Dance Across the Country Tour: The Morning Light, Steel Train, The Cab, The Hush Sound

It’s not often I go to a show where I’ve heard the band online, been disinterested and then seen them live and they’ve completely changed my view of them. The Morning Light did this quite easily. I wasn’t a fan and couldn’t tell you the name of a single one of their songs beforehand, but after I saw them, it wasn’t more than two songs in that they’d completely changed my opinion and I’d become an instant fan.

The Morning Light

Their lyrics are damn catchy and they’re one of those bands that just completely rocks live. A lot of the people I knew at the show were, surprisingly enough, actually just there to see The Morning Light! And I could definitely see why. They have a crisp sound that rivals that of The Hush Sound (a very fitting act for this tour) and makes me understand why they’ve got themselves a pretty large, and still growing, fanbase.

Steel Train played second. I actually hadn’t heard of them before attending the Dance Across the Country Tour, aside from when I bought my ticket and looked up the tour’s roster. They opened up with a lot of energy and were really already getting into the music. Even if the music wasn’t honestly any good, their set would be one hundred percent worth watching. The energy this band puts into every song, how they really try and get the crowd into it, makes the ticket worth every penny. Steel Train play because they enjoy it and not for any other reason.

Steel Train

What surprised me most was how the band kept that high energy level during their whole set; it never faltered, not even once. Even during their slower, quieter songs, they kept the crowd clapping and singing along, a feat I haven’t seen many bands accomplish. My favorite part of the set though had to be when some of the roadies and merch people came up and played on an extra drum head and some cowbells during the last song and sang along, it’s another thing you don’t see often at shows but it’s always cool when you do.

I can’t even pretend I wasn’t super excited to see The Cab again, after I saw them back in February when they were on tour with Cobra Starship and We The Kings, especially after I got to review their CD Whisper War. They opened up with “I’ll Run” and, while they aren’t as energetic as Steel Train, they’ve still got a good energy. Alex Deleon does just about everything but stand at the mic stand as he sings. Next, they played “Take My Hand” and “That 70′s Song,” which were met with equal enthusiasm and even more screaming than the set opener.

The Cab

Alex Marshall is, in my opinion, one of those few pianists who is actually entertaining to watch since he gets really into playing the music and moves around as much as could make sense when he has to stay at least partially stationary, and by that I mean on his chair. Cash Cooligan and Ian Crawford, the bassist and guitarist respectively, also seem to be a lot more into playing live than the last time I saw them. “Can You Keep A Secret” and “Bounce” closed out their set and they had the best reactions from the crowd and were easily the best sounding and most energetic songs played.

The Hush Sound opened up with just Greta Salpeter on stage at the piano singing the song that was the introduction to their CD Goodbye Blues. The rest of the band members came out as she was finishing the introduction and jumped into one of the most uppity (and one of my personal favorites) songs on their newest album, “Love You Much Better,” easily beating out all of the other bands that had played so far when it came to energy and enthusiasm. Next on the bill was an older song “We Intertwined.” It’s an amazing thing to go to a concert where everyone knows the lyrics to every single song.

The Hush Sound

Bob Morris and Chris Faller both shine on vocals like Greta, giving the band a very solid and steady sound. “Molasses” and “Medicine Man” were up next, also from the new record. The Hush Sound is one of those few rare bands that sound just as good live as they do on their studio recordings. Their set has a good mixture of old and new songs on it, those two new aforementioned songs being folded by two older ones, “Don’t Wake Me Up” (which on Like Vines has guest vocals done by Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy) and “Sweet Tangerine.” Of the four times I’ve seen this band live I can honestly say this is the best performance I’ve seen them give, even better in this much smaller more simple venue than they had the opportunity to grace during Honda Civic Tour.

My absolute favorite song, “Hurricane,” was next. The set took a sober slow mood for this song, as it should have, but not to my surprise at all, the crowd was still eagerly singing along at the top of their voices. “As You Cry” and “The Boys Are Too Refined” (the other two songs that has kept Goodbye Blues my favorite CD so far this year) were next. The band went right back to being incredibly enthusiastic and right back to full energy. The rest of the band, aside from Bob, took their time to leave the stage and give him his shining moment to sing one of the first songs the band ever put out, “Momentum.” I think it was perfect to leave him by himself for this song. One guitar and just his voice met the slow tone and heartfelt meaning of the song.

