Not to prove a point, but I love North Hills--it reminds me of Springsteen's Nebraska. North Hills has enormous quantities of heart, and doesn't give a shit whether you like slow songs, fast songs, or perfectly-edited radio hits. The album's about exploring the story behind the decisions you make when you're lonely, heartbroken, or just regular-old broken. It's about how all of that interacts with the city that you're living in.
So, it was hard to dance. But for the guy next to me, who made me feel like I should be holding a proud beer up to Dawes' good lyrics, it was a raucous occasion. Am I still a fan / good concert-goer if I stood there with my arms crossed? I felt the bend of the strings during "When You Call My Name"; teared up during "That Western Skyline"; swayed, head down, to "Love is All I Am." I'm not being rhetorical--I'm actually asking: is there a right way to hear music live?
Because to me, Dawes is a band you experience internally. Even their new songs, which, god help me, were so full of folk beauty I wanted to hug the lead singer Taylor Goldsmith, were rich with hurt. Obviously, there isn't a handbook. But it's important to find a band that can turn the bass down, and place you inside your head.
