Sugar Ray Make Vices, Kid Cudi A Part Of Their Stage Return

Sugary Ray perform in Baltimore, MD - Stacey Johnson/Neon Limelight

It’s been almost five years since Sugar Ray performed on stage together, and no one knew exactly how their return would be greeted by fans — or if there would even be fans left. Turns out, at the surprise of front-man Mark McGrath, there are plenty of fans eager to welcome the band back into the limelight.

“We never know what to expect. To get this kind of welcome is truly appreciated,” he told the crowd at Rams Head Live in Baltimore, Maryland where Sugar Ray played the fourth date of their summer tour. “I have to say this:  f*cking thank you guys!”

The audience’s warm reception, and the shots of liquor handed out on stage by tour opener singer/songwriter Amy Allen, gave the band the energy to electrify the venue with songs from their catalog of music dating back to their 1997 debut album, Floored, which contains their biggest hit, “Fly,”  up to 2009′s “Music For Cougars.”

Besides their own music, their almost 90-minute long set trotted along with the addition of some unexpected covers. They briefly paid tribute to Bob Marley and Journey with shortened renditions of “Jammin’” and “Don’t Stop Believing” respectively, and even made time to acknowledge Vanilla Ice with a dance break to “Ice Ice Baby.” But it was their full-on remake of up-and-coming rapper Kid Cudi‘s stoner anthem “Day N Nite” that made for the night’s most interesting-yet-awesome surprises.

“Sometimes you just hear a song and it blows your mind,” McGrath said of the record. “You’re like ‘Damn, I wish I wrote that.’” Injecting it with sonic mixture of rock, reggae, and pop, they transformed the hip hop song as if they had written it — and made it even more spectacular than the original.

Sugar Ray’s tour continues through the summer, wrapping on September 26 at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.