You might have heard about the Rock Band Live Tour through various news sources. But on Oct. 28 in Bridgeport, Conn., this tour featuring The Cab, the Plain White T’s, Dashboard Confessional and headliner, Panic At The Disco, came to the quarter-to-a-half full Arena at Harbor Yard.
The first band up was a group from Las Vegas called The Cab. They did a six-song set, which included songs such as “I’ll Run,” “Risky Business,” “One of THOSE Nights,” “Whisper War” and “Bounce.” During their set, lead singer Alex Deleon spoke about how they were going to put on a rock show for the audience. I thought that was a pretty funny statement to make being that the group is described as rock, R&B and soul, but the show they put on was pure pop. Their entire performance was totally predictable and wasn’t brag worthy at all.
Next up was the Plain White T’s, best known for the hit “Hey There Delilah.” They’re another one of those pure pop groups, so I guess following The Cab was highly appropriate. The main difference is that the T’s know how to put on quite the show. The band from Chicago did an eight-song set, which included songs like “Natural Disaster,” “Our Time,” “Big Bad World,” “1, 2, 3, 4,” “Friends Don’t Let Friends Dial Drunk,” “Take Me Away” and “Hate (I Really Don’t Like You).” Throughout their performance, lead singer Tom Higgenson sang while playing the piano and acoustic guitar. This show was a very special one to the band because it was on their guitarist Dave Tirio’s birthday. So, of course, Higgenson had the entire crowd sing “Happy Birthday” for their birthday boy. Overall, it might have been a special day for Tirio, but it sure was a special day for all in the audience, who were here to witness the T’s amazing performance. The T’s played an energetic danceable performance that was absolutely enjoyable.
Yes, I enjoyed the T’s, but the one performance that I couldn’t wait for was Dashboard Confessional’s, and they did not disappoint. They put on the performance of the evening with their 11-song set. They played songs such as “Don’t Wait,” “Thick As Thieves,” “Vindicated,” “The Widow’s Peak,” “Screaming Infidelities,” “Hands Down” and “Stolen.” One of the highlights of this performance was when Carrabba spoke about his favorite song of the moment and ended up doing a Dashboard Confessional version of P!NK’s “So What.”
The final performance of the night was Panic At The Disco. From start to finish, their performance was a complete disappointment; everything from being off musically and in pitch during their 13-song set to not having an encore performance. OK, so what if Brendan Urie is multi-talented and showed it by singing, and playing the guitar, piano and drums? Who goes out with a song like the Isley Brother’s “Shout” from 1959, which isn’t even theirs, and then doesn’t come back for an encore? I’ve been to a ridiculous amount of concerts and I have never seen a band not do one. I’ve even seen bands come back to do two, three or even four encore performances before officially leaving the stage. Now, I don’t know if it’s because shows in Connecticut have to end earlier than New York ones or if the guys of Panic At The Disco just didn’t want to do one? Either way, where’s my encore?
Like I said before, if the Rock Band Live Tour had ended with Dashboard Confessional, it would have ended on a good note. But with the way that Panic At The Disco did it, it only left me angry and wanting the amount of money that I paid for the ticket back. Overall, this concert was not what it was hyped up to be. The only good thing about it was having the Plain White T’s and Dashboard Confessional on the ticket. Other than that, save you’re money and spend it on a better tour.
