Kodaline @ House of Blues

Okay, I swear this is the last post I'm going to do on this Kodaline concert that happened a week ago. I am just still so jazzed about the opportunity to talk to Mark and to just see them live. I used to be an avid concert goer before I had to start paying bills and doing massive amounts of assignments all at once. So basically, college ruined my concert attendance record and I'm not happy about it. I think in my late middle school and early high school years, I'd make sure to go to a concert at least once a month, sometimes twice if there were some solid bands coming. I've been going to shows since I was  a wee little girl, thanks to my older brother and his successful band days. But, once I hit senior year, the shows started slowing down and eventually came to a stop. Such a bummer! 

As much as I love seeing my favorite boybands live (I don't want to count the amount of money I've spent over the years on the Jonas Brothers, Allstar Weekend, and One Direction...I really don't), there's just something about going to a smaller, intimate show for indie/alternative bands. While I know that Kodaline aren't exactly this hidden gem of the music scene (or at least, I don't think so? People keep telling me they don't know who they are and I'm like "have you SEEN The Fault In Our Stars?!?!?!"), but it's more about their sound than anything else that makes them such. 

I did a whole review on the concert for the student newspaper at my university, so if you want to hear some more coherent thoughts about the show, check it out right on over here. Also, do you like the little pun I put there in the headline? It's a track from their first album. Aren't I just the cleverest? No? Francesca, SHUT UP? Okay, I can do that...right after I attempt to tell the story of a concert through just eight pictures. #ChallengeAccepted

So, what happened is that I had a photo pass, which gave me access to the front of the barricade for the first three songs of the headlining band. I basically spent the entire time pacing the barricade because I didn't want to be in front of the same people for extended amounts of time (also because I wanted Steve Garrigan to see me strut my stuff in my adorable Steve Madden booties...I mean...uh...*runs away*)

Kodaline started with their song "Lost" from Coming Up For Air, which was such a cool and eerie start to the show. It definitely set the tone for the rest of the gig.

God, I was so torn about being up front for their performance of "Ready." On one hand, it was incredible to hear the song I've been roadtripping to for the past few months come to life, on the other hand I would've loved to have more freedom to move and jump around. Sigh. I did have more than enough of the set left after my time in the photo pit was over to bother my friend and be as obnoxious as I always am at concerts.

What I found really cool and endearing about Kodaline was that everything wasn't perfect. The last thing I want to do when I go to a concert is to hear an exact duplicate of the album.  I mean, I certainly don't want the band to sound terrible, but I want there to be vocal slip-ups. I want improvised note changes, instrumental solos. I love seeing what bands can do when they're taking advantage of the live aspect of a show.

If you were wondering, yes, Steve Garrigan's voice is just as beautiful and haunting as it is on the records. Literally, sing me to sleep with your falsetto, please.

I think my all time favorite thing about the show had to be how big the sound got. There's only four members, yet when they were performing the build-ups and instrumental solos for their emotional ballads, it sounded like there were at least a dozen people on stage. The sound was so rich and full and I honestly had goose bumps during a majority of the performances.

I always appreciate a good song to dance to, which is why I was super grateful for the inclusion of "Coming Alive" on the set list. Not only did I just get to dance, but I got to 80s DANCE WHICH IS MY FAVORITE THING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. Any band who includes a song I can 80s swing dance to automatically becomes my favorite (hence, One Direction with their song "Diana" and that time that Parachute covered "Dancing In The Dark" by Springsteen and I lost my sh*t). 

All in all, Kodaline definitely gets a solid 10 out of 10 recommendation from me. If you have the chance to see them, take it. Take it and run with it and enjoy the glorious experience that is seeing this group live.

Have you seen any concerts recently?