Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba, who directed an after-school special education program before pursuing a music career, will perform an acoustic set with guitarist John Lefler at Sunday's "Mountain Stage."
PLEASE NOTE: THIS SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELED BECAUSE OF A WINTER STORM. Ticket refunds are available at point of purchase.
WANT TO GO?
"Mountain Stage"
With Dashboard Confessional, The Watson Twins, Juliana Hatfield, Brooke Waggoner and Clare and the Reasons
WHEN: 7 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Culture Center Theater
TICKETS: Show is sold out
INFO: www.mountainstage.org or 1-800-594-TIXX
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Dashboard Confessional front man Chris Carrabba is making the ultimate sports fan's sacrifice Sunday. The singer/songwriter is missing the Super Bowl for a performance on "Mountain Stage." And he's not just missing watching it on TV, either.
"I've got mixed feelings about leaving Florida," the Boca Raton-based sports fan admitted. "I have an in to get into the Super Bowl if I were there."
"It's hard not to be torn on this one," he said of the Colts-Saints showdown. "Neither one is my team, but I love Peyton Manning. He's your prototypical all-American quarterback. But the story of the Saints is one to be reckoned with. It's a powerful sports story, a powerful American story."
PLEASE NOTE: THIS SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELED BECAUSE OF A WINTER STORM. Ticket refunds are available at point of purchase.
WANT TO GO?
"Mountain Stage"
With Dashboard Confessional, The Watson Twins, Juliana Hatfield, Brooke Waggoner and Clare and the Reasons
WHEN: 7 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Culture Center Theater
TICKETS: Show is sold out
INFO: www.mountainstage.org or 1-800-594-TIXX
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Dashboard Confessional front man Chris Carrabba is making the ultimate sports fan's sacrifice Sunday. The singer/songwriter is missing the Super Bowl for a performance on "Mountain Stage." And he's not just missing watching it on TV, either.
"I've got mixed feelings about leaving Florida," the Boca Raton-based sports fan admitted. "I have an in to get into the Super Bowl if I were there."
"It's hard not to be torn on this one," he said of the Colts-Saints showdown. "Neither one is my team, but I love Peyton Manning. He's your prototypical all-American quarterback. But the story of the Saints is one to be reckoned with. It's a powerful sports story, a powerful American story."
His prediction? "I'm calling it now: the Saints are going to take it."
As the game kicks off, the doors to the Cultural Center Theater will open, and not long after -- probably while the game is still in the first quarter -- Carrabba and guitarist John Lefler will be on stage playing a five-song acoustic set. Sharing the bill are Juliana Hatfield, The Watson Twins, Brooke Waggoner and Clare and the Reasons.
Dashboard Confessional is a four-member band now, but it originated as Carrabba's side project while in the hardcore band Further Seems Forever. He left that group in 2001 to focus on Dashboard Confessional. In November, the band released its sixth full-length album, "Alter the Ending," featuring the single "Belle of the Boulevard."
In addition to the studio albums, the band has released several EPs and an album of cover songs, "The Wire Tapes, Vol. 1." Should Carrabba ever decide to put out a second volume, fans may hear a tune by West Virginia's Brad Paisley.
"Brad is a genius," Carrabba said.
"My country music education came through listening to it down in Florida where there's still an element of old country. If I hang out with my drummer's grandma, which I do on occasion, she'll be playing a lot of Buck Owens. There's something in Brad Paisley that harkens back to that earlier era. Plus there's a lot of sense of humor, and the guitar's off the wall."
A gifted performer himself, Carrabba is known for his very heartfelt songs, but he doesn't quite know why people so often focus on the personal nature of them with him as opposed to other musicians. "I've always wondered why they say that about some artists and not others," he said.
"To me, it seems like every singer is telling a personal story. Like Juliana Hatfield. I'm a huge Juliana Hatfield fan, and when I listen to her songs, in my mind, they have to be about her personal experiences, but, really, I have no idea. I've never met her, never asked her, never heard her say anything about that. But I always allow myself to think that the person telling the story is telling their story."
Fans gravitate to Carrabba's personal tales, which are often about love and heartbreak. His concerts are known for their passionate crowd sing-alongs, something that may or may not happen on "Mountain Stage" given that it's not solely a Dashboard Confessional show. Carrabba isn't bothered if it doesn't.
"It's OK. I know the words," he said with a laugh. "Also, it becomes exciting to do things differently."
One thing Carrabba is particularly excited about is the band's gig opening for Bon Jovi. They'll be on the tour from Feb. 18 to April 22.
"It was completely out of the blue," he said of the offer. "I got a call, and they said, 'What would you say about touring with Bon Jovi?'
"There was no hesitation. By rights, there should have been a lot more consideration -- what would my fans think, what would theirs think. But it's just the right thing to do. If Bon Jovi asks you to open for them, you say yes."
@tag:Reach Amy Robinson at flips...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-4881.
Post a comment