Dashboard Confessional – You Sing I Write

I was transported back to high school last night watching @dashboardconfessional rock Nashville for their sixth sold-out performance. Here’s a snippet of the fun!

A post shared by Annie Reuter (@yousingiwrite) on Mar 1, 2017 at 8:42am PST

Dashboard Confessional closed their fifth and final night at Nashville’s Basement East on Tuesday (Feb. 28) to a sold-out crowd. The packed room had longtime fans singing along word for word throughout the band’s lengthy catalog that spanned back to 2000’s The Swiss Army Romance.

The band’s residency was a homecoming for the musicians and the evening struck a chord with frontman Chris Carrabba, who remarked that he loved being able to drive to work every day. “It’s weird to be able to drive to work,” he admitted mid-set. “This week has been the best week of my entire life.”

Some famous fans in attendance agreed, as Kacey Musgraves and Paramore’s Hayley Williams posted videos of themselves singing along throughout the night. As Musgraves noted, Dashboard were “making my dreams come true tonight.”

Carrabba & Co. kicked off their set shortly after 10 p.m. with “Vindicated” and as the first guitar lick was played the venue erupted into screams. While the audience sang along, Carrabba wasn’t convinced they were fully into the show.

“Stop acting like you’re in L.A. and put your hands up,” he commanded.

The audience more than obliged and the Basement East quickly turned into a sweaty rock club as Dashboard fired through their set. While many of the songs played were well over a decade old, you’d never know it based on the audience’s reaction. Hands were in the air and voices were at an all time high screaming along.

Several songs into the set Carrabba asked if the crowd liked love songs. “You wanna sing a love song?” he asked before slowing down the performance for fan favorite “Stolen.”

“We live here too,” Carrabba later said. “It’s nice to be home with you guys. This is the last of a six-night stint and I really don’t want it to end.”

Our final Nashville show @BasementEast this tour. Thank you all so much for making this amazing week! Tour ends tonight in Chicago. #dashtag pic.twitter.com/2rYZmN9gFt

— Dashboard Confessional (@dashboardmusic) March 2, 2017

Throughout the band’s 90-minute set, they peppered in some new music. One song was the striking “We Fight,” which urges the listener to make his voice heard among those who frequently try to shut him down. “Somewhere there’s a kid who needs to hear this,” Carrabba sang alongside soaring guitar accompaniment.

“I never really fit in anywhere,” Carrabba prefaced the song, adding that finding music helped him feel included. “The thing that I’ve always loved about this music scene is that when I look around at a show, everyone is represented. There are people of every race and who practice every religion . . . we all seem to get along in here.”

He then urged concertgoers to bring that acceptance outside of the club and into our everyday lives. It’s a statement we can all get behind. Following the performance of “We Fight,” Carrabba closed the wall between performer and audience once again as his band left the stage and he was alone with his voice and his acoustic guitar. His three-song solo set included “The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most,” “Ghost of a Good Thing” and “The Swiss Army Romance.”

The night was far from over and when the band rejoined Carrabba on the stage they kicked the energy right back up where they left off. Highlights included the impassioned “Screaming Infidelities” and set closer “Hands Down.” Not quite ready to leave, as the song came to an end Carrabba asked the crowd if they had “a little more” for another sing along of the chorus. They did and the night ended in an epic sing along.

“See you soon,” he promised his Nashville neighbors. “If you see me on the road stop and say hi. I like people.”

Panic at the Disco, Dashboard Confessional Co-Headline Rock Band Live Tour in New Jersey

The Rock Band Live tour hit New Jersey Sunday with a versatile line-up and even more diverse crowd. From the tween girls screaming, “I love you Brendon!” at Panic at the Disco’s frontman Brendon Urie to the inebriated 21+ group jumping and dancing along during Dashboard Confessional’s set, the night offered something for everyone.

Panic at the Disco, the obvious crowd favorites, closed the night at the Prudential Center in Newark with an hour-long set energizing all in the audience. Taking the stage with their signature song, “We’re So Starving,” Urie crooned to the audience, “Oh, how it’s been so long/We’re so sorry we’ve been gone/We were busy writing songs for you.” The audience accepted his apology wholeheartedly — throwing their hands in the air and singing along word for word.

Panic’s 13-song set consisted of radio hits, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” “Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off,” and “Nine In the Afternoon.” Whether Urie was running from one side of the stage to the other singing to the crowd or alternating between playing guitar, piano and drums he kept the audience on their feet with the help of his bandmates. Closing the show with Little Richard’s “You Make Me Wanna Shout,” Panic at the Disco had the crowd feeding off their performance and energy until well after the lights came back on, signaling that the long-awaited Jersey stop was officially over.

Co-headliner Dashboard Confessional took the stage before Panic, frontman Chris Carrabba wooing the crowd with his onstage banter and heartfelt lyrics. Playing hits like “Vindicated,” “Thick as Thieves,” and “Screaming Infidelities,” which he prefaced with a question. “Should we do a love song? Like, an ‘I hate my ex’ kind of song?” to which screams erupted throughout the venue. “Mike hates her too. She’s both our exes.” Then Carrabba began the song alone on piano before the rest of the band joined in.

Possible favorites of Dashboard’s set seemed to be a tie between infamous hit, “Hands Down” and a surprising cover of Pink’s current radio hit, “So What.” Previous performers the Cab re-entered the stage and helped out on their rendition of Pink’s song. The energy in the room skyrocketed and it’s quite impressive the way Carrabba hit the high notes.

What differentiates the Rock Band Live tour from your typical concert is that in between each performer’s set change the crowd gets involved playing “Rock Band” instead of just sitting or standing awaiting the next band to take the stage. Between the Plain White T’s and Dashboard’s set Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle” and Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “Give It Away” were played, amping the audience for the next band taking the stage.

Plain White T’s played an eight-song set of their fan favorites including their Grammy-nominated hit “Hey There Delilah” as well as “Our Time Now” and newest singles “Natural Disaster” and “1, 2, 3, 4” off of their latest release, Big Bad World. Their set was the most laid-back of the night and they had the audience waving their cell phones and lighters in the air for “1, 2, 3, 4.” As their set closed, frontman Tom Higgenson jumped into the crowd hugging fans and shaking hands throughout the venue while the rest of the band members exited the stage. Not your typical gesture, fans positioned in the front of the arena got a very personal concert experience and walked away from a night they will most likely never forget.

Las Vegas-based band The Cab and New York natives Lights Resolve began the night with a half-hour set each. Definitely a lively set from both bands, whether jumping around the stage and having the crowd bounce to their song — aptly titled “Bounce” (in the Cab’s case) or wowing the audience with their signature “wuh-uh-uh-oh-uh-oh-oh” and catc
hy choruses (Lights Resolve) both bands show much promise. And, who knows, in a few years they might be co-headlining the tour together.

Check out more of Wendy Hu’s amazing photos from Sunday night here.