The Ocean Blue: Harbingers of the Winter Dance
Photos by Nalinee Darmrong
Words by Mickey McCarter
David Schelzel, the eternally boyishly charming frontman of The Ocean Blue, was merely 21 years old when his band dropped their major label self-titled debut album in 1989. Hailing from a small-town environment outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, David fronted his band on their very first big-city shows when he was just a teenager in high school.
And so one of those early big-city performances was in Washington, DC, at a now-defunct venue called the Eastside Club in the then-quite-adventurous area of Half Street NW. In his band’s recent appearance at The Birchmere, David reflected that it was quite an eye-opening experience for a relatively sheltered kid to find himself there on those DC streets at 2am after their show.
Flash forward almost 40 years, and The Ocean Blue dropped by The Birchmere for a sold-out performance in their first-ever concert at the storied music hall, despite many visits to DC over the ensuing decades, on Feb. 21. The congenial age-appropriate crowd seemed light years away from that time and place. As different as it may have been, however, one thing truly remained the same: DC loves The Ocean Blue.
The Ocean Blue appeared on a date for their Frigid Winter Days Tour, leaving band co-founder and bassist Bobby Mittan to quip that the weather actually was quite pleasant for most of their actual concerts but turned quickly once they left town. Well, it was cold enough in DC metro for sure, but a storm did hit the next day, and so The Ocean Blue named their tour appropriately as harbingers of cold weather after all.
Early in their set, a pleasant set of cold-weather themed songs set the tone. The Ocean Blue performed “Frigid Winter Days” from their remarkable debut album and followed it up with the heartwarming “Ice Skating at Night” from Beneath the Rhythm and Sound (1993) and notably “Falling Through the Ice” from their extraordinary sophomore album, Cerulean.
That debut record was the star of the show, though, and The Ocean Blue closed the main set with a raucous rendition of their signature tune, “Between Something and Nothing.” The relatively staid, although very much enthusiastic, audience by this point was ready to dance around and sing along, and so they did.
Watch the official music video for “Between Something and Nothing” by The Ocean Blue on YouTube:
David has withstood the test of time as a formidable frontman, melting hearts and swaying minds with his earnest delivery and strong musicianship. Bobby was a masterful experienced hand on bass, and my favorite minutes of the show was where the two men performed together or exchanged a smile during instrumental breaks. As always, The Ocean Blue today wouldn’t be complete without the multi-instrumentalist Oed Ronne as a terrific utility player and the smashing Peter Anderson giving us just the right rhythms to move things along on drums.
But The Ocean Blue also were supplemented by friends this evening. Opener Brian Tighe, of The Hang Ups and also no stranger to DC, came along to open the show but then he also joined the band to play saxophone on many numbers. Brian in turn called upon his wife Allison LaBonne to join him for his set, which led to The Ocean Blue being able to call upon her pleasant vocals as well. In a midpoint highlight, Allison sang with The Ocean Blue on “Love Doesn’t Make It Easy on Us,” which she recorded with them for their very good 2019 record, Kings and Queens / Knaves and Thieves.
Critically speaking The Ocean Blue always have sounded more like an English pop band than an American band, and that is what initially hooked the ears of impressionable Gen X music lovers like myself. I’ve always thought they would have fit neatly on the Zoo Records ensemble of bands out of Liverpool, where they not perhaps 10 years too late and an ocean removed! And they still have that same dreamy, emotive power found in standout songs like “Ballerina Out of Control” and “Myron” — two of the many cool songs played at The Birchmere.
The Ocean Blue returned to their first two albums again for a two-song encore of “Mercury” (from Cerulean) and “Love Song” (from The Ocean Blue) to close the show. By this time, the loose and lively crowd had full let down their hair and were happily dancing along as if no one were watching. It was undoubtedly no where near as lively as the Eastside Club scene but one just as vivid and memorable nonetheless.
The Ocean Blue are on the road quite a bit this year, and you can catch March dates including a hometown area show in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on March 4. It’s just what you need to chase away the winter blues.
Here are some photos of The Ocean Blue and Brian Tinghe performing live at The Birchmere on Feb. 21, 2026. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Nalinee Darmrong.
