Show Review

This was not the first time seeing Dear And The Headlights, though it has been awhile. “Small Steps, Heavy Hooves” was easily a top CD for me in 2007, and the last time I saw them (in the same theatre) I remember leaving the show feeling it was one of the best shows I’d seen in awhile.

On this lazy Sunday evening, however, I was a little less excitable. It must have been the heat, or the openers who were about 180 degrees from invigorating, but I wasn’t really as excited as I had been the first time I saw Dear and the Headlights.

When the band took the stage, I rushed to the front of the stage and was almost instantly rejuvenated. Raucous, loud, and brash, the band was noisy and revealed the same orchestrated chaos I had witnessed a while back.
And unlike last time, when we had to yell “Run In The Front!!” as the band was readying to leave the stage, the band played it second. They were noticeably a little less energetic than last time, and the crowd was a bit larger—and as the set progressed they played new song after new song until I eventually collapsed into a stool a few feet further back from the stage. The new songs were great—don’t get me wrong. And yes, all the new material was also aligned with the characteristically delicate passive-aggressive nature of their released material. I think it’s just the way I personally react to new material with a slight indifference, or the fact that I wanted to hear some songs I knew, but while the band played several “hits” from Hooves (including “Grace,“ “It’s Getting Easy,” and “Paper Bag”) I think they simply played too many new songs to keep me excited.

Either way, once their new album comes out and I see them again, I’m sure I’ll have a similar experience to that when I first saw them. I couldn’t be happier the band opened for neighbors Jimmy Eat World and no doubt believe they have a strong 2008 ahead of them. If you’re not a fan yet, you’ll come around.

review by Andrew Martin