Bands Gear Down On These Tours

January 14th and 17th 2009 Annapolis, MD and Vienna, VA

The theme this winter seems to be streamlining. Several popular music acts are taking to the road with not much more than a couple of acoustic guitars. No big productions, no heavy equipment, no multi person entourages. Just a couple of bands, a couple of guitars and an agenda to take their acts on the road unplugged. This past week MusicBox caught two such shows.

The first show we attended was We The Kings, Cash Cash and Hey Monday at the Hot Topic in Annapolis, Md. For about 30 lucky fans, who had previously purchased band merchandise that entitled them to exclusive entry, the Annapolis Hot Topic became a mini concert hall. Each band played a couple of songs while onlookers lined the hallways and a rotating crowd passed by the closed gate of the store. After the performance the waiting fans who weren't lucky enough to get in for the show were rewarded with a signing session. All of the bands stuck around for close to two hours signing autographs and posing for pictures.

A few nights later we attended a show at Jammin Java in Vienna, VA for a similar performance by The Cab and The Academy Is. The sold out crowd stood outside for hours in frigid temperatures to vie for good spots once the doors opened. They were not disappointed as both bands played full acoustic sets including fan favorites and songs they don’t usually play on their more traditional tours.

We thoroughly enjoyed these more intimate performances by all of the bands on these tours and hope this trend for low key, low budget acoustic tours is something more artists will opt for in the off season in the future.

Enjoy pictures and videos from both shows below!! 

Article, photos and videos copyright MusicBox Entertainment 2009

MusicBox wishes to thank Hot Topic, Jammin Java and all of the bands that performed.