Sep 6

Sep 6 Show Review: Dashboard Confessional, Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness Bring "Hello Gone Days" Tour to San Francisco

Dashboard Confessional
Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
w/ The Juliana Theory
The Masonic
San Francisco, CA
September 4th, 2022

Photos and Review by Jared Stossel

Both Dashboard Confessional and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness offer something similar, while remaining entirely different: both acts are comprised of one person that composes all of the music, is the face of said project, and then brings out an excellent live band to round out the full sound. Chris Carrabba and Andrew McMahon have been in this industry for decades, playing in numerous bands, writing in countless songs, and making a name for themselves. On Sunday night, the two acts came together for an unforgettable night of music that played homage to the expansive catalogue both acts have created over the last several years.

This particular tour has brought out a rotating lineup of openers throughout the summer, with acts like Cartel and Armor For Sleep appearing in other cities. Our evening featured The Juliana Theory, a long-running emo rock duo that’s been in the scene for just as long as our evening’s headliners. Despite several on and off reunions, it seems like the band are back together for good, with vocalist Brett Detar and lead guitarist Joshua Fielder leading the charge. There’s a warmth about their brand of emo and alternative rock that I found appealing, and it proved to be a great set to kick off the evening.

Whether he was in Jack’s Mannequin, Something Corporate, or playing solo, Andrew McMahon doesn’t know how to phone it in. It feels like he’s incapable of putting on a bad show, and his live performance only elevates the songs that have made him. His official solo act Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness took the stage for a thrilling hour-long performance that showcased the singer-songwriters biggest hits from throughout his tenure as a touring musician. To my surprise, two songs that I never thought I’d hear live from him were included in the set, both of them from Something Corporate (his first band). McMahon incorporated “Hurricane”, an upbeat track from the 2002 album Leaving Through The Window, and “Konstantine”, a nearly ten-minute piano-driven opus about heartbreak that I don’t recall him bringing out for quite some time. The track was included as a bonus song on Somethng Corporate’s “best-of” record after they ended, and it became a massive success, one of the band’s biggest songs. To hear it live was an ethereal experience.

McMahon made the venue his stage, as he crowd surfed over the audience in a giant rubber duck, and eventually donned a starry light-up cape that he wore while walking into the audience and singing one of the set’s final songs. He’s a consummate performer, and it was weird for me to watch him not close out a show after watching him headline on his own for so many years. However, if any act had to follow him, Dashboard Confessional is one that makes the most sense.

Armed with nothing but an acoustic guitar, Chris Carrabba took the stage and launches into a solo rendition of “The Swiss Army Romance”, a cut from Dashboard Confessional’s debut album of the same name. A few moments later, a full band joins him on stage, with Carrabba proceeding to say, “Hi! We’re Dashboard Confessional, and we’re here to play some old shit.” A vast majority of the material came from older album’s in Carrabba’s catalogue, like The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most, Crooked Shadows, and 2003’s genre-defining A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar. The band even threw in a cover of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven”, which found McMahon returning to the stage for a rather brilliantly performed cover of the classic Cure song. The evening ended with what are arguably Dashboard’s two biggest songs: “Vindicated”, an excellent track that was popularized by its inclusion in the critically-acclaimed Spider-Man 2 soundtrack, and “Hands Down”, a powerfully performed emo-love song that has become a staple in Dashboard sets since it was released.

This was an evening dedicated to great songwriting, reminiscing on the past, and loud sing-along sessions. The future was outside the doors of the venue, but for a few hours, everyone in attendance got to relive the past before moving forward.

Dashboard Confessional Set List
The Swiss Army Romance (acoustic)
The Good Fight
The Sharp Hint of New Years
Don’t Wait
Turpentine Chaser
Am I Missing (?)
Saints and Sailors
We Fight
Remember to Breathe
Stolen
The Best Deceptions
The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most
Again I Go Unnoticed
Screaming Infidelities
Just Like Heaven (The Cure cover) (w/ Andrew McMahon)
Vindicated
Hands Down

Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness Set List
Bruised (Jack’s Mannequin cover)
High Dive
I Woke Up In A Car (Something Corporate cover)
The Mixed Tape (Jack’s Mannequin cover)
Holiday From Real (Jack’s Mannequin cover)
She Paints Me Blue (Something Corporate cover)
Island Radio
Swim (Jack’s Mannequin cover)
Hurricane (Something Corporate cover)
Punk Rock Princess (Something Corporate cover)
Konstantine (Something Corporate cover)
Fire Escape
Cecilia and the Satellite
Stars
Dark Blue (Jack’s Mannequin cover)
Synesthesia