Music Review
Devoted fans flock to Christian concert
by Frances Matteck, Reportery

   Stormy weather didn't prevent thousands of devoted fans from attending the Dashboard Confessional concert at Next Stage in Grand Prairie last week.
   Punk rock band Vendetta Red, formed in 1998 in Seattle, opened the musical program.
   The crowd screamed as the band came on and bum rushed to better, late arriving fans' seats. The concert was off to a great start.
   Vendetta's performance was fun to watch because the entire band got into the music, dancing, jumping and head-banging their way around the stage.
   The crowd loved it when lead singer Zachary Davidson exhibited typical rock attitude by carelessly swinging his microphone by the cord while dancing.
   Davidson's frequent obscenities when he talked to the fans seemed to be expected and even welcomed.
   Although some of the songs were hard to understand because of screamed lyrics, the music was great.
   Vendetta Red's final song, "Shatterday," seemed to be the crowd favorite as fans stood up and sang along.
   The drummer completed the performance by throwing his sticks to the fans in the pit.
   Brand New, an emo core rock band originating from Merrick, N.Y., was next on the bill.
   Emo rock is a music genre that deals with heartbreak and falling in love, and it is usually played acoustically.
   However, Brand New is not a straight emo band because they play electric guitars.
   The crowd sang along with most of the group's known material and rocked to the less familiar songs.
   Brand New had less passion than Vendetta Red because the lead singer lacked emotion and kept a stoic expression.
   This set saw increased crowd surfing in the pit, and fans were amazed when bassist Garrett Tierney hurled his guitar 20 feet in the air, caught it and resumed playing.
   Next up was MxPx.
   Originally from Bremerton, Wash., this Christian punk rock band has been around since 1992, but back then they called themselves Magnified Plaid.
   They released their new album Before Everything and After last Tuesday.
   Their lack of obscenity while interacting with the crowd was refreshing after Vendetta Red's display.
   Their fans went wild when MxPx played "Chick Magnet" and "Punk Rock Show" one right after the other.
   During a lapse between songs, lead singer Mike Herrera surprised fans by inviting a local guy to come play onstage with the band.
   Brandon Stewart, a TCC student, has been an MxPx fan from the beginning, and he has been writing to them for years asking if he could perform with them during a concert.
   The band said yes, and together they performed a cover to the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"
   Crowd-friendly, MxPx, at one point, had everyone holding up lit lighters, cell phones and watches.
   After three introductory bands, the headliners-Dashboard Confessional-took the stage.
   This emo band hails from Boca Raton, Fla. Their mellow music and soulful lyrics were a vast divergence from the previous bands. Nevertheless, their fans stood during their entire performance and sang every single song with them.
   Their lead singer, Chris Carrabba, stepped away from his mic several times during the performance letting the fans prove that they knew the lyrics. During the band's encore, one of the more enthusiastic fans jumped from the pit, slid over a speaker and ran onstage.
   He was promptly tackled and removed by a burly security guard while the fans screamed approval and the band continued playing and looked on in bemusement. The concert was a great success.
   All of the bands played well, and the crowd was lively and into the music the entire time.