Toad the Wet Sprocket

Most bands you see “come from” somewhere, generally some place I’ve never been so I can fantasize about the music scene there. The original members of Toad the Wet Sprocket, however, grew up in Santa Barbara, which is mainly why I went to see them at the Lobero last week. A local band somehow seems less the real thing, even though these guys had several national hits that still receive airtime on classic rock stations. With family, friends and their former manager in the audience, the show had a different feel. It was a little less like a “rock concert” and something of a community gathering. Of course, Santa Barbara is a pretty special “community.” Leader Glen Phillips admitted the occasion made him nervous, and a roving videographer who ran around stage recording the whole concert added to the informality of the event. But the music, regardless of when or where it was from, went down easy, above all the hits: “Walk On the Ocean,” “Something’s Always Wrong,” and “All I Want.” Phillips ended the concert by saying, “Pretend we’ve gone offstage and have now come back for the encore. Here it is.”