A dash of spring

A student walks down Appian Way on Sunday, April 25 on their way to the library for the night. As they pass the back of the Spaulding Gymnasium, they hear a screaming crowd through the open exit doors. Above the crowd, they hear a familiar song.

“So mesmerizing, so hypnotizing. I am captivated,” Chris Carrabba, singer and songwriter for the band Dashboard Confessional sang. Suddenly, they realize that they are missing Carrabba sing “Vindicated” in  the Social Activities Council sponsored Spring Weekend concert.

Dashboard was chosen after SAC posted a survey earlier this year to students’ MyKSC accounts asking which genre students would like to hear. Alternative rock won the survey and SAC talked with agent, Mike Russo, who presented them with a few options. Laura Bourque was the concert coordinator for SAC. Bourque said other options they had to choose from included Brand New and Taking Back Sunday.

“It was a hard decision, but ultimately SAC made the right one out of the choices we had,” Bourque said.

The opening act was singer/songwriter Kevin Devine  and his band, which, according to Bourque, plays indie folk music. Devine was requested to open the show by Dashboard Confessional.

“We were lucky to have him as an opener,” Bourque said.

The two bands played together the previous night at Siena College in Loudonville, NY. Bourque said SAC had been lucky in the past few years with shows selling out or coming close. Tickets didn’t sell as well this time though.

“It’s come up and been kind of an issue but it hasn’t been as much of an issue as people make it out to be,” Bourque said.

SAC eventually decided to charge the same price to the general public as they would to KSC students. The previous limit of two tickets per KSC ID card was also lifted. Bourque said SAC just wanted as many people to enjoy the show as possible. According to SAC, a false rumor spread saying SAC was giving away tickets for free as the show drew near.
“We were joking around that this rumor probably started at a party the other night and everyone caught onto it,” Bourque said.

Bourque said at the end of the big performance she thought attendance ended up being better than they had previously expected, based on tickets they sold the week previously.
“I’m glad people decided to come,” Bourque said. “Personally, I thought [Dashboard Confessional] were phenomenal.”

Sophomore Rebecca Lorden said she was happier with last weekend’s choice than she was with Asher Roth, the rapper SAC brought as part of KSC Winter Celebration.
“I do like Dashboard,” Lorden said, “But I think I like Kevin Devine better. I like his sound better.”

A member of Devine’s band, Brian Bonz, had been at KSC earlier this year, as a solo act, opening for State Radio in February.

"Maybe that happens once a year where we’ll get lucky and we can come back to the same college twice,” Bonz said “But it’s always a privilege to play these kind of shows.”
After the performance, Devine sat at a table selling merchandise outside of the Spaulding Gymnasium.

“From what I’ve seen I think Keene State is great,” Devine said.

During the intermission between bands, a conflict arose between Assistant Director of Campus Safety Chris Santiago and Dashboard’s  production manager Jack Funk.
Santiago wanted the two tour buses, located on the basketball courts behind the gym, moved. Santiago also wanted security team members spread out in the area between the barricade holding back the crowd and the stage, while Funk wanted the security members on either side.

“There always seems to be a rift between what campus safety wants to do and what the band wants to do,” Bourque said.

Bourque said Campus Safety always wants to do the safest thing, while the band is trying to enhance the performance in any way possible. Buses were not moved but security did continue to spread out between the barricade and the stage.

“They ended up working it out,” Bourque said. “It did cause a bit of a delay but, once that was figured out, they hit the stage and it didn’t really matter anymore.”

During the performance, Carrabba took several opportunities to let the audience sing along, including the first few lines of their encore “Hands Down.”

When audience members were asked to stop taking pictures during “Vindicated”, Carrabba stopped the song completely before the first chorus, announcing that they could take as many pictures as they wanted. Junior and avid fan from the University of Hartford in Hartford, Conn.  Stacey Brennan said that she’s seen at least 30 Dashboard performances. Brennan said she feels the way Carrabba  performs at the show makes a strong connection between him and the audience

“Something called eye sex,” Brennan said. “They make us feel like we belong.”
Sophomore Ashley Woolf was hoping to hear a better song selection.

“There were a few songs I was disappointed they didn’t play, like ‘The Best Deceptions’ and ‘So Impossible,’” Woolf said. “But it was awesome.”

Dashboard drummer Mike Marsh said they play at a lot of college shows, and it has kind of become their demographic. He felt the band really came out strong and gave a great performance and gave credit to the fans.

“Tonight really is among the best of the colleges shows we’ve done. Rowdy crowd, it was a perfect day,” Marsh said. “The people on this campus were just a hell of a lot of fun to play to.”

Carrabba said he had woken up with a cold and could not even speak the morning before the concert. 

“I thought the show was doomed,” Carrabba said. “I showed up thinking I was going to have to apologize, but nevertheless the crowd was so hot that I just sang, I don’t even know where it came from. It was great.”

Garrett Beltis can be contacted at gbeltis@keeneequinox.com