Chris Carrabba and Abigail Kelly of Dashboard Confessional closing out the show.
Music can sooth the soul or supply a view point that helps the listener see their own life through a new lens. Whether it’s dealing with a breakup, depression, the loss of a loved one, or a sense of malaise, music that touches on these topics can help us get through the lowest of lows. Emo music, while coming back into fashion with a newfound cultural appreciation, was maligned by the mainstream in the 1990s and 2000s. Yet, there were labels like Vagrant Records who made it their point to be a home for the outcasts. Propelling bands like the anniversary show’s closing act Dashboard Confessional to become a household name.
A Stacked Lineup Complete with Hometown Heroes
Dustin Kensrue of Thrice
The lineup for the 25 Years on the Street show reads like the cream of the emo crop from the Warped Tour in the mid 2000s. When Dashboard Confessional, Alkaline Trio, and Irvine’s own Thrice are the top billed acts for the concert you know you’re in for a special night of music. While the setting was a corporate-owned amphitheater on the edge of cookie cutter, new development, suburban track homes, the soul of the music shown through on an uncharacteristically cool May Saturday evening. The cars in the parking lot might be newer and nicer, less likely to need a jump start, but the night allowed us all to go back to a time when the music was the only thing that mattered and it was amazing.
