"Chris Carrabba was halfway through his opening set on Thursday when he stopped to scan the crowd that was filling up Berkeley's Greek Theatre to see his band, Dashboard Confessional, and the Goo Goo Dolls. Amid the sea of nostalgic millennials, Carrabba marveled at the vintage band tees and MTV shirts sported by a handful of teenagers. "Do they even have MTV anymore?" he asked. With a cheeky grin, he explained to the teens, "Families used to watch TV communally. It was like large format TikTok.""
""There's no lead singer with a stronger kindergarten teacher vibe than Carrabba, who worked in an elementary school before making it big with Dashboard Confessional in the early 2000s. When giving directions to the crowd, he was aggressively positive but utterly unbending. "You know what this reminds me of?" he asked at one point, pausing for effect. When no one shouted back, he chastised, "That's where you're supposed to say, 'What Chris?'""
""In the 20-plus years since emo super-stardom, neither Carraba's charm nor his voice has weakened. His tone was louder and clearer than the original album recordings, adding a surprising forcefulness to Dashboard's biggest hits like "Hands Down" and "Vindicated.""
Chris Carrabba performed an energetic opening set at Berkeley's Greek Theatre for a bill with the Goo Goo Dolls, observing a crowd of nostalgic millennials and some teenagers in vintage band tees. He interspersed playful banter and stern audience direction, using teacherlike humor and quips about MTV and fan requests. Carrabba's voice sounded louder and clearer than on the original recordings, bringing added force to Dashboard Confessional staples such as 'Hands Down' and 'Vindicated.' The crowd's median age hovered around 40, and the atmosphere shifted into a collective nostalgia as the Goo Goo Dolls took the stage.
Read at SFGATE
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