Dashboard Confessional
13th December 2018
Galatos, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Chris Zwaagdyk.
It was an evening of both firsts and lasts for American band Dashboard Confessional; Auckland’s show marking both their New Zealand debut and their final live performance for the year. Hundreds of patrons were already packed into Galatos as local pop-punk band Fire For Glory took to the stage to deliver an acoustic set, a far cry from their Wednesday night outing which saw them support the Canadian trio Payale Royale in full electric jump-in-the-air grandeur.
Originally formed as a solo project by lead vocalist Chris Carrabba (while he was still a member of the band Further Seems Forever) Dashboard Confessionals first two albums The Swiss Army Romance and The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most spoke to people on a level that they could relate to; the emo genre of rock music huge at the time. Despite their popularity, Dashboard Confessional never made it down to the land of the long white cloud, a fact that Carrabba apologises for profusely; his slightly awkward and self-deprecating speech cheered by the crowd.
Bringing along some friends for the ride, the band kicked off their set with one of their most well-known tracks, ‘Vindicated’ from the Spider-Man 2 film soundtrack seeing the darkened room burst into colour as the audience of varying ages exuberantly sang together, the band going full rock star on stage. Accompanied by Chris Kamrada, Scott Schoenbeck, Armon Jay and his bandmate Dan Poppin from his side project Twin Forks, Carrabba looked as if he had barely aged a day, his muted flower print shirt and jeans combo making him look right at home on the dusky stage.
‘The Sharp Hint of New Tears’ took the fans back to day one, dozens throughout the room singing the song word for word with just as much intent and passion as Carrabba himself, the band giving it all they had despite the rather limited room they had to play with. Recently releasing their seventh studio album Crooked Shadows, last night’s show was less about a promotional tour – only a couple of tracks making it to the set list – and more of an anniversary-come-greatest hits package for their New Zealand fans; Carrabba reminding the audience that they were there to deliver The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most in full … if that was ok with them of course.
‘Screaming Infidelities’ and ‘The Best Deceptions’ saw Carrabba and his guitar send emo hearts a fluttering as he belted out astoundingly long held notes that would crack in just the right places, the room flooded with all the angst and internal turmoil that the aspects of a relationship can bring. Playing the album through from start to finish, Carrabba held the fans close, at times stepping out and encouraging them to sing a verse here or a chorus there which they did at full volume, eyes all a glisten.
Album completed and Carrabba remained solo on stage, his intentions of going ‘off set list’ and ‘making up for lost time’ made clear to all. What followed was a lengthy acoustic set that for the fans was a dream come true despite its rather repetitive nature. Carrabba himself is a talented singer, instinctively knowing just when to ramp up the emotion to keep the audience hooked. Throwing out cutesy stories in between and a couple of tracks from the new album – ‘Heart Be Here’ rather reminiscent of the gorgeous Kodaline track ‘All I Want’ – Carrabba then began to speak of the connection between roller rinks and love, again poking fun at himself it was the perfect segue into his cover of the Cory Branan track ‘Skateland South’.
Carrabba it seems is still working on even newer material, ‘Burning Heart’ (as it is currently titled) providing the fans with a sneak peek of the direction Carrabba is heading in. Soon after the band re-join him on stage, giving a much needed up tempo lift to the track ‘Remember to Breathe’. Remaining in place the five piece deliver a cover of Amy Shark’s killer track ‘Adore’ before ‘Stolen’ took the set out on an absolute high; hundreds of voices joined by the clapping of hands almost drowning out the very band itself.
Allowing fans the chance to demand more Carrabba and co returned, Carrabba proving that manners are indeed a desirable quality in any human being as he once again thanks Fire For Glory for supporting; his earlier acknowledgements of both their crew and management applauded by his fans.
‘Hands Down’ was by far the biggest track of the night, the band giving it everything they had, the audience matching them in sheer energy; Carrabba asking them for an extra “thirty seconds” as the band filed off and the crowd sang the last verse again, Carrabba finishing with a little country swagger on his electric guitar as a final nod to his home town upbringings.
The emo heart of Auckland still beats strong
Were you there at Galatos for this out and out emo gig? Or have you seen Dashboard Confessional perform live somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Vindicated
- The Sharp Hint Of New tears
- Don’t Wait
- The Brilliant Dance
- Screaming Infedelities
- The Best Deceptions
- This Ruined Puzzle
- Saints And Sailors
- The Good Fight
- Standard Lines
- Again I Go Unnoticed
- The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most
- This Bitter Pill
- As Lovers Go
- Carry This Picture
- Heart Beats Here
- The Swiss Army Romance
- Skateland South [Cory Branan cover]
- So Impossible
- Dusk And Summer
- Age Six Racer (So Long Sweet Summer)
- Burning Heart [new track]
- Remember To Breathe
- Adore [Amy Shark cover]
- We Fight
- Stolen
- Hands Down [encore]
If you enjoyed this content, please consider donating towards the running of Ambient Light, covering expenses and allowing us to expand the coverage you love by clicking the red button below (Desktop) or visiting our PressPatron page (Mobile).