Dashboard Confessional Ignites Wolf Trap with AAR, The Maine, and The Social Animals

On Thursday, August 10, Dashboard Confessional (DC) performed alongside The All-American Rejects (AAR), The Maine, and The Social Animals at the Wolf Trap in Vienna, Va.

Upon entering the venue grounds, an attendee is immediately hit with a summer-camp atmosphere. The whole setting seemed like something you would find in a Yogi Bear cartoon as opposed to a concert pavilion. The area is also surrounded by suburban neighborhoods, which is not something typically seen surrounding a concert venue. It all worked though, each group having either a mellow rock or uplifting pop-rock sound, soothing the ears of any surrounding bystanders.

Concert-goers had the option to get in-house seats or field seating toward the back, the latter aiding even further into that campground aura. People brought their own blankets and coolers to chill in the field seating, meanwhile, people in the in-house seating were at a loss with food/drink considering the venue was very strict with keeping things orderly, though water bottles were allowed.

The Maine kicked off the night at 7:30 p.m., followed by the All-American Rejects at 8:15 p.m., concluding with Dashboard Confessional shortly after 9:35 p.m. Surprisingly, the Social Animals made an appearance midst AAR’s set, when lead singer of AAR Tyson Ritter announced they were coming out to perform an acoustic song. The Social Animals played in place of The Maine for the first week of the tour in mid-July, before The Maine took their place for the rest of the tour. Ritter mentioned how the Social Animals became great friends, and ergo, wanted the audience to continue to experience them despite no longer having a full set on the tour.

Dashboard Confessional closed the show after a slight delay due to technical difficulties. As a result, the only loss seemed to be that lead singer/guitarist, Chris Carrabba, was unable to talk to the audience as much as he was used to, as he mentioned on stage. That minor setback aside, the band still had energy that got the crowd going and managed to get through the full set.

This tour officially concluded mid-August, but that does not mean the bands are done individually. As Carrabba mentioned during DC’s set, the band is finally working on releasing a new album, even playing a new song for the audience. The album will be the band’s first since 2009, minus the “Covered & Taped” Extended-Play (EP) released earlier this year, which features four cover songs. Dashboard Confessional will also be performing some shows overseas starting Sept. 9. The Maine has a whole line-up of shows beginning Sept. 10, while The All-American Rejects performs in Fort Collins, Colo., on Sept. 2. For more information, visit each of their websites as hyperlinked above.