The rest of the band later rejoined Bob and they had a nice laugh with the crowd and went right into a very energetic and completely mind-blowingly good cover of the song “Back in the USSR”, proof that it doesn’t matter if they’re playing their own music or not, they’re just damn good at what they do. They made a smooth transition into “Not Your Concern” and then into one of their most well known songs “Wine Red.” Crawford from The Cab joined them on stage to play guitar and hilarity ensued when he stole the big floppy hat I was wearing and wore it during the whole song. Steel Train then came out and they did a Jackson Five cover of “I Want You Back.”

A band member from The Morning Light entered and they all sang a Barak Obama song which I have to say was pretty catchy and pretty hilarious, especially when the drummer Darren Wilson got up and rapped. They closed with another old song “Crawling Towards The Sun” (which was actually their first single off of their first record So Sudden) and “Honey,” current single off of Goodbye Blues.

My final verdict on this tour is quite simple: if it’s within reasonable driving distance and not sold out, get yourself a ticket.

The Cab: myspace | Whisper War review
The Hush Sound: website | myspace | Goodbye Blues review | Honda Civic Tour
Steel Train: website | myspace
The Morning Light: myspace

Written by: Hanna Marie

Honda Civic Tour – Uptown Theatre, Kansas City

For a packed theater of 2,500, the Uptown was surprisingly quiet until “yell if you love Ryro!” flashed across the large screen in the center of the stage causing a majority of the teenage girls in the crowd to squeal with glee. This is the setting of 2008′s Honda Civic Tour with headliners Panic! at the Disco.

Opening act Phantom Planet had a little more work to do to warrant the same reaction from the crowd as the text about Panic at the Disco did. Although few in the crowd knew the lyrics to any of their songs, Phantom Planet drew in the audience with their rock star command of the stage and audience interaction, with singer Alex Greenwald jumping into the audience at different times.

The crowd showed their enthusiasm by clapping along with nearly every song, but the real crowd pleaser was “Big Brat.” Everything about this song was bigger and better than all their other songs. Tourmates The Hush Sound joined in on the percussion for this song creating a big instrumental build up that had the crowd pushing forward for a better view. Phantom Planet closed their set with their most well-known song, “California,” but after the energy displayed during “Big Brat,” it fell a little flat.

The Hush Sound took the stage after Phantom Planet and jumped right into “Medicine Man,” a song recognizable from a few commercials for the television series “House.” This was a good choice to start because the crowd was able to sing along very easily to the “Ooohs” in the song. After “Medicine Man,” the group immediately launched into their next song, “We Intertwined,” followed by “As You Cry,” “Molasses,” and “Sweet Tangerine.” Each of these energy filled songs showed that this usually more quiet and laid back group could rock just as much as anybody else on the bill.

The real gem of their set was the unexpected “Lion’s Roar,” in which vocalist/keyboardist Greta Salpeter humorously sang the trumpet part. Toward the end of this song, after vocalist/guitarist Bob Morris yelled “stop!” the group again added some humor to their song in which they froze in their spots before building back up to their original tempo. They closed with their singles, “Wine Red” and “Honey.” The only flaw in their near perfect performance was that the group completely neglected to play anything off their first album So Sudden.
Minnesota quintet, Motion City Soundtrack, followed the Hush Sound and delivered the best performance of the night. Motion City Soundtrack had the entire package: an energetic set, a good mix of old and new songs, witty stage banter, great instrumental skills and flawless vocal delivery. They started out with “My Favorite Accident” and vocalist/guitarist Justin Pierre seemed mildly surprised with how well the crowd knew the song.

As the show went on, he pushed the crowd more and more to sing out. It is hard to pick the best song of their set because everything sounded great and the crowd seemed to love them all. I hoped that they would play one of their songs like they do on their 2008 Acoustic EP, but my personal preference hardly counts as a criticism of a perfect set. Closing song “The Future Freaks Me Out” got the crowd dancing and wanting more. If you have the chance to catch this band play a full set as a headliner, take it. Their energetic pop set laced with the unique sound of the moog is not something you want to miss.

Headliners Panic! at the Disco had a tough bill to follow up on. In the past, their live show has not always been that consistent and I’ve often seen theatrics overpower musicianship. However, in an effort to be green, Panic! at the Disco left their theatrics in the past and played in an open, stripped down set with flowers as their primary decoration. I am not sure if it was the modest set, the new style of their music or simply practice, but Panic! at the Disco had drastically improved from the last time they were in Kansas City.

