Dismemberment Plan had a really special place in my life, though I'm guessing most people my age, living in DC, liking the music I like, probably feel the same. It was URGENT to catch their shows from like 98 through the 2003, not only because of the music, but also because of the community. I mean, I felt like I saw them every 3 months in that period. Probably not really...just how it's burned into my brain. And those are pretty core memories...that pouring rain "last show" at Ft. Reno, that secret show at the BC that was not remotely a secret, the Death & Dismemberment tour, etc.
Then I got old, and while I was always psyched for the one-off reunions that happened here and there, I guess maybe the things in my life that kind of tied me to the band didn't exist in real time anymore? I dunno, whatever happened (maybe it really was Uncanny Valley!) I can't really say I listened to them much in the past 15 years. And I wasn't really looking forward to last night...maybe too much time passed to revisit such a specific time in my past?
But boy, once they hit the stage, I was back to a much younger NKOTB. They were really fantastic, and were probably more hyped on stage than I can recall from past reunions. It didn't hurt that the crowd was losing it. Unlike past reunions, this wasn't just old guys like me reliving their glory days...I swear at least half the crowd wasn't alive during their heyday, and were probably in elementary the last time they toured.
Now, I could be a curmudgeon and point out the lack of old songs (think I counted three pre-Emergency & I tracks: Doin the Standing Still, Rusty and Ice of Boston), or the fact that the youngins didn't seem to know Get Rich, or that they didn't play every song I'd ever want to hear. But you know what? I have already seen all of those songs probably half a dozen times each, and all of these kids losing their minds , seeing a band they love but never seen, wanted the hits...and they got them. I really brought a smile to my face...i mean, the kids next to me (there were probably 20ish, but as I stated, I'm old) had to look at instagram to even know it was the band on stage when they were setting up lol.
I can't say I'd see them again...last night kind of felt like a perfect revisit to things from my youth, and a pretty fitting last "DC show" (at least what DC shows were to me during formative years) in a way, right down to the show starting with Mark Andersen making a passionate plea for his work with We Are Family and in DC at large.