Chris Carrabba is more than aware of the pressure on him to
bring emocore into the mainstream. On Dashboard Confessional’s
latest effort, A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar, Carrabba
enlisted the full-time help of a band in an attempt to turn his
heartfelt lyrics into songs perfectly packaged for MTV and Top 40
radio.

His departure from a more acoustic solo sound can be seen either
as a desperate attempt to win over a new audience or a return to
his pop-punk roots. Either way, it wasn’t always the smoothest of
transitions. This was repeatedly evident when Dashboard
Confessional played as a part of SLU’s Homecoming celebrations
Friday night.

After opening band Piebald cleared the stage, the audience grew
restless and began clapping to bring Dashboard Confessional out.
Their demand was quickly answered, and the band took the stage.

It became immediately apparent who this show was really about
when Carrabba stepped onto the stage last, drowning in a blinding
spotlight. The band behind Carrabba appeared unfazed by the unequal
attention; they know their place behind the “poster boy of
emo.”

They opened with “For You to Notice,” a mellow plea for
attention from the opposite sex in true Carrabba fashion. When the
chorus erupted, and the presence of the band could no longer be
ignored, it became obvious that this wasn’t the same Dashboard that
played MTV Unplugged last year. Carrabba has seemingly
forgotten what makes Dashboard Confessional so great–his
vulnerable, confessional lyrics highlighted by his intense,
emotional voice. Unfortunately, the band’s instrumentals are not
impressive enough to make up for what is lost because of their
presence. No one goes to a Dashboard Confessional show to jam along
with mediocre emo-pop-punk songs.

Band or no band, Carrabba’s cult-like followers don’t really
care as long as they can sing along. When Dashboard played
slicked-up versions of older songs like “The Sharp Hint of New
Tears,” “Again I Go Unnoticed” and their big radio hit, “Screaming
Infidelities,” Carrabba’s vocals were often drowned out by the
devoted fans up front. The shining acoustic moment came when the
band left the stage and Carrabba played “This Brilliant Dance”
solo. The intensity of his performance showed Carrabba in his true
element but made the presence of a band through the rest of the
show even more awkward.

An unusual high point of the night was the well-received cover
of Wheatus’ “Teenage Dirtbag,” to which, predictably, an excited
audience sang along. Ironically, “Teenage Dirtbag” was one of the
few songs that sounded cohesive, and the new Dashboard formula
seemed to work best.

As Dashboard went back and forth between playing older and newer
songs, the imbalance suggested that Carrabba was changing his mind
as often as he changed guitars. His versatility affords him the
ability to do so, but in most cases he just barely pulls it off.
After “Again I Go Unnoticed,” Dashboard departed the stage for
merely a minute and returned as promised to play “Hands Down,” an
upbeat song that is their current single and best hope for a ticket
into superstardom. “Hands Down” also marks the turning point in
Dashboard’s career.

The old Dashboard produced feelings of either love or hate. With
the new Dashboard, it appears that Carrabba is opting instead for a
safer middle ground that leaves both dedicated old fans and
potential new fans in uncertainty.