It’s a well established fact in this scene that when you go to a Dashboard gig, you go for a singalong. You go to stand in a hall with hundreds of other emotionally crippled teens to wear your heart on your sleeve, sing your lungs out as loud as you can, and feel like you’re part of something special.
However, despite a top performance on this Wednesday lunchtime in London’s Borderline, there was definitely something missing from this particular Dashboard Confessional show. To begin with, we were only subjected to a Chris Carrabba/John Lefler acoustic show, and not a full band performance. While this wouldn’t usually bother me, as I’ve seen the pair play some great acoustic shows in the past, today was meant to be about showcasing material from the new album, and it’s a shame to still be waiting to hear the full live band versions of ‘So Long, So Long’ and ‘Don’t Wait’.
The extended version of old favourite ‘Remember to Breathe’ did go down a storm, as did newcomer ‘Stolen’, yet sadly that was it for today from the band. There were a lot of kids here who looked genuinely displeased by the fact that DC only played four songs for us. To be honest though, Chris and Johnny looked as miffed as everybody else when they walked off stage, and we were distinctly left with the impression that it was the venue’s restrictions, not the band’s choice to play such a short set.
Despite all this, I cannot be too critical of the performance itself. For starter’s, Chris’s voice has clearly improved leaps and bounds over the last couple of years, and it didn’t falter today at all. When this is coupled with Johnny’s smooth harmonies and guitar parts, you’re left watching the sort of show that would receive a standing ovation at any bar’s acoustic night. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed today’s set, and while it was far too short for any fan’s liking, it was still definitely worth a watch for anyone on their lunch break.
Andrew