Written by Max Bennett | Photographed by Justin Mayer
Many Baby Boomers mistake kids in their early to mid-20s, Gen Zers, for Millennials. But if any Boomer happened to attend Sunday night’s concert at The Met Philadelphia, they would have seen who Millennials actually are. Reliving the glory days of 2000 to 2010, throngs of Millennials descended upon the Broad Street venue to see Dashboard Confessional live, with fellow 2000s darlings Boys Like Girls and Pennsylvania’s own Taylor Acorn supporting them.
Anyway, Acorn and her band were powerful, despite it being just her, a guitarist, and a drummer. Acorn, who grew up about four hours northwest of Philadelphia, gave an incredibly strong vocal performance Sunday. At times, her voice reached Kelly Clarkson levels of power, all while the vocal melodies were reminiscent of Paramore’s pop punk tracks. What was fun about her set was that it felt like thoughtful pop punk. The drums and guitar did enough technical work to set the songs apart from run-of-the-mill pop songs following a pattern. The set included plenty of minor tweaks in time and rhythm that underscored Acorns’s energetic and punchy vocals.
Acorn took the stage alone, armed with an acoustic guitar, and delivered a mesmerizing solo performance. The intimate vibe of this part of the set changed the room’s aura, almost reminding the audience that Dashboard entered their hearts in such intimate ways. Acorn’s solo performance then ramped up, with the two other band members coming in to deliver a driving close to the song.
They closed out with what is presumably her biggest song and jumped into the last chorus after a crescendoing breakdown section. Boys Like Girls came out not long after.
The four piece from Massachusetts had a big intro to their set and were dressed the part of rock stars. In leather jackets, they burst onto the stage with swagger and braggadocio. While the band’s lead singer Martin Johnson handled vocals for the night, the bassist Gregory James and lead guitarist Jamel Hawke were chiming in with harmonies the entire set.
Hawke was the biggest showman of the group, wandering around the stage, jumping on risers on either side of Johnson, smoking cigarettes on stage, and playing hot leads on their tracks. James was seen swigging beer during the set. They were full of rizz, to borrow a Gen Z term. Johnson handled rhythm guitar too, and he threw more picks out to the crowd than any musician I’ve ever seen. At one point, a guitar tech even came out to add more picks to his mic stand. This was hilarious to me as someone who uses the same pick for months and months.
The band played “Thunder” from their debut album then closed out with “The Great Escape,” which they actually played two versions of. I’m not sure how I feel about doubling up on a song, but the crowd was into it, so it worked.
In between the sets, I ran into Fred Mascherino, formerly of Taking Back Sunday, founder and frontman of The Color Fred, and current member of Say Anything. A true legend.
Dashboard came out as we Millennials imagine it in our heads: just Chris, just a guitar.
He opened with “The Best Deceptions,” a song nearly all 2000s kids knew by heart if they had a partner who was even thinking about another person. From there, Chris went into “Again I Go Unnoticed,” and the band entered the fray.
Reader, I implore you to watch a live performance by Dashboard on YouTube. These shows are not really just shows; they’re communal emotional pressure valve releases. The only people who aren’t singing along are either there to be with a partner and have passing knowledge, or those crying too hard to sing along. From the jump, Dashboard shows were singalongs, and more than 20 years after their first release, we’re still singing along. The band played more of the hits, going into “The Sharp Hint of New Tears” and “Turpentine Chaser,” all old-time bangers.
Chris shared a story of his daughter hearing one of his songs in a movie and calling him after, then went into “Carry This Picture,” which was in the recent film “It Ends With Us.”
Dashboard tapped back into the early albums, going into “Saints and Sailor,” then “Remember to Breathe,” which featured a killer solo from lead guitarist Armon Jay. They then played a “new” song, and by new I mean from the band’s fourth album, from 2007.
Johnson joined Dashboard for an unreleased song called “Watch the Fire” before Dashboard went into their three final, and most influential, songs.
First up was “Screaming Infidelities.” This song is the band’s first big hit, and I’d bet The Met had only a few dry eyes in the auditorium. The anthemic chorus was carried on by the hundreds in attendance, singing along like they were 16 again.
“Vindicated” was up next, which was released as part of the “Spider-Man 2” soundtrack. Remember soundtracks? Remember when they had bands like Dashboard Confessional and Taking Back Sunday on them? “Vindicated” is Dashboard as a whole band, at its penultimate peak.
The ultimate Dashboard is “Hands Down.” The band closed with the lead track off their third album, and everyone in the venue was singing along like Carrabba was singing about their own most memorable nights with a new love.
There’s not much else to say about the show. It was hard to keep track of what was going on to write this review because I was so caught up in the moment. I am, after all, a Millennial who was jilted by a high school girlfriend and used Dashboard as a soothing balm on the deep cuts of a shallow love lost.
Oh, and no SEPTA buses were running on my route apparently, so I walked two miles home. And my McDonald’s order got canceled. Even so, it was a night I’ll never forget. But I’m sure the numerous heavily intoxicated millennial white women there will forget it.
Dashboard
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Boys Like Girls
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Taylor Acron
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