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Biography
Dashboard Confessional was originally conceived as a solo side project of musician Chris Carrabba. The singer’s debut output, 2000’s “The Swiss Army Romance” was released whilst Carrabba was still a member of Further Seems Forever, however after their debut “The Moon Is Down”, the singer left the group to focus on Dashboard Confessional. In 2001 the sophomore album “The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most” was issued by Vagrant Records, and marked the arrival of a band in support of Carrabba. Now a group, with Chris Carrabba at its introspective core, Dashboard Confessional gripped the emo genre by the scruff of its neck and shook it back to life.
After a several month tour in support of the album, Carrabba et al. began collaborating with Dan Hoerner, which resulted in the EPs “So Impossible” in 2001 and “Summers Kiss” in 2002. Also in 2002 the band recorded and released an instalment for the MTV Unplugged series, which represented the band’s biggest breakthrough, with the album “MTV Unplugged 2.0” going platinum. With a line-up now consisting of Carrabba, bassist Scott Schoenbeck, guitarist Johnny Lefler, and drummer Mike Marsh, the band released the full-length “A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar” in 2003. Charting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, the album earned strong reviews from critics, and spawned the singles “Hands Down” and “Rapid Hope Loss”. The band’s song “Vindicated” was later used on the “Spider-Man 2” soundtrack and subsequently at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The full-length “Dusk and Summer” followed in 2006 featuring production from Daniel Lanois and Don Gilmore. Once again the album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, and was supported by a North American tour alongside Say Anything and Ben Lee. The band’s fifth full-length “The Shade of Poison Trees” arrived in October 2007, followed by “Alter the Ending” in November 2009.
Live reviews
The boy(s) are back at it again. 6 years after their last record, Chris Carrabba and the gang are back on the road playing all your favorite songs. The show in Minneapolis was a unique one for this tour as it was a smaller venue with a early curfew that led to all acts needing to remove songs from their sets. This meant that Chris did not perform a "Back to You" from one of his other bands, Twin Forks. Chris was high energy despite a voice that was self-explained as a bit stressed. Chris was smiling the whole time and had a good give and take with the audience. From playing on his back to standing on top of the piano, he demanded the audience's attention. Dashboard has no new material, so all the songs were known to the over 1500 fans in attendance.
Comedic Highlight: - Chris explaining to one of his sound techs that the piano "had a lot of wrong notes in it" as he fumbled his way through one track.
Performance Highlight: Hands down it was "Hands Down", the finale. Undoubtedly DC's biggest hit, the crowd echoed every word and every single repeat of "That you meant it" at the end.
Overall, it was a short set that left me wanting more (no "As Lovers Go" and "Rapid Hope Loss" among others). Chris is interested in writing and recording a new Dashboard record, but is also hard at work on a second album with Twin Forks. Hopefully this isn't a one summer and done kinda thing.
Friday nights concert was fantastic! Well, the whole evening was from start to finish. My friend won VIP tickets and we got to meet the band (we are such huge fans though, we have met them numerous times before). Had photos taken, asked Chris to write out song lyrics for our next tattoos (which he did)... that's what I love about him, he loves his fans. The band loves their fans. Chris actually will take time to meet and talk to the fans. He's so down to earth, just like Scott, the bass player... such down to earth guys. Then I gave them all hugs and tried to take a photo as i was leaving but some radio douche told me I couldn't.
The concert was fantastic. Chris and the guys sounded great. But, the audience, not true DC fans. You can tell a real DC following/concert and a half hearted DC following/concert. Even up front I was singing along, having a grand time, but one could tell that something was off.
I'm glad that DC finally came back to
Louisville, but I think I'll stick to following them round to places like Nashville, Cincy, Atlanta, Florida, Michigan, ect. They are worth the travel, time and money always! HANDS DOWN DC has STOLEN my heart from the start and I'm okay with that. I just need to REMEMBER TO BREATHE when I meet DC and Chris and pray they never say SO LONG, SO LONG.
