As Jimmy Eat World’s “Sweetness“ rang out from the House of Blues speakers, the crowd chanted along with passion. Regardless of whether people in the crowd were still fans of emo music or not, they all rejoiced in the nostalgia of Dashboard Confessional’s 20 year anniversary tour.
The band kicked off the first night of tour with a sold out crowd in Dallas. They cheered in anticipation and cheered even louder when frontman Chris Carrabba walked out onto the stage. Carrabba opened with a solo acoustic song and was then joined by the rest of his band, guitarists Armon Jay and Dane Poppin, bassist Scott Schoenbeck, and drummer Chris Kamrada. The crowd got an absolute treat by this being the first night of the tour because these guys sounded great, especially Carrabba. His vocals were crisp and everyone seemed in good spirits.
After opening with “The Best Deceptions” and “So Beautiful,” Carrabba pretty much played through the entire The Best Ones of the Best Ones album that came out at the end of January. The 15-song set included favorites like “We Fight,” “The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most,” “Sailors and Saints,” “Screaming Infidelities,” and “The Swiss Army Romance.“ After the main set, the band to returned to encore with “Vindicated,” “Stolen,” and closed out the night with arguably their most popular song, “Hands Down.” What more could you want from an anniversary tour?
– Lauren Frederick
Dashboard Confessional Tour Dates
2/07 – Phoenix, AZ – Van Buren*
2/08 – Anaheim, CA – House Of Blues*
2/11 – San Diego, CA – Observatory North Park*
2/14 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern*
2/15 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore* %
2/16 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore* +
2/18 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox*
2/19 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom*
2/21 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot*
2/22 – Denver, CO – Ogden*
2/23 – Kansas City, MO – Truman^
2/25 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue^
2/26 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave^
2/28 – Chicago, IL – House Of Blues^ %
2/29 – Chicago, IL – House Of Blues^ +
3/03 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews %
3/04 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews +
3/06 – Columbus, OH – Express Live^
3/07 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
3/10 – New York, NY – Webster Hall^ %
3/11 – New York, NY – Webster Hall^ +
3/13 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom^3/14 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club^ %
3/15 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club^ +
3/17 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre Of Living Arts^ %
3/18 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre Of Living Arts^ +
3/20 – Boston, MA – Paradise^ %
3/21 – Boston, MA – Paradise^ +
3/26 – Orlando, FL – House Of Blues^
3/27 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade^
3/28 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium^
% Performing The Places You Have Come to Fear The Most
+ Performing A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar
Performing a mix of songs from both albums on all other dates