What's up party people?!? Hope everyone's having a fantastic holiday season so far!
In honor of #ThrowbackThursday, I wanna take us back to Nov. 11 to what was positively one of the best concerts I've been to this year. Now there was nothing particularly unique or outlandish about this show; Nay, there was simply an abundance of gusto and feverish admiration, which outweighs any and every over-the-top commercialized performance.
Also shout-out to the security guard working the barricade at the House of Blues. This dude went and got me fries so I wouldn't have to leave my spot center-stage, and that's honestly one of the most wholesome things I've ever had someone do for me at a concert.
Side note: this was definitely a rushed post from me, and I'm already a few drinks in so pardon any typos, por favor.
The Dose
As a little hat-tip to the openers, I'd like to take a moment to appreciate this band that could easily be mistaken as the reincarnation of Nirvana. Seriously.. this dynamic duo has a solid sound--almost bitter in an epic "fuck you" kind of way. The grunge is strong with this one.
Completely unrelated -- there was a rumor going around the crowd that one of these guys was Robert Downey Jr.'s son. I have no idea if that's true, but it was entertaining trying to figure out which one it would be. Either way, I'm definitely gonna have to buy their shit now.
Knuckle Puck
And a nod to what I can only describe as interesting kind of bohemian pop-punk..? I don't know, the incense were definitely a first for me.
These dudes were a great addition to the solid line-up, and did well to get us pumped for the main course. I regret to say that I don't know a single song by this group, but you know you've encountered a great band when you can rock out without knowing any of the words.
Keep on rocking, my guys!
Sleeping With Sirens
I don't know how the fuck they did it, but I'll be damned if SWS didn't blow me the FUCK away with their set. Now I've seen this band perform live 6 (now 7) times, and I didn't think they could surprise me. Boy, was I WRONG.
First of all, I could actually fucking hear Kellin! That's not to shit on his abilities, but I swear every time I saw them perform live, his vocals would end up completely drowned out by the instruments. Maybe they got a new sound guy, but I honestly think Kellin might have just been improving his vocals because his runs were ON. POINT.
They opened up with "Do It Now And Remember It Later," (which is always a good motherfucking time) and kept the party going with other top tracks like "We Like It Loud" and "If I'm James Dean, Then You're Audrey Hepburn."
The song that absolutely made me lose my shit was none other than "Congratulations." Now this one's always fun to jam to, and I've seen them perform it before, but something about THIS performance just blew everything I knew about this band out of the water. Their set hadn't even finished and I was already losing my voice!
"If You Can't Hang" was of course beautiful, as always, but was surprisingly upstaged by "Kick Me," which just absolutely made my entire fucking night. If I hadn't been so excited to see Good Charlotte, I could have left the venue right then happy as can be.
Good Charlotte
And then it happened.
The time between sets honestly couldn't have been more than 20 minutes. The stage crews were on point that night, and had absolutely no intention of dilly-dallying.
The lights cut off, and the entire room erupted like a damn canon had gone off as a signal for battle. The boys took their sweet time getting on stage, but it was like the crowd was content to (affectionately) beat the shit out of each other in the chaotic darkness. And then, like a sign from heaven:
Perfection, I know. I don't care how "old" people think Good Charlotte is, I'll be damned if they're not just straight-up iconic in everything they do.
I think it's all too easy sometimes to forget the fundamentally political nature of Alternative Rock. I mean for fuck's sake, it was created by and for all the young, progressive, non-normative, anti-war, and anti-discrimination individuals in the world, and is mediated through the sociopolitical issues of each era.
Which is why I henceforth dub Good Charlotte to be the OFFICIAL godfathers of Alt Rock, because holy shit they are everything we should aspire to be as people.
Allow me to explain -- this show was not only an epic ear-gasm from start to finish filled with sadistic screaming fans and a healthy dose of violent affection. It was also unapologetically political.
The Madden Brothers essentially schooled us on what it means to be an alt rock fan. In short: it's about community. It's about loving and caring for one another. It's about screaming "fuck you" when someone tries to tell you what you can and can't do with your life. Most important of all, it's about standing up for those who lead lives that aren't as privileged as your own.
