Expanding My Musical Horizons

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend Dan was excited we were going to two shows that he had wanted to see.  We have different musical tastes-mine's more old school, his is more rock/alt. rock and while he plays me a lot of what he likes, I tend to enjoy some of it and other things-well, I think it's not my kind of music.

One of Dan's favorite bands is Dashboard Confessional, which is fronted by Chris Carrabba, who also sings with Further Seems Forever.  He has a new band called Twin Forks that has a completely different sound than his other music.  Dan played me the EP that the group had on their website before their self-titled album was released and I really enjoyed it.  It reminds me of country-folk-pop and more country sounding than a lot of what's actually being played on country radio.  The lyrics are catchy and the music makes you happy.

We saw they were playing at a festival in Maryland in August along with a roaster of a lot of other acts.  I dug around a bit and saw they were playing the North Star Bar in Philly and said let's see them there.  Now that weekend was also the weekend Dan wanted to see Brand New at the Skyline Stage at the Mann Center in Philly, so we made a weekend out of it.

Now...I'm not a big Brand New fan...some of their songs I enjoy, but others-I think they scream when they sing and are a little too far out there sometimes.  I knew both shows would be a new experience and I love concerts, so it was going to be a fun weekend.

When we got to North Star Bar on Friday July 11, we walked in and who was walking to the bar...Chris Carrabba.  I just looked at Dan and nodded the direction and I'm sure we looked like two fan girls.  He ordered Jameson on the rocks and we ordered beer and grabbed a seat at the table behind him.  A couple walked up to him and chatted for a bit and after a few minutes Chris went to sound check.  We went outside and hopped in line, got inside and grabbed a spot at the upstairs balcony which looked directly down on the stage.  The place is small and is a great intimate spot to see a show.

The two opening acts, Like Crazy and Seryn, performed and then Twin Forks took the stage.  The band switches out members touring based on who's available and along with Chris, we were treated to Jonathan Clark on bass (who's regularly in the band), Kelsey Baron on mandolin, Sara Bost on vocals, Shawn Zorn (Chris' cousin) on drums.  I don't think I've seen a show where the band has as much fun as the audience does.

Along with songs from the debut album, Chris performed some of his Dashboard Confessional material which had the crowd singing at the top of their lungs to every word with the other band members looking on smiling and Shawn even took out his phone and recorded some of it.  There were a few covers including The Talking Heads "And She Was," "Tall Green Grass" and "Skateland South" by Cory Branan.  During their hour plus set, the energy of the band and audience never died down.


After the show, everyone came out to sign and take photos.  Dan was nervous about meeting Chris, but he was happy he did.  I told Chris I got into his music through Dan and he thanked Dan for spreading the word about his music.  I always tell Dan he looks like him and when I got a pic of them together, he saw the resemblance.   

-SET LIST-

Can't Be Broken
And She Was
Something We Just Know
Tall Green Grass
Galway Girl
The Swiss Army Romance
Who's Looking Out
Kiss Me Darling
Plans
Skateland South
So Impossible
Come On
The Best Deceptions
Hands Down
Cross My Mind
The General Specific
Scraping Up The Pieces
Back To You

The next day was Brand New.  I've been to the Mann Center twice-I've seen Vanessa Williams with the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra and Diana Krall's "Quiet Nights" tour there.  This was not held at the actual venue, but the stage they built in the lawn area called "The Skyline Stage."  The crowd was not really what I was used to...lots of 20 somethings who were just...well...obnoxious and had no manners is the polite way of wording it.  We were frisked, patted down and bags thoroughly inspected at the gates and we went and grabbed a spot on the lawn.  Dinosaur Pile Up were up first followed by Man Man.   We roamed around the area and there were so many people drunk and stoned by the time Brand New came onstage.

Now, let me say that these tickets were a pain to get.  Apparently Brand New doesn't tour much and tickets sell out right away-as they did in this case.  We got ours on Stub Hub at a slight markup.  I don't get why you'd blow your money on a show that the next day you might not realize you were at.  We wondered back to the stage as lights went down...and what comes across the speakers?  Olivia Newton John's "Please Don't Keep Me Waiting"...that was my favorite part of the night.  A bit of irony to play the pop icon's song from "Totally Hot" before taking the stage with their darker rock.

Throughout their 80 minute or so set, the band remained in the dark.  There were stage lights that flashed and shown over the crowd, but the lead singer at the mic was seldom lit.  The focus was more on the music and lyrics than the band which isn't necessarily a bad thing-but when you pay x amount to see a band in concert, you do want to actually see them-otherwise you could just play their CD.  As the show went on, you could see smoke from the crowd rise up, people falling down drunk, bottles thrown up in the air.

For Dan, it was a bit disheartening who always wanted to see Brand New and for this to be his first time, it left him with mixed feelings.  We left shortly before the last song of the night.  One of the nice things about the evening was the way the stage is set up, you have a few of the Philly skyline and with the moon shining over it, it was a gorgeous sight to see.  I think eventually we'll try seeing Brand New again-only next time in a different, more controlled venue.

 -SET LIST-

Vices
Sink
Gasoline
At The Bottom
You Stole
Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades
I Will Play My Game Beneath The Spin Light
The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot
Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't
Seventy Times 7
Sowing Season
Millstone
Limousine (MS Rebridge)
Jesus
Degausser
You Won't Know