Chris Carrabba AKA Dashboard confessional is a fine specimen of the wholesome American life a lot of people from the UK aspire to have. He creates a winning combination with his all-American looks and talent for knocking out 3 minute emotive acoustic pop-emo tracks which hang off powerful hooks and chorus that could make grown men cry alongside teenage girls and i'm pretty sure you've already heard of him in some form or another, for exmaple, his song 'Vindicated' appears on the Spiderman 2 sound track.
I had been fortunate to get a ticket for his sold out show last night in Manchester through the makenoisemanchester forum (Cheers Kitty Kat!). Unbeknown to me the venue had been upgraded from the tiny Club Academy to the much larger Academy 2, which at first I thought was going to be a dissapointment because the sound in their can be absolutely terrible at times, there's also an intimacy thats lost by doubling the size of the venue like that.
This was about the sixth or seventh time I've seen Dashboard but always in bigger venues and only once (the first time I saw him years ago) have I heard him play a solo set. I've always prefered his solo stuff, the stuff with the band behind is ok but it loses the raw intensity of just a man and his guitar that I love so much.
All that said I rocked up to the venue and got a pint in just before Dashboard Confessional was to take to the stage. After finding a really good spot to watch the gig from I started to take stock of the audience. Even before the lights went down the atmosphere was already electric, the crowd looked more than ready for the appearance of Chris on stage.
As the lights went down and Chris walked on stage the entire room went ballistic. Mainly girls shouting things like 'I want your babies!' but I've come to expect that at his gigs now and so I wasn't shocked however i'm always shocked at the unity Chris seems to bring with him when he plays - from the very first word he sang to the last, nearly 2 hours later the crowd sung along. Loud and proud. Its one of the reasons I enjoy seeing him live so much. Its awe-inspiring at times, and Carrabba knows exactly how to play it, at times leaving huge gaps to allow the voices of 500 people singing in unity hold the songs together. Its really beautiful and feels great to be involved in.
Chris played an amazing set which consisted of all his hits, a couple of new ones but mainly older stuff which pleased me a lot and the hour and fourty five minutes he was onstage seemed to pass in moments. Highlights included Hands Down, Screaming Infidelities, The Best Deceptions and Vindicated.
The rest of this tour is sold out but Dashboard Confessional are back in April:
April 2 - KCLSU London
April 3 - Piccadilly St James London
April 4 - Cardiff University
April 5 - The Leadmill Sheffield
April 8 - Carling Academy Liverpool
April 11 - Carling Academy Oxford
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