band is a mix of hard rock, with pop and progressive rock blended in. The band is the brainchild of bassist Matt Noveskey from Blue October and Alan Adams on drums; they pull from a variety of fellow musicians that step in and play guitar. They draw from a lot of different styles of rock to bring heavy bass beats and hard-hitting drums. Influences by many bands from the ’90s.
They opened their performance with songs from their 2024 released album The Great Collapse. The first three songs were “Shitshow,” ” Aces,” and “Butcher Of Baytown.” Each song bring to the crowd a little different style of what they are all about. Noveskey is a very animated musician, with great expressions and moving a lot on stage. I will be following these guys more often when looking for new fun music to listen to.
You can find Icarus Bell on numerous social media platforms and on Spotify. Come check out these following links.
https://www.facebook.com/icarus.bell.96
https://www.instagram.com/icarusbellofficial
Blue October is an American rock band from Houston, Texas. They started in 1995, releasing their first album in 1998, The Answers. From that point on, they have released 13 albums, and they have 21 songs that reached the top 40 charts in Alternative Rock category, with singles “Hate Me” and “Into The Ocean” going platinum from their platinum album Foiled. They have also won many awards in the Houston music scene, including Best New Act (1998), Best Pop/Rock artist (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003), and album of the Year for History for Sale in 2003.
Brothers Justin Furstenfeld, lead vocals/rhythm guitar, and Jeremy Furstenfeld, drummer, and Ryan Delahoussaye, violinist, are the original members of the band, with various bassists and guitarists filling in throughout their 27 years of performing. Their latest includes bassist Matt Noveskey and lead guitarist/backing vocalist Steve Schiltz. The latest released album was 2024’s Happy Birthday – the album was released on Justin Furstenfeld birthday. Since than, they have released, in March 2025, a single, “Hot Stuff,” and fans can expect to see a new album released this fall titled We Didn’t Die Young.
As soon as the band entered the stage, everyone stood up and stayed standing for the rest of the night. With fog rolling off the stage, streaming light from the ceiling and strobes flashing, the crowd sang along with every song played. Furstenfeld connected with the crowd many times, stepping up to the edge of the stage and leaning in toward them. Opening with “Ugly Side” and continuing with “A Quiet Mind,” by now the crowd was cheering and shouting, dancing in place as they performed “Independently Happy.” They included songs from most, if not all, their albums. Then just before their last song, they performed “Hot Stuff,” their new single, followed by “I Hope Your Happy.”
I have to say this was the first time I had ever heard of Blue October. Everyone I know, when I mentioned I was going to be capturing their show, was so excited. These are fans of multiple different genres of music and were so pumped to see this show – and I saw them there. Blue October, you have gained another fan. If you want to know more about the band and follow their music, I suggest clicking on these links:
https://www.facebook.com/blueoctober
https://www.instagram.com/blueoctoberband
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