Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a positive review of a concert.

Carrabba has been on a gradual mission to take Dashboard Confessional to another level, and with this album and tour, it seems to be arriving. That could be good news for an industry desperately in need of young headliners. — Well, he’s not exactly young… :)

Unlike most singers, Chris Carrabba has a lot of voice left at the end of the show to really belt out the encores. That’s because the faithful followers of Dashboard Confessional come to the concert equipped with every word and ready to sing.

Once again, they made for a wonderful (mostly girls) chorus Saturday night at the Chevrolet Amphitheatre.

Mind you, it’s not like the old days of Dashboard, when it was an acoustic campfire sing-along. Dashboard has evolved into a sturdy rock band with a sonic range approaching that of U2, which the band toured with last year.

Playing in front of a stunning backdrop that looked like the set from “Rent,” Dashboard struck with two or three guitars, rhythm section and extra textures from violinist Susan Sherouse.

Concert Review: Dashboard drives to new levels

Here’s a positive concert review from St. Louis.

St. Louis fans of Dashboard Confessional got to have their collective voice heard - we’re talking really heard - at the rock band’s sold-out concert Thursday night at the Pageant.

The Chris Carrabba-fronted outfit’s 90-minute show featured as much singing from the audience as from the heart-throbbing Carrabba, as most of the songs contained at least a portion in which fans completely took over. But that annoyance wasn’t impossible to overcome, because almost everything else about the concert felt so right.

Much of that revolved around Carrabba. The former singer from Further Seems Forever is a charismatic front man who seemed to have the crowd eating out of his hands.

Against a set decorated with bright Chinese lanterns and a vibrant brick building backdrop, Dashboard Confessional gave its version of the sometimes overly murky genre called emo, which sometimes references a softcore, more female-friendly version of punk. In this band’s hands, it’s not necessarily complicated or challenging, thanks to Carrabba’s open-hearted approach to songwriting. But that’s not at all a diss.

Carrabba switched configurations all night, sometimes performing with a full band including a violinist, sometimes going solo with his acoustic guitar or as a guitar duo.

He excelled, regardless of which way things were pulled together.

He surrendered the spotlight once, saying he wanted to give something back to the crowd. That was friend John Ralston, introduced as the best singer-songwriter, for the song “Gone, Gone, Gone,” one of the night’s best.

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Here is the PRESS RELEASE from Universal Music Australia:

Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba has long been a favourite of Australian audiences. On his last Australian tour, crowds were word perfect as they hung on his every note.

For Dashboard fans, it’s been two long years between tours, but the wait is finally over. Dashboard Confessional will return to Australia this September to perform shows with his band in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth!

Since his last Australian sojourn, Carrabba has been busy writing and recording a new album Dusk and Summer (out now through Universal Music). The release hints at a new direction for Carrabba; who backed by a full band still offers plenty of those sing-along choruses fans have come to know and love.

‘I decided I needed to explore that full sonic realm again… I think everything is cyclical. I’ll be back to me and a guitar at some point. But people are hopefully embracing what I’m doing now… It’s still me; I’m just taking a different avenue to get there.’
Dashboard Confessional’s shows have a history of selling out in Australia, so fans hoping to see Chris Carrabba should get in quickly when tickets go on sale on FRIDAY 4 AUGUST.

DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2006

Tuesday 5 September The Tivoli, Brisbane
Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au; Rocking Horse 07 3229 5360 or www.rockinghorse.net; Skinny’s 07 3229 2389 or www.skinnys.com.au

Wednesday 6 September Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au

Friday 8 September Palais Theatre, Melbourne
Palais Theatre 03 9537 2444; Ticketmaster 136 100 or www.ticketmaster.com.au

Sunday 10 September Concert Hall, Perth
BOCS 08 9484 1133 or www.bocsticketing.com.au

Here’s a positive review from Crave Online on the concert from Gibson Amphitheatre.

I was trying to endure another night where the humidity hung heavy on the head. Everyone in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley made a deal with the devil and almost all of the bets were off. One bet that was on was the earth-shattering lineup at the Gibson Universal Amphitheater where Dashboard Confessional would occupy the stage for an intimate 2-hour spooling of positive musical energy and lyrical drama. I grabbed a cold beverage with a lovely lady and went into the performance hall to find my perch for the evening. The curtains sprawled open for the first two acts, Ben Lee and Say Anything, as they ravaged the stage with their genius. The crowd’s smiles and screams rose like a tidal wave and crashed throughout the space. In support of the latest installment, Dusk And Summer, Dashboard Confessional, the band was ready to make confessions.

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Here’s a review of the LA performance from Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Record sales and chart position didn’t mean a thing at the Gibson Amphitheatre Thursday night. Dashboard Confessional may be less than two weeks removed from the No. 2 debut of the new release “Dusk and Summer,” but all the hordes of fans at the sold-out Los Angeles show really cared about was the opportunity to get up close and personal with frontman and mastermind Chris Carrabba.

The cover boy and hero of the modern emo movement, Carrabba wears his heart on his sleeve; his songs paint an emotional picture as vivid as the etchings inked on every inch of his tattoo-sleeved arms. Not only were those songs brought to life by the singer and his five-piece band, but they were hailed as gospel by an audience seeking emotional rescue.

Nothing the frontman does is particularly brilliant, yet his execution is so brilliant, it borders on the revolutionary. Opening the show without a guitar, Carrabba’s naked vocals rippled through the venue during the meditative strains of “Heaven Here.” “So let it last all night, let the fire surround us, let it all cave in, let it all burn wild, we are leaving it all behind,” he sang, one arm holding the mike, the other outstretched as if to hold hands with each of the 6,000 fans singing along to his every word.

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