On September 25,2024, I found myself at Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines, Iowa, ready for a night of pop-punk nostalgia with Dashboard Confessional headlining, alongside Boys Like Girls and Taylor Acorn. The lineup promised a journey back to the early 2000s, and as someone whose formative years were soundtracked by these bands, I was more than ready.
I walked into the venue expecting a crowd of, let’s say, a certain age, like me. While I won’t be announcing exactly what that age is, you can probably do the math.
To my surprise, though, the crowd was more mixed than I anticipated. There were plenty of us who’d clearly been around since the MySpace days, but also a surprising number of younger faces. Either way, we were all there for one reason: to reconnect with music that had shaped our lives in one way or another.
Taylor Acorn
As the crowd began filing into the venue, I noticed a large portion of the faces were younger than I anticipated seeing at this show. When opener Taylor Acorn took the stage, it quickly became apparent that the younger contingent was most likely there for her (not to say that some of them weren’t fans of the other bands). Taylor and her band, consisting of guitar and drums, hit the stage with massive amounts of energy, starting the show off with the song Final Nail, followed by I Think I’m In Love.
Acorn announced to the crowd that her album, Survival In Motion, was released the previous week and many in the crowd already knew all the words to her songs. She also shared that she used to perform TikTok covers of songs by Boys Like Girls and Dashboard Confessional, and now she was grateful to be on tour with them.
While I don’t have the full setlist—this was my first time hearing Taylor’s music—her performance left a strong impression. Her set, which lasted about half an hour, also featured tracks like Birds Still Sing and Greener. Even though I was unfamiliar with her catalog going in, her raw energy and connection with the crowd definitely did a great job of getting the crowd’s energy up for the evening..
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Boys Like Girls
As the lights dimmed and the energy in the venue began to shift, it was time for Boys Like Girls to take the stage. For those who came of age in the mid-2000s, Boys Like Girls was the soundtrack to endless summer nights, first heartbreaks, and memories of simpler times when pop-punk ruled the airwaves. Their infectious anthems and emotionally-charged lyrics have left a lasting mark on many , and judging by the crowd, that legacy is still very much alive.
From their early hits to their latest tracks, the band’s music has always carried a sense of youthful nostalgia, and seeing them live after all these years felt like being transported right back to that era. Before the band even hit the stage, the massive amount of picks on all the microphone stands made it clear that those close enough had an excellent chance of catching a pick. Drummer John Keefe entered the stage and proceeded to light a cigarette before tossing it on the stage, only for guitarist Jamel Hawke to pick it up. This was a recurring playful theme throughout the set, with one member lighting a cigarette and passing it to another.
The setlist covered the entire span of the band’s career, with songs from their 2006 self-titled album all the way up to 2023’s Sunday at Foxwoods. I may have missed something along the way, but here is the setlist as I captured it:
- Love Drunk
- Five Minutes to Midnight
- Blood and Sugar
- She’s Got a Boyfriend Now
- Language
- Heels Over Head
- Thunder
- Heart Heart Heartbreak
- Miracle
- Two Is Better Than One (with Taylor Acorn)
- Hero/Heroine
- The Outside
- The Great Escape / Love Drunk
Vocalist Martin Johnson (whose boots were fabulous, by the way) often joked about both the band and the crowd having grown a little older. At one point, he proudly declared he was “39 and still invincible.” Oh, and speaking of those picks on the mic stands, Johnson was throwing out so many that someone from the crew literally had to come out and refill his pick supply.
Johnson then reminisced about another time the band had played in Des Moines in 2006, and when some in the crowd cheered, he teased, “You weren’t there. There were like ten people. You weren’t there.”
The nostalgia hit its peak when Johnson introduced Thunder, a track that took many of us back to the days of MySpace profiles and carefully curated playlists. He admitted that his own MySpace profile song had been Screaming Infidelities by Dashboard Confessional, before adding, “This one was yours,” as the opening chords of Thunder echoed through the venue. For many in the crowd, that statement rang true in more ways than one.
After the ballad, Johnson then addressed the crowd: “We are all in a time machine- destination 2006. We all have good knees and good spines.” From the murmurs and laughter around me, it was clear that many of us were wishing that was true.
Taylor Acorn returned to the stage to join the band for Two is Better Than One. Before launching into The Great Escape, Johnson told everyone to get their phones up and hit record so they get a video to share on social. Then partially through, he asked, “Did you get the video? Good, now put it away. This is 2006.” Bringing us all back to a time when concerts were about living in the moment, not recording it.
As the final notes rang out, it was clear that Boys like Girls had successfully taken all of us on that journey back to 2006. We all shared in a time capsule moment, where, just for a little while, we all had good knees, good spines, and a lot of great memories.
