Dashboard Confessional

March 24, 2002 . House of Blues . Chicago, IL

Dashboard Confessional knows how to play, and their fans know how to sing. As soon as the curtains opened to reveal nothing but a man and a guitar on stage, the crowd immediately bonded with him. Chris Carraba, founder of Dashboard Confessional, began his concert the same way he began his band, with nothing but his voice, his guitar, and his emotion. There is definitely something that happens when a man stands on stage and pours his feelings out through his guitar that makes people connect with him.

While these first two songs created a solid tribute to Dashboard's roots, the rest of the concert was a display of its growth. As Chris started his third song, he was joined by Dan Bonebrake on bass, Mike Marsh on drums, and another guitarist, who, although he remained nameless, complimented Chris very well. As the quartet rocked through their set, they were joined by another vocalist, the audience. It seemed everyone filling the sold out venue knew the words to all the songs. Chris's quote on www.dashboardconfessional.com seemed to come true, "If you come to one of my shows, you're kind of expected to sing along as loud as I do, and it's just really like a team effort. It's almost organic how much the kids are involved. They are part of the band."

The only songs that Chris did not get help on vocals were the two new songs that they tested on us. These songs, while they did still have the unique feel of Dashboard songs, also demonstrated the band's movement away from one man and a guitar to a full four piece group. They naturally returned to crowd favorites right after the experiment, including "Saints and Sailors" and "Screaming Infidelities" as well as songs from their latest EP titled, So Impossible.

As the concert finally ended, I realized, be it a compliment to the House of Blues and the band, that the quality of the sound was excellent throughout the show. Chris's vocals were clear and powerful, and the instruments were blended together so well that it couldn't have sounded better coming right off a CD. If I had to find any downsides to this concert, it would have to be the lack of enthusiasm from the mystery guitarist, who seemed to just want to go home half way through the set, and possibly the goofy dancing of the bassist, although this did turn out to be fairly entertaining before the night was over. All in all, Dashboard Confessional puts on a pretty good show (which is even more enjoyable if you can sing along).

Paul Gaumond
paul.gaumond@XROXX.com

XROXX.com Concert Rating: XXXX/ (4-1/2 out of 5 possible X's)

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