Dashboard Confessional live review
DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL
LIVE AT STUBB’S BBQ, JUNE 10
[By Dave Stagg]
Chris Carrabba will never abandon his roots, as corroborated by his performance at Stubb’s BBQ in Austin, TX on June 10 where his old material perpetuated the set. Kicking off the night with an acoustic version of “The Swiss Army Romance,” it didn’t take long before the crowd piped up and finished his every sentence like best friends that had lived together their entire lives. The packed-like-sardines audience would continue on like this throughout the whole show (as customary to any Dashboard concert); the only time they couldn’t be heard was when the band was louder than they were.
But let’s not take anything away from the band. They’re one of the better bands in the business right now, faithfully backing up Carrabba while he makes eyes at the audience and opens his diary, attractive and brutally honest, short but on the shoulders of giants. Mike Marsh is hands down (no pun intended) one of the best drummers around, especially live, keeping solid the breadth of the show, as guitarist John Lefler nailed the instrumental hooks Dashboard listeners are used to.
Mid-way through the 90-minute set, Carrabba said, “We’ve been asking every night, ‘What stuff would you rather hear? Old or new?’” and immediately, “Old!” was shouted back; he was so confident this would happen (and probably has happened, oh, 100% of the time) he started the next song less than a second later.
Though personally I prefer his newer, full-band work much better, watching him perform these songs was still a treat. He had redone a lot of them to include the whole band, but still didn’t take anything away from the campfire sing-a-long the audience was used to, frequently dropping out so that the audience could sing back to him.
Also in the set, Carrabba played an extended version of “Remember to Breathe,” singing what seemed like stream of consciousness ramblings after completing the actual song. Another highlight of the show was when Carrabba took to the piano and performed a new song, “So Long, So Long.”
Unfortunately, some of the notes didn’t quite fall right as he pecked away at his new toy, but the song did show great promise and serves to prove that he can still write the songs that got him to where he is now.
After “closing” with “If You Can’t Let it Be, Might As Well Make it Bleed,” the band walked off for a minute-long break before Chris returned to the stage solo for the encore. Apparently, Texas-native Lefler poured a beer on him back stage during the break, so Carrabba threatened him to the audience before launching into the next song by himself. When it was done, the rest of the band reappeared and after Lefler and Carrabba jokingly reconciled, launched into their newest single “Vindicated” from the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack.
After closing with “Hands Down,” he said thank you and good night, the band taking bows, and leaving new fans and old alike with a positive experience. Though not as polished as I’d hoped them to be, the lyrical content and overall talent the band possesses shined through.
© 2004, HM Magazine.
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