Augustana Charter One Pavilion Review
Friday, July 27, 2007
By Aaron Keker
CHARTER ONE PAVILION, CHICAGO – Last night Augustana (“pronounced Augustanna”) performed and opened for O.A.R. for a crowded pavilion at Charter One Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois.
They opened their performance with “Mayfield” from their debut album All the Stars and Boulevards. After they concluded “Mayfield” there was a small ovation.
Augustana played several semi-acoustic hit songs like “Bullets,” “Stars and Boulevards” and “Sunday Best” from their debut album All the Stars and Boulevards. After each song they received a small ovation.
In fact, several of their biggest hit songs were written in Chicago. Dan Layus remarked, “that they wrote Stars And Boulevards on Clark and Division and also they wrote ‘Sunday Best’ in Chicago.” So, their music has a Chicago connection.
About half way through their set list they played their biggest hit song “Boston” from their debut album All the Stars and Boulevards. Also, I really enjoyed “I Still Ain’t Over You” and the semi-acoustic song “Either Way I’ll Break Your Heart Someday.”
I was really impressed with Augustana’s performance. I watched part of their performance at Summerfest on July 6, 2007 and I enjoyed what I observed. I really enjoyed watching their entire performance at Charter One Pavilion. Augustana’s music is similar to Dashboard Confessional. It is similar because they incorporate the acoustic guitar in their performance like Chris Carrabba incorporates with Dashboard Confessional. That evening, Augustana incorporated the acoustic guitar on half of their songs on their set list.
If you are unfamiliar with Augustana’s music, review their website at www.augustanamusic.com or their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/augustana. If it turns out that you really enjoy their music then purchase their debut album All the Stars and Boulevards at iTunes, Napster or Rhapsody or any other store that sells their music.
If you download their album All the Stars and Boulevards from iTunes you will be able to download three live bonus songs of “Stars and Boulevards,” “Bullets” and “Boston.” These recorded live songs sound almost as good as Augustana’s live performance in Chicago.
I was disappointed with one aspect of their performance and it had nothing to do with Augustana. Unfortunately, a small portion of the Chicago audience was not really paying any attention to their performance. Rather than listen to their music they were chatting away amongst themselves.
I realize in their thinking they came to see O.A.R. but come on! I am not insinuating they cannot have a good time but they should have showed a little bit more respect by keeping their voices down and not ignoring Augustana’s performance. Who knows, maybe those of you who ignored their performance could have made an effort to listen to them, you may have enjoyed their music? The rest of the listeners enjoyed them! Like I remarked earlier, they have a Chicago connection. That should at least pique some curiosity!
If you are searching for music similar to Dashboard Confessional, enjoy acoustic music or you enjoy listening to songs like “Boston,” “Sunday Best,” “Stars and Boulevards” and “Either Way I’ll Break Your Heart Someday” then Augustana is for you. They are a band you should be familiarizing yourself with because they will be around for years to come. Their debut album is extremely good and they are awesome live performers.
Finally, I really look forward to watching their performance next time they are in Chicago. I am hoping to watch their performance when they are guests of Chris Carabba’s, who will be performing a Dashboard Confessional Solo Tour, in October 29-30, 2007 at the House of Blues in Chicago, Illinois. I encourage you to all listen and enjoy their music that evening. Please keep the talking to a minimum! Below is the set list from Chicago.
Chicago Set List:
- “Mayfield”
- “Bullets”
- “Wasteland”
- “Stars and Boulevards”
- “Sunday Best”
- “Boston”
- “I Still Ain’t Over You”
- “Either Way I’ll Break Your Heart Someday”
- “Coffee & Cigarettes”
- “Dust”
