~3/22/02-Dashboard Show Review ~

Next up in the big list of show review is Dashboard Confessional, The Anniversary, Ben Kweller, and Legends of Rodeo. March 15 2002, at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, OR.

~*side note: I also saw a show at Kid Zone in Redmond, OR  on the 13^th. I believe it was Noggin Toboggin, Shop 11 Phoenix, and someone else(Inch High I believe? Anyone know?). Deciding I was too broke to head to P-town to catch a Le Tigre show I headed to the “Punk” show in Redmond held on the same night. When I arrived I realized that it was Christian “Punk”. Now, let me start by saying that the bands were generally really quite good, and they got the crowd going and I had a good time. But the sheer fact that the flyers were misleading left me bummed. I can see how Christian music could perhaps be in a “punk” style, but it can’t be Christian Punk. Those are two opposing views.  I had a really good rant going about how Christian music can’t be classified as punk, but fuck it. The bands were decent and it was cheap.*~

I was supposed to hit this show with a friend, who I’d bought a ticket for her birthday. Unfortunately She was unable to make it, so alone I headed to Portland and bummed around town with another original member of the Superfreaks: The Grappler, Dustin himself. After an hour or so of drinks, shit-talking, getting my ass kicked at snooker, and not telling his woman he was hanging out (hopefully she’ll never read this site, otherwise he’s busted-sorry Homey.) Dustin headed home and I was left to fend for myself on the mean streets of the big city. Deciding that Powells giant  book store would tempt me to spend money or steal I headed to the always wonderful Gallery Bink located just up the road a stretch on Burnside. I HIGHLY recommend the Gallery Bink to anyone who comes to this site. It’s a lowbrow art gallery with exhibits that change monthly. They’ve had a little bit of everything flow through their doors, from both local and national artists who work in all types of materials, and have a decent selection of t’s, stickers, prints, and more to purchase. And purchase you should to help them out. We need to see more cool places like this everywhere.

Next stop was the parking lot behind the Crystal Ballroom. The oh-so-helpful attendant directed me to a spot in the corner and as I pulled up into it there was a homeless guy blissfully sleeping there. Being the lazy bastard that I am I rolled down my window and told him he’d have to move. He begrudgingly did, but not before calling me a “Fuck” (true), and telling me that “God would get me” (false). Now there’s nothing more paranoia inducing than the feeling that a spiteful homeless man will break into your vehicle while you’re at a show. So next time I think I’ll be nicer and ASK the person to move, rather than TELL them. Just like the Dead Kennedys show I again I had to wait outside in the cold, but this time I was surrounded by pretty kids talking about who’s cooler in high school, as opposed to hulking crusty old punks stinking of Pabst and talking about infected tats. Now you constant readers will have read that at the last show I hit I was frisked quite thoroughly, and being that this show should have proved to be even bigger and at an established venue I’d planned ahead and left my machine guns in the car. Yet I didn’t have to suffer the indignation of having a grown man paw me up and down. Amazing. I walked in and up the stairs with nary a glance in my direction by the door people. Bonus Points for the Crystal Ballroom. Walking into the entryway I hear someone say “Hey, it’s that guy from the comic store in the mall!” Whoa, I get recognized in other towns. Fucking freaky. (and as a weird side note: at a show that occurred one week later here in Bend I got recognized by three separate people from the Dashboard show. Bizarre.)

This was the first time I’d ever been to this particular venue, and for a moment I thought I was suffering some flashback from some acid in my system getting re-released from years ago. The floor was bouncy. No other word to describe it. ((Turns out this is from a mechanism under the floor:”This unusual floor consisted of a layer of beautiful maple boards, under which were laid a series of rockers (like those of a rocking chair). Ball bearings were attached to the two ends of each rocker. The action of this mechanical device was a very fluid, up-and-down movement, which could be adjusted by a ratcheted gear to best suit different dance styles.”)) I immediately hit the more stable flooring from standing on the barrier on the right side of the stage, and realized that this was where the bands would be entering and exiting the stage. Here I stayed for the next 4 hours.

The show opened with Legends of Rodeo, a band I’d never before heard of. They played a good set. A rocky, semi-pop blend of good old fashioned patriotic lyrics about American Boys, and American Girls in tight blue jeans. They apparently used to be known as Recess Theory, and were a really nice group of guys. I think the crowd would have been more into their sound at a different show.

    Next up was Ben Kweller, yet another band I’d never heard of. As usual my age meter was way off, and when the kid who looked about 12 took the stage and busted out a rocking acoustic parady of Ice Ice baby I was rather amazed. Kweller turns out to be 20, and is full of insane talent. Geetar, Piano, vocals, songwriting, you name it and he does it all superbly. Once part of the group Radish (at the ripe old age of 15?) he’s moved on to his own thing, and it’s hard to put a definite label on his musical style. Pop, indie, folk, whatever, he mixes all styles on together and it works. I was really really impressed by their set, and it’s one of the few times I wished I knew of a band before the show so I could sing along with them. These guys might not get crazy big, but I’m sure they’ll be around for a long time. The first release is Sha Sha, and it’s well worth checking out. Again, a super friendly group of guys who hung out by the booth to sign stuff for the fans.

            The Anniversary was next, the first of the four bands that I’d heard of. I like their stuff quite a bit and I was looking forwards to their time on stage. Not much to really say here. They played a great set, with a good mix of tracks from their assorted releases. For those of you not familiar with the band they are a 5 piece combo-four guys, one girl. They play what might be described as emopop with a keyboard. It’s great emopop with a keyboard though. I even bought my first ever hoody from the guy selling their crap just because they put on a great show.

            Finally Chris Carrabba of Dashboard took the stage and started playing. I love it when a band doesn’t have to dominate. They’ll let the crowd sing along and they’ll get quiet just so the crowd can hear themselves, so they can feel that power of being a part of something. That’s great. And Dashboard does an incredible job of it. (Granted it helps a lot when a band has a great fan base that knows all the words to songs and is willing to sing along too.) I even found myself singing along to the majority of the songs, which is odd. My usual posture at shows is standing alone, occasionally bobbing my head to the beat and clapping at the end of a song. Never have I sung at a Bend show. But when the band is ON, and there’s 800 other people singing along I feel right at home and lend my voice to the crowd. (I do feel sorry for the poor bastards around me who had to listen to my pathetic singing voice.) Dashboard put on an fantastic show, playing a mix of brand new stuff, the popular stuff along the lines of “Screaming Infidelities”, and some of the lesser known stuff off of their ep’s.  Their performance was superb and I hope they make it back up this way soon.

The show ended and I set out to the merchandise booth to pick up gifts of buttons that I’d promised. Having to push through a crowd of 200 kids staring mindlessly at stuff they want to buy is a pain in the ass. Being patient and letting the rude little fucks cut in front of you may earn you lots of good karma, but when an angry father starts screaming at his insipid daughter because she can’t make up her mind I start to get pissed. Gently pushing my way past the kids who continued to stare blankly at the t-shirts I reached the front, bought my buttons, and bolted to check my car. It sat safe and sound, untouched by crazy homeless men, or God for that matter.

All in all it was an excellent show, a great day, and wonderful introduction to the Crystal Ballroom. I look forwards to the next show I hit there-most likely Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds on April 21^st.