Philadelphia is the new Gavin DeGraw concert capital of the Northeast.
After going about 5 months without a live Gavin DeGraw show, the adrenaline within me was getting me out of bed at 6am to shower and be dressed by the time I left the house at 7am. And I got to the bus terminal so quickly via the subway that instead of taking the 9am non-stop bus to Philly, I took the 8am bus and got in by 10:15. And by 10:30, I get to the venue...and there was no line. I walked around the length of the block wondering where everyone else was. Several hours, several people, one cheesesteak w/ cheese fries, one soy mocha, one bottle of water, and two slices of pepperoni pizza later, the line builds. But still, it wasn't the same experience as it was back in the day.
Nevertheless, As Fast As came out w/ a half-decent set, only grabbing my attention during "Florida Sunshine" but that was it.
Trapt came out with a very good set, minus the lack of vocals. And of course, I rocked out to "Headstrong."
And then the headliner came out.
His set primarily reflects all the past shows he's done, but it felt good singing along to his material again. But there were some really good highlights that made the show stand out from all the others.
Gavin brought out a guy named Todd and he joined Gavin on harmonica during "Overrated" (Gavin hasn't played that in a LONG time) and during "Chariot." And in all seriousness, Todd should be invited to tour w/ Gavin and add more depth to the band.
Gavin also brought back the "Tracks of My Tears/Cupid/People Get Ready" medley. Such a beautiful rendition. And during the "Chemical Party" bit, "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" was not sung, showing the bit of live show rust that Gavin was displaying throughout the set. But at least he had fun with it all, as he kept cracking jokes in between songs and kept introducing one of his roadies ("JOHNNY MILLER!") during an equipment malfunction.
Oh yeah, one thing that made my entire night. Now in the middle of the set, while Gavin was tuning his guitar, I yelled out for "Relative." Well, I got my wish. After going more than a year not hearing this song live, Gavin finally did it for his two-song encore. Besides Todd on the harmonica, Gavin doing this unreleased track reminded me why I do what I do.
More pics here: http://community.webshots.com/album/550894589rxPqOt