Photo by Ellis Holdsworth

Most locals know of the small downtown club, Ace of Spades, it’s hardly ever packed. On April 30, people were turned away. A local band who made it big, Dance Gavin Dance, were back to see all their old fans. This was a follow up, encore show to their smaller show on April 8. Doors opened at the club around 5, letting people meet up with friends, find a good spot to stand, eat, or just hang out. Most showed up around 6 and the first band went on shortly after.

The fans were full of anticipation and had to go through the sets of four bands before they got to see their beloved Jonny Craig. The opening bands were Close to home, from Cincinnati, Ohio, In Fear and Faith, from San Diego, Big Chocolate, from Laguna Hills, and I Wrestled a Bear Once from Shreveport, Louisiana.

Fans, like Junior Zoi Huntzinger, didn’t seem to mind having to wait for Dance Gavin Dance, some members of the crowd were there to see the opening bands.

“The first four acts were good, they had a variety of genres. I liked the match up. It was also totally worth the wait.” Huntzinger said. The set lists grew longer as the bands progressed, only because each band had a larger following then the rest. In between each act, there was a small intermission, around 10 or 15 minutes, to give each band time to set up and get ready. Some members of the crowd stood and waited, others talked. Many checked out the merchandise table right outside of the pit. Each band had a small table, with a few shirts and other items with their name and logo on it for sale. Many people bought things and put them on right when they bought them. The crowd seemed pleased with the variety of choices.

After I Wrestled a Bear Once finished their last song, the last intermission took place. No one moved from where they were standing, people chatted as they saw road crew setting up for Dance Gavin Dance. Fans would shout and scream if they saw a band member walk onto stage, even if they only were there to set something up. Fifteen minutes went by before the entire band walked on stage, their front man Jonny Craig walked on last and received the loudest and longest screams.

“I’m so glad opened with Lemon Meringue Tie, I love that song. It’s an old song, so that’s nice too,” Huntzinger said. As an old fan from when they were still a local band, she and many other dedicated fans appreciated them going back to their old stuff. The show was in full swing after a few songs, fans were going crazy and everyone seemed to be having an awesome time. Most bands can be studio bands, sounding average live, but Dance Gavin Dance wasn’t one of them,

“They sounded so good live, I’m really impressed, and please with how they sounded. That set was amazing.” Huntzinger said. Dance Gavin Dance’s set list was a mix of old and new songs. They had just realized the sequel to their 2006 album Downtown battle Mountain, on March 8th, downtown Battle Mountain part II. The set list wasn’t that long, but long enough for a good show. They opened with ‘Lemon Meringue Tie’ followed by, ‘Blue Dream’, ‘Swan Soup’, ‘Thug City’, ‘Backwards Pumpkin Song’, ‘Strawberry Andre’, ‘Spooks’, ‘It’s Safe to Say you Dig the Backseat’, ‘Untitled’, and, ‘And I Told Them I Invented Times Roman’ Judging by the movement and hype of the crowd, you could easily see they were pleased with the set as well.

Jonny and the rest of the band were really into it the entire show and loved all the crowd participation. They all looked like they were just having an awesome time, doing what they love.

“The show was awesome. Overall, it was the best show I’ve been to in a few years,” Huntzinger said. It seemed that many agreed, smiles were all over the place, and at the end of the night, the crowds screams and shouts managed to squeeze out two encores Dance Gavin Dance loved it, this was their hometown and they loved seeing their local fans. At the end of the night, when asked how many people attended, one security guard estimated, “About 200, somewhere between 180 to 210, that’s average.”

The overall experience was a good one; no one was thrown out or seen leaving upset, many people were exclaiming that it was the best show in awhile. The night and show together were very good, Dance Gavin Dance and the other bands put on a great performance that pleased many and left fans wanting more.

By ELLIS HOLDWORTH