Saves the Day

Roger gave me 2 tickets to the Saves the Day show at The Loft at Earthlink Live. He said that he hadn't been able to sell or give the tickets away, and he knew I liked the band, so he asked if I would like to go. Because the tickets were free, I wasn't really sure if I would go, but at the last minute we decided to go; I'm glad I did.

I read up a little on the band in the hours before the show. Apparently, they have fallen on hard times since the release of their breakout 2003 album In Reverie. All that remains of the band is front man Chris Conley, who is said to have really struggled with his band's short brush with stardom and then fall into relative obscurity. In Reverie is all I knew of the band, but I really enjoyed how the pop-punk sound was offset by darkly sentimental lyrics. These lyrics are perhaps more meaningful after they difficulties that Conley has gone through.

The show was acoustic, which I think was a great way to hear the band. It is essentially the Chris Conley show anyway, so he was only accompanied by one other guy who played guitar/bass and a little percussion. What made the biggest impression on me was the how there was a small, but very dedicated, core of fans at the show. There were maybe 100 people there, and probably 50% of these knew every lyric to every song (See the above video). Also, I liked how Conley encouraged the fans to find their music and download it for free; he said he just wants people to have and enjoy the music. That really makes me want to buy an album and support his band.