I try my best not to miss Dashboard when they are touring. Especially when Chris does the solo acoustic gigs. Tonight was a solo one and as expected, Chris brought a set list full of fan faves and had a few surprises up his sleeve as well.

Dashboard Confessional
(solo acoustic)
House of Blues San Diego
1/20/12

The Good Fight
The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most
Swiss Army Romance (Say Anything “Wow I Can Get Sexual Too” tease)
Where There’s Gold
As Lovers Go
Saints and Sailors
Tall Green Grass (Cory Branan cover)
So Impossible
Cold Comfort
The Sharp Hint of New Tears
Screaming Infidelities
Again I Go Unnoticed
Carry This Picture
The Cape (Guy Clark cover)
Get Me Right
Ghost of a Good Thing
Remember to Breathe
Stolen
Vindicated
Hands Down

Encore:
The Best Deceptions

The first surprise of the night was definitely the Say Anything tease - Chris loves to tease songs in the middle of his own and those choice “Called her on the phone and she touched herself” lyrics were (gasp!) shocking. Most of the set went the way of most D/C shows, Chris banter, crowd sing-a-longs, girls professing their love. I was really happy to get “Ghost of a Good Thing” …

“Love is like a role that we play.”
But, I believe in you so much I could die for the words that you say
But, you’re chasin’ the ghost of a good thing…

Night two of my Swiss Army Romance 10th Anniversary shows. Also the last night of the tour. It had the makings to be magical and for the most part, it was. Especially once I told the drunk loud talkers to shut up. Come on people, it’s an acoustic show. STFU already! But anyways, set list …

Dashboard Confessional
Swiss Army Romance 10th Anniversary Tour
House of Blues
San Diego, CA
1/22/11

Screaming Infidelities
The Sharp Hint of New Tears
Living In Your Letters
The Swiss Army Romance
Turpentine Chaser
A Plain Morning
Age Six Racer
Again I Go Unnoticed
Ender Will Save Us All
Shirts and Gloves

This Brilliant Dance
The Good Fight
The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most
Where There’s Gold
So Impossible
Tall Green Grass
Carry This Picture
As Lovers Go
A Guardian of Sorts (To Catch You)
The Best Deceptions
Saints and Sailors
Stolen
Remember to Breathe
Vindicated
Hands Down

So I got some different songs in the encore for this show. Chris also was a little looser, maybe because this crowd was really into it from the get go. Our singing was so strong for the first few lines of “Screaming Infidelities”, he just let us sing it. And then commented how we were already warmed up. (Probably had to do with all the sing alongs when Chris Conley from Saves the Day was on….more on that in a separate post.) A few songs seemed more intense this time around - like “This Brillant Dance”. And he did mix up the order of songs a bit and changed some out. I always enjoy “Where There’s Gold” and was super happy to get “The Best Deceptions”. Despite trying to save by voice by just mouthing words for some songs, it was pretty shot by the time we got to “As Lovers Go”. But since I am an old lady and had cough drops in my purse, I was all good to sing my heart out for the rest of the night. The new song “A Guardian of Sorts (To Catch You)” was even better on the second listen. The last five songs were all crowd favorites and the girls next to me pretty much freaked out when Chris started “Remember to Breathe”. It was that kind of night. You had to catch your breath because if you let yourself, you really could get caught up in all the emotion. I know I did.

lt’s a bit hard to believe that Dashboard Confessional’s Swiss Army Romance album is ten years old. But it is and Chris Carrabba is celebrating the anniversary of its release with a tour, playing the album in its entirety. I happen to be in L.A. this week so I caught tonight’s show at the Troubadour. Of course, it was full of emo awesome. Set list first….

Dashboard Confessional
Swiss Army Romance 10th Anniversary Tour
The Troubadour
West Hollywood, CA
1/20/11

Screaming Infidelities
The Sharp Hint of New Tears
Living In Your Letters
The Swiss Army Romance
Turpentine Chaser
A Plain Morning
Age Six Racer
Again I Go Unnoticed
Ender Will Save Us All
Shirts and Gloves


This Brilliant Dance
The Good Fight
The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most
Carry This Picture
Tall Green Grass
So Impossible
A Guardian of Sorts (To Catch You)
Get Me Right
As Lovers Go
Saints and Sailors
Stolen
Remember to Breathe
Vindicated
Hands Down

So after three openers (maybe I’ll get to a post about them someday). Chris comes out solo and does not kid around. He goes straight into one of his best songs ever, “Screaming Infidelities”, which happens to be the first song on Swiss Army Romance. And so it was on. Everyone in the Troub seemed to know all the songs. It was a great place to be a Dashboard fan. After he finished Swiss Army Romance, he went straight into the encore. And I, like most everyone else there, sang through the majority of the set, and thoroughly enjoyed all the “hits”. Chris did treat us with his cover of Cory Branan’s “Tall Green Grass” (which he also did at the Anaheim show). Particularly poignant to me was “As Lovers Go” and “Remember to Breathe”. And of course, the always gut-wrenching set ender “Hands Down”.

An epic night for all the emo girls and boys. I get to do it again on Saturday in SD. Can’t wait.