Dashboard Confessional Rock Awkwardly

Pre-teen girls have always made up a substantial portion of Dashboard Confessional's fanbase, but they arrived in unprecedented numbers to see Friday's concert at the Molson Amphitheatre.

Since there's little worse than going to an emo show alone, they came with their BFFs, their boyfriends or, in some cases, their mothers. Despite the parental presence, the maternal influence only went so far.

There wasn't a shred of dignity shown through the show. From audience members arguing over which one would get to have City And Colour frontman Dallas Green's babies to a barrage of vaguely racist comments, it's really no wonder that Chris Carrabba didn't show the crowd any respect throughout his otherwise impressive set.

First opener John Ralston's 25-minute performance received a lukewarm response. With a little time and some airplay, the recent Vagrant signee could be the next Andrew McMahon. His voice is similar to that of the Something Corporate pianist and his songs have the same longing, apologetic bitterness.

Signs posted around the venue informed us that Say Anything wouldn't be performing, which is a shame because the last time Max Bemis and co. were in town, they promised to play a lot of his older material.

Green's popularity could be measured by the sea of green City And Colour T-shirts, if not by the deafening screams that blanketed the amphitheatre as he delivered an unwavering set that included crowd favourites "Casey's Song," "Comin' Home" and "Save Your Scissors."

The audience stood up for the last few songs, their camera phones flashing and digital cameras recording the whole affair. He closed with a new song called "A Sensible Heart," which he dedicated to his mother.

When Dashboard Confessional hit the stage, the lights dimmed and eyes welled up. Couples clutched each other and friends screamed along to old and new material. While the set list contained half the tracks from the new album, Dusk And Summer, Carrabba correctly asserted that the crowd seemed to "enjoy the oldies more." Alternating between solo acoustic performances and extravagant full band numbers, the songs from his 2000 debut, The Swiss Army Romance, were the strongest.

The stage banter was well-rehearsed to a fault. Carrabba told the exact same stories the past three times he's played Toronto, and it seemed like he was just going through the motions as he introduced his cover of Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Trees." The fangirls seemed to love it, but eventually they're going to realize that their emo hero — the one who waxes poetic on curves and tears and summer love — really doesn't mean it anymore.

Here's Dashboard Confessional's set list:

"Heaven Here"
"Rooftops And Invitations"
"So Beautiful"
"Turpentine Chaser"
"Swiss Army Romance"
"The Secret's In The Telling"
"Ghost Of A Good Thing"
"For You To Notice"
"Dusk And Summer"
"Fake Plastic Trees"
"Screaming Infidelities"
"So Long, So Long"
"Stolen"
"Remember To Breathe"
"Don't Wait"
"Best Deceptions"
"Vindicated"
"Hands Down"