The Rock Band Live tour was one close to my heart. Having been a big fan of Dashboard Confessional for years and never seen them live, I bought two tickets as soon as they went on presale for over one hundred bucks and dragged along a lackluster friend on my dime. That’s how bad I wanted to go. It was a bit of a surprise to find out that Panic at the Disco was headlining over Dashboard Confessional, considering that these bands probably grew up listening to Dashboard just like I did. But you know, I guess that’s how things go.
The Cab was the first band to hit the stage and I was a little taken aback. The last time I saw these kids was in Chain Reaction when they only had an EP. They weren’t much different than any other young band—lots of enthusiasm and a good sense of groove. This time, things went a lot differently. Apparently a year and a half of nineteen-year-olds being performing musicians creates a band full of divas. Lead singer Alex and his unkempt hair now reminds me of Russell Brand. [more]
His vocals were over the top at points but the music had a good groove. They’re danceable and entertaining and although the lyrics lack much complexity, they’re enjoyable. They played the favorite jams—”Seventies Song,” “Bounce,” “Risky Business,” and my personal favorite, “I’ll Run.” To me, they’re the N*Sync of 2008; the dancier Jonas Brothers. If that’s what you’re into, go right ahead and get their LP Whisper Wars.
The MC of the night ‘Ridiculous’ informed the crowd that anyone who wanted to “perform” Rockband on stage between sets need only compete in the lobby. That was pretty entertaining—between each set, “bands” came on stage and “performed” rock band. It definitely made the set changed pass more quickly.
Plain White T’s came on stage next. Here’s the problem with Plain White T’s: they were a good band pigeonholed by one great song which has since determined their style. Revolving an entire style around one song that gets featured on two LPs and its own single… it forces the band down this rabbit hole to nowhere in search for the next “Hey There Delilah.”
Their album Big Bad World came out this past September and they played songs off the album “Big Bad World” and “1, 2, 3, 4”. Both were misses for me. “1, 2, 3, 4” was like a child’s sing-a-long morphed into pop rock. I found myself singing along but with “1 thing 2 do, shoot me will you?” They did play an older favorite “Hate (I Really Don’t Like You)” which has some semblance of ingenuity. All in all, there was nothing wrong with their performance but all was swallowed up by their success with one great single. If you want to hear some pre-Delilah PWTs, check out Stop. It’s good stuff, I swear.
Finally, it was magic. No, really. Chris Carabba, wearing his signature fedora, and band sauntered on stage and got down to business. There was a great mix of old and new favorites. Off of the newest album Shade of Poison Trees, Dashboard played “These Bones” and “Thick as Thieves” which Chris told us is about magic as card tricks played on the big screen behind the
band.
Some of the best and classics he played were “Again I Go Unnoticed,” “Saints and Sailors,” “Screaming Infidelities,” and “Vindicated.” Dashboard also played a great classic by a great band they toured with—”El Scorcho” by Weezer. It seemed that I was one of the few who knew the words. If you’re unfamiliar with Weezer’s Pinkerton, you should go enjoy this great ASAP. A favorite he’d never forget, he prefaced “Hands Down” with telling the crowd this is a song about the best day of his life. Fireworks and beautiful bright images flashed behind him through this uplifting song.
This is what Dashboard Confessional has always been perfect at—music that you can sympathize with and then make you feel better. The music understands you and then reminds you of everything beautiful. Whether their acoustic guitar heart-wrenching ballads or their swelling big soft rock songs, Dashboard Confessional creates beautiful music only enhanced with their performance and the video playing behind them. It was fantastic and worth every penny.
Panic at the Disco… oh boy. I have such mixed feelings about them. Pretty. Odd. and A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out are definitely two of my favorite albums. I would even place Pretty. Odd. on my top 5 of 2008. But live, they are never as good as you’d hope. I saw them in May of 2006 on The Academy Is…’s Truckstops and State Lines Tour and was so put off Brendan Urie’s strained and uncontrolled vocals, it took me two years to see them again.
So impressed by Pretty. Odd. I was certain that the Rock Band Live Tour would be a different story. While I definitely think Urie’s vocals have improved, he still has this tendency to go off-script, flailing the notes around and hoping to hit ones that work with the song. His vibrato can get a little wild, but generally his vocals were enjoyable. Famous for their stage theatrics, the boys seemed to have tamed those tendencies slightly and relied more on their music to impress. That it did. Clean and bright re-productions of the best of Pretty. Odd. and A Fever rounded out the last set of the night—”Northern Downpour,” “When the Day Met the Night,” “Lying Is the Most Fun…” and “Nine in the Afternoon” to name a few. Lead vocals Urie was even able to impress the crowd with his stint on the ivory keys and drums. They closed out the encore with a rendition of “Shout!”
Overall the performance was fun, entertaining, and got plenty of people dancing. Musically impressive and vocally mostly, Panic at the Disco are not the best band live, but they did help make Rock Band Live a great tour!
Stay Saavy, Steph
*More photos available in the Rock Band Live album on our Myspace
