Dashboard Confessional
By Megan Randall
New image, who dis?
Admittedly, I hadn’t given much thought to Dashboard Confessional over the past years since college. Dashboard Confessional playing at university consisted of more mellow parties, study sessions, and sunbathing by the pool. When I had a chance to catch them on Day 2 of the Bunbury Music Festival, I was nostalgically intrigued since my mostly metal playlist tended to ignore that genre completely.
Prior to their set you could see the standard buildup of the stage front dwellers. The barrier huggers who select a single stage still didn’t budge as the crowd filtered in behind them. But about 10 minutes before the band’s set time the wave started. It’s like no other stage mattered anymore and EVERYONE was coming for them.
Chris Carrabba and crew kicked off their set with “Don’t Wait,” which was appropriate since it was apparent that the crowd did not want to wait to sink their ears into them. Fan girl-ing out became a thing at Bunbury that afternoon and as the set progressed with other DC fav’s like “Screaming Infidelities” and “Belong.” What was shocking to me, though, was the clean cut acoustic-loving emo band of my prior listening years had progressed into this rugged group of guys. Carrabba is still the sensitive soul that won the hearts of so many coeds, but he and the band have a lot more years behind them now and the music tells a broader story. The emotion behind the music isn’t gone, it’s deepened.
Maybe you’re like me and DC hasn’t been in your mix lately; I’d recommend taking another look. Their most recent album Crooked Shadows is currently available, or you can catch them out on tour this summer.
Photographs by Shawn Wiseman
