Photos by Andy Argyrakis

Alternative rock/grunge greats Soul Asylum released “Hurry Up And Wait” in early 2020 and the title turned out to be even more prophetic than merely the four-year break in between albums.

Thankfully, that painstaking pause from the road is over, and besides allowing fans to get more familiar with the current collection, the timing now coincides with the 30th anniversary of the group’s triple-platinum breakthrough, “Grave Dancers Union.”

Each period, along with a lot that happened in the middle, came to the historic Genesee Theatre, who not only secured Soul Asylum, but provided an era-perfect pairing of opening act Dishwalla.

As far as the headliners were concerned, the action got underway with “Got It Pretty Good” going straight into the smash “Somebody To Shove,” along with “Creatures Of Habit” and “Misery,” all of which found original front man/primary songwriter Dave Pirner maintaining his gritty growl and crunching guitars.

Along with the other current members, who joined in the mid-2000s onward, Soul Asylum also attacked “Losin’ It,” “String Of Pearls,” “Hopped Up Feelin’” and “Black Gold,” to name but a few from its 100-minute performance.

Naturally, “Runaway Train” earned the loudest cheers with its timeless acoustic jangle and mental health-centered message, though there was plenty more aggression to come as Soul Asylum cemented its staying power with “Just Like Anyone” on the way to the encore.

Fellow alt-rockers Dishwalla are also back with fresh tunes from an EP, “Alive,” but nonetheless made sure to cover lots of ground from 1995’s gold-selling debut, “Pet Your Friends.”

“Counting Blue Cars” was of course the paramount crowd-pleaser, prompting everyone to sing the familiar refrain of “tell me all your thoughts on God,” while being thankful for the Genesee’s vision for a night that may have mainly started in the ‘90s, but was just as much looking forward to the future.

For additional information on Soul Asylum and Dishwalla, visit SoulAsylum.com and Dishwalla.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at the Genesee Theatre include The Fray (May 14); Glenn Miller Orchestra (Jun. 3); “Elvis My Way” starring Brandon Bennett (Jun. 16); Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo (Aug. 4); “Happy Together” featuring The Turtles (Aug. 6); The Rush Tribute Project (Sept. 16); Elle King (Sept. 18); “Lost 80’s Live” featuring A Flock Of Seagulls (Sept. 22); Gordon Lightfoot (Sept. 23); “Cornerstones Of Rock” featuring The Ides Of March (Oct. 1); The Marshall Tucker Band (Oct. 6) and Purple Reign (Oct. 22). For additional details, visit GeneseeTheatre.com.

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