Dashboard Confessional has been making all my dreams come true since the year I begged my older sister to let me listen to “The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most” on her portable CD player, and they haven’t let me down since. Not only is Chris Carrabba gorgeous AND talented, but the band has a song for just about every relationship scenario imaginable, and they accompanied me through many a high-school breakup. Needless to say, I’m a very loyal fan.
Probably one of the best moments in music history was May of 2013 when Dashboard got the chance to play New York’s historic Madison Square Garden, an arena with a capacity of 20,000 people. The crowd was obviously beside themselves with excitement at seeing such a classic band from teenage-hood perform live, but the big moment of the night came when DC came back out for their encore to perform what is probably their most popular song, “Hands Down.” Chris barely had to sing, because all 20,000 people were singing the song for him. Everyone in the arena knew every word and every nuance of the song, and it was an absolutely INCREDIBLE, indescribable moment.
Chris is now the front man of a new band called Twin Forks, but every time he gets back on stage with Dashboard Confessional, it’s like they never left.
Although emo may sound like an outdated term in modern society, Florida outfit Dashboard Confessional have always associated themselves as emo rock due to taking influence from a whole variety of artists including Jawbox, The Beatles, Refused, Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder. Throughout their whole career they have enjoyed a devoted, loyal following who have really emphasised with both the band's lyrics and music. The band has been on the road for over ten years and appear to be playing lately with more energy and direction than they have in the past.
Lead singer Chris Carrabba really recognises how dearly the fans hold the music and keeps them continuously involved in the show throughout the night. This is often credited to the reason that audience members attend the tours again and again. The singalongs to the likes of 'Remember to Breathe' and 'Where There's Gold' seem to be getting louder and louder with every show. An impassioned performance throughout culminates in an encore of 'Stolen' and 'Hands Down' with the band looking incredibly gratified to the huge reaction they are receiving from the crowds.
Seeing Dashboard Confessional was hands down the best day I can ever remember (see what I did there?). Dashboard Confessional, a cult favourite, have played an important part in my music collection ever since I discovered ‘The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most’. Dashboard Confessional are an emo rock band, having had their hay day back in the 2000s when I was experimenting with my emo phase and badly applying heavy eyeliner. The atmosphere at the gig was infectious, with the band’s loyal following out in full force to celebrate one of the greatest emo bands of all time. The band reminded me of a mix of influences, everything from the Beatles to Jawbox. Lead singer Chris Carrabba was on form all night, taking to the stage with a real confidence and passion. He belted out the band’s biggest hits, from the sensational ‘Remember to Breathe' and 'Where There's Gold' to their epic ‘Stolen’. However, it was the band’s encore of their hit ‘Hands Down’ that really had the crowd going and that ended the night on an absolute high.
Can't get enough of Dashboard Confessional!! We liked the show so much in Dallas that we drove to Austin to see the show again. Dashboard never disappoints and this time they brought back older songs, which was refreshing to hear! The VIP experience was phenomenal! The goodie bag was the best! Chris Carrabba is always such a joy to be around! He and his crew are so warm and welcoming that you just fall in love with them all over again!
This was definitely Hands Down The Best Ones Of The Best Ones!
Amazing show!Everyone was singing along to the lyrics by heart. Chris put on a great performance and sounded just as good as he does in the studio. Beach Slang was phenomenal too. Scott looked SO much different than when I last saw him and it wasn't rowdy, which is fine for this kind of music. They're still at it just like they were in 2003!
The show was great!!! A must see!! Chris has an amazing voice and presence and the lead singer to All American Rejects was fantastic!! The venue was a great, drinks were a bit too expensive and if I had any feedback, carry cider because my sis couldn't drink the beer due to gluten.
Dashboard was amazing as usual! It would have been even better if they could have gotten Chris' guitars working properly! No matter how pissed he was he still put on an awesome show! Dashboard should have closed the show, not Third Eye Blind! Just sayin'.