The Dreaming 7/15/2012 - LIVE REVIEW

Sunday night was my fourth time seeing The Dreaming in Salt Lake City. In the past the shows have been nothing short of amazing as the band has been consistent in their ability to connect with the audience through their high energy sets.

I was especially excited going into the show due the fact that I had missed the last time they were in town and had been bummed out until they announced they were coming again so soon.

The crowd was respectable in size and high in anticipation of the night. I had the feeling like in other Dreaming shows that most in the crowd had seen them before and would no doubt see them again. The fans sang along with singer Christopher Hall with familiarity of the music and a love of the band.

This show was particularly intriguing for me in that the band had announced that they would be playing six Stabbing Westward songs during the set. This was big news since I am still a huge Stabbing Westward fan and had seen them several times in concert before they split up in 2002.

The Dreaming hit the stage at around 11:30pm and were on fire the entire evening. They played a set heavy with covers with Stabbing Westward songs: So Far Away, Shame, What Do I Have To Do, Sometimes it Hurts, Waking Up Beside You, and Save Me. Sometimes it Hurts was particularly amazing as Christopher Hall came out on the stage alone with an acoustic guitar to play a stripped down version. 

A pleasant surprise of the evening was a cover of Adele’s Set Fire to the Rain. Hall’s vocal style suited the song quite well and I found myself after the show wishing I had a recording of it to listen to again.

I did find the show to be light on the band’s own original songs which is to be expected with the focus on Stabbing Westward. I did find myself missing not hearing some of my favorite Dreaming songs, though, which is good because it is a testament of how good these guys really are and how strong their own songs stand up with even the Stabbing Westward songs.

So yes, the show was amazing. One of the best I’ve seen of them. I look forward to seeing them even more again whether they play more Stabbing Westward songs or strictly their own. These five guys show that they truly love the fans and love sharing the music that moves them.

The Dreaming are:

           Christopher Hall- Vocals
           Johnny Haro- Drums
           Martin Kelly-Bass
           Rich Jazmin- Guitar
           Josh Volkov- Guitar

Check out my review of Puppet here and be sure to check out their Facebook page here to get updates on their current and future tours.

--Mark.HaTe