ANDREW MCMAHON/DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL LIVE!! | NEW JERSEY
In a nostalgic lineup for any fans of the 2000s emo + pop punk scene, Dashboard Confessional and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness have ventured out together on their co-headlining "Hello Gone Days Tour", along with rotating openers Armor For Sleep, Cartel, and The Juliana Theory. Both bands performed along with Armor For Sleep at the iconic Stone Pony Summerstage in Asbury Park, New Jersey on August 13th to a packed and excited crowd of lifelong devoted fans. As an ode to the nostalgic lineup, both bands put together setlists that embraced their older, less typically performed songs, in a temporary return to their more pop punk roots.
Though they've been rotating the order each night, for Saturday's show Dashboard Confessional took the stage first, performing a rotation of old hits and b sides next to the beach as the sun set. They started their set off with "The Brilliant Dance" and "The Good Fight", both off of their 2001 album "The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most". Lead singer Chris Carrabba took a small break at one point to celebrate a young boy, around 10 years old, who was in the very front of the crowd at his first ever concert. In fact, much of the crowd consisted of adult fans who grew up listening to one or both artists and brought their children along to see them, and it was a really lovely crowd to witness and be a part of. During soundcheck, Andrew McMahon even performed a few songs at the request of two very young children who were nearby, and his own daughter, Cecilia, was there as well. Dashboard continued their set as the sky grew dark, and a stand out moment was their captivating performance of "The Better Of Me", which is off of their new album - and, notably, the only song off that album they played all night, despite its recency. They closed out their set with a memorable performance of their hits "Vindicated" - which had a crowd of people screaming along to the cathartic and nostalgic lyrics, myself included - and "Hands Down" before Andrew McMahon took the stage.
Andrew McMahon, though currently performing under Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, is also the person behind beloved groups Jack's Mannequin and Something Corporate. His setlist consisted of an even spread of songs from all 3 projects, including some deeper cuts that are very rarely performed live such as "Konstantine" and "Hurricane". His set started off with "Bruised", a hit song off of Jack's Mannequin's 2005 album Everything In Transit, followed with "High Dive" off of his current project's self titled first album, and Something Corporate's hit "I Woke Up In A Car". The set was framed with countless special moments, including his young daughter Cecilia joining him onstage to sing his 2014 hit "Cecilia and the Satellite", which was written for her. Chris Carrabba also came back onstage about halfway through to perform a cover of Cake's "The Distance" with Andrew and his band. Andrew's energetic performance included several jumps off of his iconic piano, and twice throughout the night, in lieu of standard crowd surfing, he instead opted to ride an inflatable llama through the crowd. A stunning performance of his new song "Stars", which just came out to streaming services a few days after the show, was followed with hits "Dark Blue" (Jack's Mannequin) and Synesthesia, for which he donned an LED rainbow cape. During synesthesia, he even crowd surfed from the stage all the way over to the bar, took a shot, and crowd surfed back as he closed out the show.
Needless to say, though they've been performing for over 20 years at this point, Andrew McMahon and Dashboard Confessional both know how to keep the energy up and engage a crowd, and this tour is not one to miss, whether they were the soundtrack to your 2000s or are new to you. They'll continue touring together through early September, so be sure to catch a show near you!
Contributing Photographer and Editor Carly Palicz
