Dashboard Confessional's Swiss Army Romance Tenth Anniversary at Revolution, November 27

View a slideshow from the concert here. 

There were no frills or fusses involved with Carrabba's set last night. No other band members. No fancy light shows. Just one man, his assorted guitars, and his foot stomping providing the necessary drum work. None of his fans minded the change back to his roots.

Chris Carrabba wasn't kidding when he told us that his crowds are usually mixed with all sorts of people. But this crowd was strikingly different from what we remember in the early 2000s. Had the emo kids washed out their black hair dye, covered up their tats, and traded in black-rimmed eyes for shorts, sports jerseys, and flip-flops? They could've been over at Hey Monday's show that night at the Culture Room or holding out to catch Mayday Parade on Sunday. There was a hefty amount of local talent planning South Florida comebacks this weekend.

Carrabba sported unassuming ripped skinny jeans and a simple plaid shirt with a baseball cap and started his set with a brief wave and "It's nice to see you all here after all this time" before diving right into the first song from SAR, "Screaming Infidelities." At first, we could barely hear him over the crowd cheers and uproars, as fans sang along to each lyric, yet none looked old enough to have purchased the album when it was first released.

His voice was just as crisp as his recorded self, if not more conditioned. A lot of people hate on Carrabba's emo aesthetic, but he really just writes a lot of songs about love and despair that people can relate to. Granted, most of them have grown up and washed away any visible remnants of what they enjoy listening to behind closed doors, but their emotions are still the same.

As Carrabba unpacked SAR, he barely spoke to the crowd. But when he did, he said just the right things, from telling us all that we "sing beautifully" to "For those of you that this record was important to, I'm grateful to you." Awww.

He continues by mentioning that members from every band he's ever been in are there, naming everyone from the Vacant Andys to the Agency and Further Seems Forever. We were hoping he'd bring some of them on stage, seeing as how he called the members all by name, but nothing. Just one man on a mission. He then continued with, "Anyone ever seen me play before?" And the crowd went wild, as everyone in there raised his hands. He went through each song on the record in order as promised and let the crowd sing in his place a few times -- disappointing, as we're sure some fans didn't go to hear strangers sing.

Carrabba's whines have been mastered to a certain extent, and every time he crooned for more than a few seconds, the crowd screeched with excitement. The only time it probably went even crazier? When he decided to play some of his most popular hits like "The Brilliant Dance," "The Best Deceptions," and "Hands Down" after going through ten songs from his debut album.

Carrabba went on to talk about the earlier solo performers, John Lefler (normally the guitarist for Dashboard Confessional) and Cory Branan, going so far as to say Branan is his favorite singer since Johnny Cash. "I'm not sure if he likes his guitar, but he's good."

Carrabba was right. Branan seemed to beat the shit out of his guitar on various occasions, almost as if he is trying to wake a sleeping giant from the depths of its strings. He'd instantly transition from really slow guitar riffs to charged choruses, almost sounding like two opposing bands were thrown in a blender -- and the result wasn't exactly a delicious smoothie either.

Sure, Carrabba walks a fine line among emo, acoustic, folk, and indie rock, but he walks it so well that we never have to question what kind of music he plays -- or the kind of people he affects with his lyrics.

Branan seems to be an acquired taste, switching from country to Irish band undertones. We could hear a little Flogging Molly in his voice, but his Rob Thomas/Matchbox 20 appearance threw us off just that much more, making us think we were more at a hoedown than an actual rock show. Definitely an acquired taste, much like trying to join the crowd and like beer when you're 16, even though deep down you think it smells like pee.  

Dashboard Guitarist John Lefler started the evening off, promptly at 7:30, and with songs with titles like "Prom Night," he definitely aimed at the target demographic of the evening: high school and college kids that just want to go out after the game, celebrate victories, get drunk, and have a little fun.
 

Critic's Notebook
Personal bias: Chris Carrabba was probably my first real boy in a band crush. I was 15.