It's been a few weeks, but I wanted to share my thoughts about this show that I went to. It was by far one of the best concert experiences I've had overall, and it was an absolute blast. The line-up was near perfect, the venue was awesome, and the crowd was great, for the most part. I will remember it as one of my favorites, that is for sure.
First off, let me start with the venue. It was at The Observatory in Santa Ana, CA, which is not what you expect in the slightest. I was anticipating a somewhat shabby place in a sketchy downtown area, but instead found a modern building at the edge of an upscale business park. It also had free parking, which is always welcome, (since most places charge $10-$20), and the parking was right by the venue was well. The inside of the venue was fantastic as well. It was very modern, with some simple yet interesting architecture. The layout was awesome, with 5 different levels of viewing areas on the first floor alone, and a balcony level as well. Each level was different enough in height that you could clearly see the stage from each one, and there was plenty of room. The show was sold out, but the spaciousness of the venue made it feel not so crowded. My friend and I were on the third level, and ended up having a fantastic view the entire show, especially when the people in front of us left after The Maine, and we had the railing/wall of our level to lean on for Anberlin. It was glorious.
Anyways, the show. So, we got into the place about 15 minutes before showtime, bought some shirts, and made our way into the main concert section to discover that the opening band, From Indian Lakes, was already a song into their set. I never learned why they had to start early, but apparently that was something that happened on other stops during the tour. We found our spot, and started listening to the group, whom neither of us had really heard before. To our surprise, From Indian Lakes was much more than you would expect from an opening band. They knew their songs, they knew their instruments, they had confidence, and they had stage presence. Not to mention that they played some solid songs. I failed to catch the name of their first song, but the remaining songs rocked. They had a variety in sound and intensity, and it was great. Their finishing song, "Till I Can Walk", built up to an incredible finish. Within moments of their set ending, I made my way over to their merch table and picked up their sophomore album, Able Bodies, which I highly recommend.
After a brief stage switching, the next band came on, which was Lydia. I had listened to a few songs beforehand, and liked what I heard, so I had some anticipation. I have to be honest, I just wasn't that impressed. They have a good sound, and they put on a decent show, but it was lackluster. Not only that, but my biggest problem was with their lead singer. He has a very unique voice, which I enjoy, but his mannerism while on stage made their performance a bit of a drag. He was almost like a rapper, constantly moving his hands as he sang, and he kept coming close to the microphone and backing up from it, making it sound as if he was cutting in and out all the time. This grew wearisome quickly, and my friend and I agreed that we wanted the act to be over soon. I have respect for them as musicians, but I think that the singer's way of acting on stage was a big turn-off for me, as well as some of the other audience members.
With a little bit more lengthy stage change, we had to wait for The Maine, but not for long. A large part of the crowd seemed to be waiting for them, for the reaction to the dimming lights was intense. The Maine immediately got into the music, playing through a set list that covered the entirety of their catalog, ranging from their early days till their latest release, Forever Halloween. I had already seen the main once this year, and very much enjoyed their live performance. I was not disappointed this time either. They had a great stage performance, taking time in-between some songs to talk to the crowd and say hello. It was entertaining, most definitely, and showed that they really do care about their fans. I will be honest, I thought some of their song choices were not what I expected, but they were all good songs nonetheless. They brought the lead singer of Lydia back out to do some guest vocals on one song, which wasn't as bad as my friend and I first imagined. One of my favorite things was that they closed their act with "Misery", which I consider to be one of their best songs they've ever done. All in all, I was very pleased with The Maine's performance, and the love and affection they had for their fans.
Finally, after a even more lengthy stage change, the final group hit the stage; Anberlin. Coming out to booming bass and ethereal synths, Anberlin immediately kicked up the intensity level of the night, diving right into one of my favorites of the group, "Paperthin Hymn". They continued with the driving energy, slipping from song to song of crashing drums, roaring guitars, and Stephen Christian screaming and singing his lungs out. About halfway through their set, they slowed things down a bit, switching from their latest single, "City Electric", which was much less intense than the previous songs, to the stripped down and acoustic feeling "Unwinding Cable Car", a favorite among the fans. After that, they picked the pace back up again, and thrilled the crowd until the moment they left the stage. The added amount of smoke also helped create the intense ambiance they were looking for, which I particularly enjoyed. They took some time to talk, but made sure to focus on performing their music, which can be a good thing and a bad thing. They managed to make it a good thing, keeping to the music while not seeming detached. I was incredibly impressed with Christian's vocals, which were exactly on point with how he sounds on all the records. It seems that nowadays, it is increasingly rare to find artists who can truly perform what they record, and so it was refreshing to not be disappointed. I feel like they could have played a song or two more, but besides that, I very much enjoyed their set.
Now, the after concert experience was one of the best I've ever had. My friend and I decided to hang around outside to see if we could meet some of the bands, because we had always wanted to do that, but never had been able to. Even though I ended up waiting a fair amount of time (2 hours or so), I managed to meet all of the members of The Maine and get their latest album signed by them. It was a real honor to meet them, and I was very impressed with their commitment to their fans. They stayed out there 2, 3 hours past the concert to meet with and talk to their fans. It showed their love of their supporters and their humility in not being too big to talk to the people who support them. It was the cherry on top of a fantastic night.
Set-lists:
From Indian Lakes -
(Unknown)
Breaking My Bones
I Don't Know You
Stay Outside
'Till I Can Walk
Lydia -
The Exit
Devil
This Is Twice Now
Best Nights
Knee Deep
(Unknown)
Hospital
The Maine -
Listen To Your Heart
Happy
Kennedy Curse (Extended Outro)
Like We Used To
Waiting For My Sun/Some Days (feat. Lydia)
White Walls
I Must Be Dreaming
Run (Outro)
Don't Stop Now
Into My Arms (Piano Intro)
Love & Drugs
Inside Of You
Girls Do What They Want
Misery
Anberlin -
Paperthin Hymn
We Owe This To Ourselves
The Resistance
Someone Anyone
Breaking
Impossible
City Electric
Unwinding Cable Car
Take Me (As You Find Me)
The Other Side
Feel Good Drag
Self Starter
Godspeed
(Encore)
A Day Late
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