This was a homecoming for Mr. Dashboard Confessional himself, Chris Carrabba. Chris is a West Hartford native, with a good 800 or so family members that attended this sold out performance. I know I haven�t seen the Webster Theatre this jam-packed since I saw Green Day on their Nimrod Tour there. I thought before hand that the show would just be crowded, but since it was Dashboard, it wouldn�t be dangerous at all. There was a lot of moving forward though, and people getting crushed. Luckily, all the bands of the night were trying to calm the crowd. Getting hurt at a Dashboard show, who would have though?
Well, the evening started out badly enough for me because I had a late class and missed Ben Kweller and Seafood. I was lucky enough to catch The Anniversary however. This band puts the moog back in MOOGERIFIC! I don�t quite understand them, they are on Vagrant Records, the most popular emo label of the moment, but they are clearly not the typical Vagrant band. Their songs are simple pop, but live they transcend as much heavier numbers. Their long hair, moog overtones and slogan of �Drink, Smoke and Fight� clearly leave them in a league of their own. It�s a damn good one too. On CD they sound a tad generic, live, they sport a female background singer hidden by keyboards, and a band full of longhaired men with guitars, and that�s not too common today. Confederate flags even don some of their stickers. I think the word du jour is trashy, and they accomplish it. Bless them for being a breath of fresh air.
Then there is Chris Carrabba. The charming Price of Emo, a slight man, with boyish good looks and a sleeve full of tattoos. I guess you can love him or hate him, but he�s a ladies dream, sensitive and cool. One would think that this as a concert experience could really bring a person down, but Chris and his band have an enigmatic presence and a passion that is not seen very often. I was shocked to see the new songs take an electric twist. This was also the first time I heard that Chris has Dashboard on the front burner now as opposed to his former emo-core band, Further Seems Forever. I�d have to say what shocked me the most was the crowd singing louder than Chris himself on favorites like �Again I Go Unnoticed� and �Screaming Infidelities�. The atmosphere was just right, a spinning mirrorball and a tale of jilted love where the themes of this night. The only damper on my evening was a fanatic behind me who kept wailing like he was Justin Timberlake (you know who you are, �fess up). It is now official that this man is a new trend, I heard him on Radio 104 the other day, I remember seeing him in New Haven in July opening for Saves the Day and no one cared, but that�s life.
So, Chris Carrabba is the punk rock man of the hour? Well, I like his music, but I wouldn�t call him the �New King of Punk� as The Hartford Advocate so boldly did. I�ll leave that title to the Agnostic Front�s of the world. He is a talent though, and he�s made it okay for men to be sensitive. Every man I know has gone out now and bought tighter pants and talks about their feelings since Chris came on the scene. I love you Chris, but damn you to hell for that one! As far as the show goes, kudos to the Webster for having the kids come out for a night of emotionally charged music. To me, in these times we face, I hate to rely on such self-gratifying music, but we all need to look out for number one occasionally, and get it all out of our systems!
