By Zina Markevicius Kinrade

September 25, 2014 --These were the days spent at 14 Below. Dressed in crop tops and overalls, Doc Martins and black velvet choker necklaces, we stood in long lines every weekend. The bouncers carefully checked our IDs, and we shuffled in to flirt with greasy guys and drink Killian’s Irish Red. Zima was already out of style.

It was 1996, and the basement bar off Santa Monica Blvd. at 14th Street in Santa Monica seemed like the only bar in town. Better Than Ezra’s song “Desperately Wanting” played all year long.

I remember running through the wet grass,
Falling a step behind,
Both of us never tiring,
Desperately wanting.

While the bar is long gone, Better Than Ezra is still around. The New Orleans band released their new album All Together Now earlier this month, and they performed last weekend at the House of Blues venues in Hollywood and Anaheim.

Better Than Ezra rocks the House of Blues. Photo by Zina Markevicius Kinrade

Dressed casually like for a backyard barbecue, the five members of the band are clearly grown up now, most sporting wedding rings and a few wrinkles. But they were full of energy and humor, bringing a full house to life, including many twentysomethings who were toddlers when the band’s first single “Good” exploded in the music charts in 1994. Frontman Kevin Griffin called Saturday’s crowd on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood surprisingly “fresh-faced.”

The band enthusiastically delivered their most popular hits from the last 15 years, tunes recognized by anyone listening to pop radio during the 90’s. The songs In The Blood, Extra Ordinary, and the James band cover Laid had the audience singing along.

For Juicy, Griffin invited ladies to come up on stage and groove out to the sexy guitar riff and his falsetto, and about forty women met the call. Wiggling their hips and snapping selfies, they were loving it. “There is no room for shyness in a Better Than Ezra show,” said a grinning Griffin. A hot blond in tight leather pants swung her long hair at center stage, and the audience was laughing at the spectacle.

Anything but serious, the band added a solo on cowbells by drummer Michael Jerome and a Barry White imitation by touring member James Arthur Payne. They were having a great time, and the fans could not resist joining them.

The new album continues the BTE tradition of romantic themes, catchy tunes and a rock base, though the lyrical themes are more positive. There are less break up stories and more loving life right now. Gonna Get Better will surely show up in the background of a romantic comedy to cheer up a weary protagonist, while Crazy Lucky is the perfect positive theme song for a dad who is in love with his kids:

The way, the way you love me
Has gotta feel crazy, crazy lucky.

Also, Sunflowers feels modern and catchy with a nod to that ever-present 90’s symbol.

These days, the girls who stood in line at 14 Below don’t go out as much on Saturday nights. They are more likely dropping by Bodega Wine Bar on a Tuesday. But on their way after work, they might plug in their phone and play a little Better Than Ezra to feel good, good, good.

Better Than Ezra, All Together Now, released September 9, 2014 by The End Records