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Dashboard Confessional
As the final set of the night approached, the air in the room seemed to shift. For me, Dashboard Confessional has always been more than just a band; they were the soundtrack to some of my most formative years. I was immediately pulled back to a time when life seemed more intense, and every emotion felt larger than life. Back in the early 2000s, when every feeling was raw, every moment felt like the most important thing in the world, and first love had its own soundtrack, Chris Carrabba’s words felt like a lifeline, capturing the weight of those feelings with an honesty that was both comforting and cathartic.
Standing in the crowd now, years later, with those same songs filling the room, it was like being reunited with a long-lost friend. The music hadn’t changed, but I had. The songs may have been written two decades ago, but somehow, they still resonate in a way that feels just as powerful, maybe even more so. It’s amazing how music can take you right back to those moments, and as the opening chords rang out, I was instantly transported back to that time when everything seemed so… intense.
Alright, I’m about to get a little deep here. Normally when I’m writing a review, I really try to just be objective, and I have a notes app up on my phone, jotting down details. In this case, I couldn’t bring myself to do that. I had to be in the moment, and sing along with every song. Is that ok with you? Are you with me?
Before we get there, I will say that I THINK that I have the setlist here for you, but like I said, I wasn’t making notes.
- The Best Deceptions
- Again I Go Unnoticed
- Sharp Hint Of New Tears
- Don’t Wait
- The Good Fight
- Carry This Picture
- Southbound and Sinking
- Saints and Sailors
- Remember to Breathe
- Stolen
- Swiss Army Romance
- Watch the Fire
- Screaming Infidelities
- Vindicated
- Hands Down
Fittingly, Carrabba took the stage solo at first to perform The Best Deceptions.(“So kiss me hard, cuz this will be the last time that I let you!”) Immediately, the crowd loudly began singing along with every word. Clearly there were others like me in this crowd. The rest of the band joined for Again I Go Unnoticed (“Please tell me you’re just feeling tired, cuz if it’s more than that I feel that I might break”). Not too long into the set, Carrabba mentioned that there were a lot of young faces in the crowd. The area I was in looked around at each other, as we were clearly not in the young crowd. He then joked that, upon closer inspection, it looked like it might be a good night for babysitters, so he should probably sing the old stuff. The crowd definitely agreed.
Now although I know I’m speaking from my personal point of view, I feel like this is true for a lot of attendees as well. It’s amazing to me, how sooooo many years later these lyrics still seem to hit so hard. “I begged you not to go. I begged you, I pleaded.” “I try on my blue shirt. She told me she liked it. Once.” “You are the best one of the best ones.” “It’s cool to take these chances. It’s cool to fake romances. And grow up fast.” I mean, if songs with lyrics like this came out today, I have a feeling I wouldn’t be drawn to them. But because they hit me just at that one right moment in time, they’ve stuck with me and they still pull me right in.
e at just the right moment in time, they’ve stuck with me—and they still pull me right in.
Carrabba also comes across as the nicest, most humble guy, sharing stories about his kids throughout the night and reminiscing about the ‘olden days.’ Although the setting wasn’t as intimate, the vibe had me thinking back to the MTV Unplugged performance that I used to watch over and over (and over again). The band gets classified as emo, I guess, though I’ve never thought of myself as an ’emo girl.’ But if I am, so be it.
Recently, Dashboard Confessional teamed up with Boys Like Girls to release the single Watch the Fire and a portion of Boys Like Girls joined Dashboard on stage to perform it. Carrabba and
Johnson joked on stage about how some people could pull off leather pants better than others.
As the night was winding down, the two songs even casual fans would recognize finally made it to the setlist. First up, Screaming Infidelities. Again, with those lyrics. I mean, come on! “Well, as for now I’m gonna hear the saddest songs And sit alone and wonder how you’re making out. But as for me, I wish that I was anywhere with anyone making out.” All the feels. Vindicated was next and sadly the band exited the stage after that.
But not for long. Carrabba came back and stage and said the other bands told him, “You forgot a song, dummy!” Well, that song was Hands Down. I would give you some meaningful lyrics from that one too, but literally that whole song is, like, college-aged Hilary’s heart.
As the final notes of Hands Down faded into the night, I couldn’t help but feel that my 20-year-old heart was full and happy. It’s funny how music has the power to pull you back to moments in time you hadn’t realized you missed so much. Dashboard Confessional’s songs are a time capsule, preserving not just the lyrics and melodies but the emotions and memories that came with them.
Seeing them live wasn’t just a concert—it was a reunion with a version of myself that I hadn’t thought about in a while. And while a lot has changed since those early 2000s days, the music hasn’t lost its magic. For a few hours, we all got to feel invincible again. And honestly, that was more than enough. Maybe we will all get together again in 20 more years. Hope to see you there.
https://dashboardconfessional.com
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