They opened their set just as new album Pretty. Odd opens, with “We’re So Starving” and “Nine in the Afternoon.” The entire time they were performing, different images appeared on a screen behind them, but the guys were so dynamic in their movements that few paid attention to the screen. Panic! at the Disco’s set was a good balance between their two albums. To keep a consistency to the show, the old songs had been adapted to have a more raw and acoustic feeling to them. Although the new arrangements were interesting, the new songs consistently sounded better and more natural to the vocal style of singer Brendon Urie.

The biggest and most pleasant surprise of their set came during “Behind the Sea” when guitarist Ryan Ross took the vocal reins. For the songs prior to this, he had been singing harmonies, but not all of his harmonies had been in tune, so I was wary of his turn at the mike. Ross surprised me and effortlessly delivered this tune as bubbles floated around him. In contrast, the biggest disappointment of the night was “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies,” an single from their debut album A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. This song was changed so much that it was nearly unrecognizable. Panic! at the Disco closed their set with the slower number “Northern Downpour,” which had people putting cellphones in the air and swaying along. They followed this with a strong encore performance, leaving the crowd content at what was a surprisingly good show with a great line up.

Tickets are still available for some dates on the Honda Civic Tour. If you are planning on going and you are a fan of Phantom Planet, then stick around for about an hour after the show. Rumor has it you can catch a special acoustic set from them.

Phantom Planet: website | Raise The Dead review
The Hush Sound: website|myspace| Goodbye Blues review
Motion City Soundtrack: website|myspace| 2008 Acoustic EP review
Panic! at the Disco: website|Myspace| Pretty. Odd. review

* by Bethany
** All Photos taken by Joshua

The Hush Sound – Goodbye Blues

The Hush Sound was founded by pianist/vocalist Greta Salpeter and guitarist/vocalist Bob Morris. The two had been friends since their early teens and in 2004 they formed the group which started out as an acoustic duo but later grew to include drummer Darren Wilson and bassist Chris Faller as well after Salpeter and Morris agreed that it was necessary for the goals and sound they wanted to achieve. The band wrote their first CD and originally released it before even being signed to a record label!

A joint effort of Ryan Ross of Panic! At The Disco fame and Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy got the band signed to Decaydance Records, an imprint label on Fueled By Ramen, owned by Wentz. The Hush Sound’s first album, So Sudden, was re-released by Decaydance after they were signed. They didn’t take much time to release a second record; Like Vines was released in June of 2006, just under eight months after their first CD. The band spent most of 2006 and 2007 touring and promoting themselves, gaining a steady fan base that they both share with
many of their label mates as well as having a good fan base out side of the stereotypical fan.

Goodbye Blues is the third studio release from the Chicago based band. It was featured on Alternative Press‘ list of “Most Anticipated Albums of 2008.” The band spent their time off in the fall of 2007 working on the album with Kevin Augunas. A bit before their CD release it was announced they’d be going with Decaydance label mates Panic! At The Disco on the 2008 Honda Civic Tour. The tour sold out on several dates and is sure to do nothing but help the bands fan base grow.

I had to agree with AP: Goodbye Blues was most definitely on my list for albums I was anticipating the most for 2008 and I was anything but disappointed! The band stuck with their soulful piano and guitar roots, though the new CD showed more of a push of Salpeter to the front, a major majority of the songs being mainly sung by her with the rest of the band, including Morris, doing back up. Though while this is a little disappointing because I do think Morris has
always done an excellent job on his part when he sang, I won’t be complaining because Salpeter’s voice is nothing short of amazing and the songs are definitely some of the catchiest I’ve heard in a good while.

Their first single off of the new CD is “Honey,”a piano heavy melody that they’ve been playing live for a good while now, and at least in my case has quickly replaced “Momentum” as my favorite song by the band thus far. But to say “Honey” is the only song I adore on the
record would be a far stretch of the truth! I’ve come across a habit of keeping “Medicine Man” and “Molasses” on repeat on my iTunes for longer amounts of time that is probably normal for just two songs!

As with their two previous records, Goodbye Blues matches a heartfelt blues sound of nicely blended piano chords and guitar rifts with emotional and straight from the soul lyrics. This is the first CD this year that I’d recommend everyone go out and buy, almost anyone could find something to like about this CD. Whether it be the classic sound of Salpeter’s voice, the melodies, or just the fact that when listening to it it’s hard to do anything but smile and think, “Well, everything is going to be OK.”

Be sure to pick up a copy of Goodbye Blues, in stores now!

The Hush Sound: website | myspace | watch “Honey”

*Hanna Marie