We Found Our Own Reasons To Sing

I nearly died on the highway driving fast through the rain. I was determined to get there as early as possible and get just left of center at the front of the stage. to hell with the wait. I struck up a conversation with some people from Parker about how shitty the barricade being there was, and then we talked about previous shows.

Future of the Left started at 8pm sharp. Their post-punk/indie style kind of bored me for most of their set, but there were a couple songs that got me nodding. Their bass was way to fucking loud, it drowned out the guitar and the singing. and I happened to be right in front of his monitor. Their last song was my favorite of their set, even more so when their bassist climbed over the barricade (and myself) played in the middle of the impromptu pit, and the proceded to pull himself up (with some help from the audience) into the balcony and play up there. It was astounding.

Before Ted Leo + Pharmacists began their dance friendly set, I was tapped on the shoulder by a girl who recognized me from the Streetlight Manifesto show that I went to on my birthday the week prior. We struck up a conversation, and I turned out she and her friend had come to the Gothic by the way of bus from Boulder. I told them I avoided coming to Englewood via bus like the plague, and offered them a ride back to Boulder after the show. I just couldn't let them wait for the bus in the cold following the show, like I had done so many times before. Ted Leo and company (his pharmaceutical company of course) went through a great set, even though they didn't seem to have that many fans. I shook around like a epilleptic through every song. I only recognized a few, and even less by name. "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone" and some songs from Shake the Sheets were the highlights.

I began to get anxious as they began setting up their gear. The last two times I had seen them were lackluster and dissappointing to say the least. But I still had hope, despite what some of my friends asserted. I knew they still had it in them to pump out a great show. My nose even miraculously cleared up, no longer impeding my singing ability in anticipation for the main event. Their roadies had a problem with one of the amps creating some godawful feedback, and once that was sorted out and everything was soundchecked.

Under red light, they grabbed their instruments and busted straight into "Cliche Guevara" and at that moment I knew the night was going to be amazing. They followed up with 3 songs from New Wave, including the worst song they've ever written. However the worst was over. They followed up with 4 songs in a row from Reinventing Axl Rose, and in that span, I almost lost my voice and passed out from sheer excitement. They were doing what they do best: not stop. They just pound through their set to fit as many songs in as possible, and keep the energy going at a maximum. As Tom strummed the opening notes to Miami, a song I hadn't seen them play in years, that excitement only grew. I took a break from singing for the next song, rocked out like a maniac for "Americans Abroad,"and then took another break during Borne On the FM Waves of the Heart. Good thing as the next song was the not often heard "TSR." following that short yet triumphant burst, they closed their "official" set with some less energetic tunes, but included "Pretty Girls" which I've never seen them play ever.

They took a long break before their encore, and Tom came out alone and played a song from his "solo" album, entitled "Only Cowards Sing at Night." With its chorus of "come back home johnny, come back home from Vietnam" its a clear jab at the McCain Train (wreck). What happened next caused me to audibly yell "oh my fucking god!" as they started playing "The Disco Before the Breakdown." The only surprise encore song that has topped that was when they played "What We Worked For" in Boulder last year. They closed the night out right with two of the greatest sing alongs they have written: "Sink, Florida, Sink" and "We Laugh at Danger (And Break All The Rules)." sadly, no one took the iniative to bum rush the stage as is typically appropriate, but it didn't matter. I got Andrew to hand me the setlist, I made my way to the merch booth, found my new acquaintences and flew back to boulder to write this.

Fuck the haters. This band means the world to me.

Cliche Guevara
New Wave
White People For Peace
Stop!
Pints of Guinness Make You Strong
Reinventing Axl Rose
Those Anarcho Punks Are Mysterious
Walking Is Still Honest
Miami
From Her Lips to God's Ear (The Energizer)
Americans Abroad
Borne On The FM Waves of the Heart
TSR (This Shit Rules)
Pretty Girls (The Mover)
Don't Lose Touch
Thrash Unreal
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Only Cowards Sing At Night
The Disco Before the Breakdown
Sink, Florida, Sink
We Laugh At Danger (And Break All the Rules)