TVD Live Shots: Dashboard Confessional and Taking Back Sunday at Concord Pavilion, 7/12

Dashboard Confessional

After a successful 2015 one-day festival, the Taste of Chaos Tour made its return to the U.S. for the first time since 2009 with a 37 date amphitheater tour which wrapped on July 16 with a mega-fest at San Bernardino’s San Manuel Amphitheater.

The tour’s only Northern California stop featuring The Early November, SAOSIN, Taking Back Sunday, and Dashboard Confessional was particularly ambitious by the fact that it was held at the far-flung Concord Pavilion. On a Tuesday. Starting at 6:30 pm. Sadly for The Early November, that meant a pretty sparse audience for their opening set, but that didn’t stop them from blasting through their 30 minutes as if they were playing to a full house.

Taking Back Sunday

Next up was a rejuvenated SAOSIN, back with original frontman Anthony Green who was clearly invigorated after his break from the band and his time with Circa Survive. The crowd clearly wanted more than just a taste of SAOSIN and, with a new album recently out in May, it sure feels like we should be hearing more from these guys very soon.

With the sun finally setting behind the general admission lawn, Taking Back Sunday hit the stage. Never a band to disappoint its loyal Bay Area fanbase, TBS melded its customary dramatic light show with frontman Adam Lazzara’s wild stage presence and expert-level mic twirling skills into a powerful set that had the crowd singing and moshing along.

Thanks to a well-oiled stage crew making quick work of the set changes, band time was maximized so that neither the bands nor the fans got short-changed. Even so, headliners Dashboard Confessional kept the house waiting 15 minutes past their scheduled 9:30 set time but, what was truly a die-hard and appreciative crowd, never uttered a complaint and stuck it out through the last notes of the night. While attendance most certainly fell short of expectations, what the crowd lacked in numbers it made up for with heart and noise.

DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL