No Doubt/AFI Supergroup, DREAMCAR brought their high energy and their 80’s retro vibe to Philadelphia’s Theatre of The Living Arts. DREAMCAR is a joint venture of AFI frontman Davey Havok and No Doubt members Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont, and Adrian Young. The bands first single, “Kill for Candy,” premiered on LA based radio station KROQ in early March, and fans loved it. The highly contagious single took off throughout the internet which is actually how I found them. DREAMCAR’s self-titled album just dropped on May 12th, but it seemed all the fans in the room already knew every single word to the music as they sung the music back to the band throughout their entire set. The charisma of the band on stage was mind blowing, Havok dressed in a turquoise shirt, neon pink tie, and a grey suit. The chemistry between Havok, Young, Dumont, and Kanal on stage is a force to be reckoned with, you would have thought this band has been together and touring for decades, although this is actually their first ever tour on their debut self-titled album. The production on stage was very minimal but flawless and it perfectly fit the bands 80’s vibe, a very bright, vibrant, and colorful lighting set up and a solid black backdrop. Havok parading throughout every inch of the stage as Kanal, Dumont jumped off the drum riser and Young vigorously pounded the drums. Another notable mention of the band is the two female backup singers and the keyboard/saxophone player, they did a phenomenal job also keeping the fans entertained and complimenting Havok’s vocals. The band performed a 14-song set which included all new material from the Dreamcar album and two covers, all of which ranged from mid-tempo numbers to full-on, ’80s-inspired new wave dance tracks. Each song felt like it was created to be played live as it was hard to not dance along to the contagious beats. A few very notable moments during their set would definitley be the volume of the fans singing along to the electro-rock anthems such as “Kill For Candy,” “All The Dead Girls,” and “Show Me Mercy.” Another would be how Havok’s stage presence perfectly fit the bands sound and the bands appearance couldn’t have been better matched to the sound. This first tour was played in venues much to small for this band, their next tour is guaranteed to come to arena’s with their attention grasping sound and performance, its only obvious. Definitley get out and check out DREAMCAR if you get the chance and make sure you save your ticket so you can show you’re friends in the future that you seen them in such intimate venues as I know they will be in arenas in no time. Check out our exclusive photo gallery from the show below.
Setlist:
After I Confessed
The Assailant
Born to Lie
Slip on the Moon
The Preferred
Moonage Daydream
On the Charts
Do Nothing
Ever Lonely
Don’t Let Me Love
All the Dead Girls
Don’t Change
Show Me Mercy
Kill for Candy
