February 1: 2013 Reel Big Fish

Concert Details:

Bands: Reel Big Fish with The Pilfers, Dan Potthast

Location: Ram's Head Live, Baltimore MD

Setlist: (This is an estimated setlist since I have one for the next night but I think it's the same)

1. Everyone Else is An Asshole
2. Trendy
3. Everything Sucks
4. She's Famous Now
5. Your Girlfriend Sucks
6. All I Want is More
7. Everybody's Drunk
8. I Want Your Girlfriend to be My Girlfriend Too
9. A Little Doubt Goes a Long Way
10. Another Day in Paradise (Phil Collins cover)
11. I Know You to Well to Like it Anymore
12. Sell Out
13. Your Guts (I Hate 'Em)
14. Good Thing
15. P.S. I Hate You
16. Where Have You Been
17. The Promise (When in Rome cover)
18. She Has a Girlfriend Now
19. Another F.U. Song
20. Thanks for Not Moshing
21. Beer

Encore:

   22. Don't Stop Skankin'

   23. S.R.

   24. Take On Me (A-ha Cover)

This was a generally fun show but I don't really know what to say about it.  Of all the shows I've been to this year it had the least amount of energy and my friend with me even commented that she didn't think the show was worthy of an encore, although I think the encore was the most fun.  That's all I'll really say about this show, it was fun, but not especially memorable.

Concerts of 2003

In 2003 I went to two concerts.

Date: May 4, 2003
Bands: Good Charlotte, New Found Glory, Less Than Jake, Hot Rod Circuit
Location: Patriot Center, Fairfax, VA

My first concert ever, assuming I haven't forgotten something else I went to was the 2003 Honda Civic with co-headliners New Found Glory and Good Charlotte and openers Less Than Jake and Hot Rod Circuit.  At the time I was a high school kid into simple pop punk bands like Blink 182, and especially Good Charlotte, I barely knew who The Who were.  Needless to say, my first concert went well.  All four bands were absolutely amazing and I did not walk away disappointed in the least bit.  It was also at this show where I first heard the song You're So Last Summer by Taking Back Sunday.


Date: July 22, 2003
Bands: Silverstein, Freya
Location: Sterling Ruritan, Sterling, VA

My second concert was a group of screamo like bands such as Silverstein and Freya.  Overall I didn't really enjoy the show except for Silverstein who was the best band I saw at that show.

Overall, 2003 was not a big year for me and concerts, it was only the beginning.

January 30, 2013: The Lumineers

Concert Details:
Bands: The Lumineers, Y La Bamba
Location: DAR Constitution Hall, Washington, DC

Setlist:

1. Submarines
2. I Ain't Nobody's Problem
3. Classy Girl
4. Flowers in Her Hair
5. Ho Hey (In Crowd Unplugged)
6. Subterranean Homesick Blues (Bob Dylan Cover)
7. Charlie Boy
8. Slow it Down
9. Duet (Unnamed)
10. Dead Sea
11. Stubborn Love
12. Ho Hey
13. Flapper Girl

Encore:

   14. Morning Song
   15. Big Parade
   16. This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads Cover)

The opener Y La Bamba was unmemorable to me.  I was barely paying attention and they didn't grab me.  Part of it is the venue, it's a cool place and great for things like comedy shows, but it felt awkward to me and I just couldn't get in to the opening band.

The Lumineers were a fun show.  They don't have a lot of songs so everyone was able to get into the set really well.  Early in the set they made what I considered to be a fatal mistake in my eyes.  The entire band picked up their instruments unplugged and walked around to the back of the venue and started singing the song Ho Hey, barely audible and then split the crowd in half to have half of us sing "Ho" with the other half of the crowd singing "Hey".  Personally, I love when bands let the crowd sing a part of the song, like part of a chorus or the end of a famous line, but I can't stand when a band effectively lets a crowd sing a whole song.  Some people may like it, but when it's their biggest song, I find it almost offensive that I paid so much to hear a band do a show and to hear a song, that when they have the crowd sing the entire song, even though it is fun it takes away from the show for me.  I don't want to come off sounding to cynical, it was fun, but still I like to hear the bands sing at least a good part of a song.  The Lumineers had some foresight though and were able to rectify this by playing the song later in the show plugged in and singing the entire song themselves after mentioning they were doing it just in case we hadn't heard it.  Going into the show I knew the band a bit and knew the songs, but was mostly a passive fan, but afterwards I found myself being a much bigger fan.

Overall I think it was a good show, even if the venue was not the type I think they should be playing at.  Either way, I have tickets to see them in July and am thoroughly excited for the show.