To give specifics: I fucking love "Girls and Boys," but I'd be lying if the lyrics from the iconic chorus didn't make me feel some type of way. Which is why I just about passed out from euphoric bliss when Good Charlotte not only followed the track with "Riot Girl," but then explained how they've grown as individuals and as artists. They explained how they look back on their lives and their music, and recognize how misguided and uninformed some of their lyrics may have been. Hayley Williams did the same for "Misery Business," and I love her acknowledgement as much as (if not more than) the emo masterpiece, itself.
The Madden Bros went on to talk about the strong women in their lives, and how women are going to change the world. My answer: inform the herald of war, as I cast myself into the thick of battle under the banner of Good Charlotte.
The point is that Good Charlotte explicitly did what I can only hope other artists at least consider with their work -- and that's to be a voice for change and progress and unity in this fucked up world we're forced to call reality. The atmosphere created in a music hall with our favorite bands and with people just like us is magical. Every one of us is there because we feel, and because we care. It's up to us to make the changes we wanna see in the world, and we don't get to just do it when it's convenient.
One of my favorite moments of the night was when they dove into "Prayers." As a Texan with a latino family that lives in Corpus Christi and friends living here without documents, that music video hit me hard. The song itself is so sweet in its bitterness, and it's beautiful in its simplicity. It speaks nothing but the truth--your prayers don't mean shit when people are dying and trying to escape violence while you sit cozily in your two-story suburban home.
All this being said, by absolute favorite part of the night had to be when we all lost our goddamn minds singing along to "Dance Floor Anthem (I Don't Wanna Be In Love)." This track is not only perfect in every way imaginable, but it has the uncanny ability to just take over your entire body and fill it with pure madness. It's straight up impossible to sit still during that song, and the energy in the venue created one of the most exciting spaces I've been in for awhile.
My ONLY request would have been to have them include "Life Changes" in their set, but the show was brilliant enough that I'm not even upset by it.
Essentially, thank you, Good Charlotte (and every other accompanying band) for being fucking spectacular in every way possible, and for giving me something to look forward to in November (besides getting fat while watching the Cowboys beat the shit out of the Redskins... oh, happy day!)
MEET AND GREET Q&A (prior to the set)
Question: "You guys have been a band for awhile now--you’ve done some amazing things as artists and have branched out into several different projects to really hone and perfect your craft. Regarding the significance and impact of your music, though, live shows have always been a really special and interpersonal space, and have added another layer of meaning to the music.
With that being said, how does your relationship with your music and with fans change in a live setting, and what kind of impact do you want your live shows to have on your audience?"
Answer (summarized):
You're absolutely right--the live shows are magic. It's where we feel validated about the stuff we put out there, and, I mean, it's what makes it all worth it. Think about it, we spend most of the time away from our families, you know, missing birthdays, weddings, these big milestones, and it gets difficult at times. Sometimes you do find yourself asking if the touring is worth the things you're forced to miss out on.
I can't speak for everybody, but in our experience the live shows are where we're reminded just how 'worth it' it is. It's an exchange of energy between us and the crowd, and every song is different. Every song touches people differently. And that energy changes between people in the pit, in the mazz, in the back; everyone's having their own experience with it, and we're getting that from them too.
You have to understand that no one is up here for the money. It's different than other careers. This isn't something that we chose for a paycheck. The stuff we create and write songs about, it's stuff that we have to get out of us. We can't just keep it all bottled up, so this is our lives and the only way we know how to express ourselves a lot of times. It's rewarding when someone listens to it and says, "hey, I know what that feels like," or "I'm going through that right now." It's an experience you can't get anywhere else, and it's our way of saying that we're not alone.
It's also the last tangible thing we have with music. Everything is pretty instant--messaging bands, streaming music, watching youtube videos of live shows--but none of that compares to actually being there in the venue. They're the only "real" thing we have left, and that means everything.
