Downtown Jacksonville was buzzing with people in the streets, most of which were returning from a football game, but the louder crowd was the line wrapped around the block for the Dreamers show at 1904 Music Hall. Dreamers made their headline debut in Jacksonville, after being here a short while ago when supporting 311 and the Dirty Heads back in August.
After the openers, Iron Tom and Arrested Youth, who had both put on heavy and energetic sets, the crowd was ready for Dreamers. When Nick Wold, Nelson, and Jacob Lee Wick hit the stage, the crowd was loud and ready to be taken to another world. The distorted guitars of the intro to “Screws” fill the air as it becomes the first song the crowd jams to. The crowd sways back and forth while yelling the lyrics back to the band. They immediately followed with a few of their newer tracks from their new album Launch. Fly. Land. The crowd was bouncing along, singing every word.
About halfway through the set, the band introduces a new song called “Desensitize,” a heavier grunge-rock track inspired by the current political climate. The room burst into an uproar as the song finished. A few more tracks from the new album play, such as the melodically upbeat but lyrically heartbreaking “Someway, Somehow,” and “Wanna Stay,” a slower paced, but groove-filled song. After a guitar change, a cover of “Karma Police” by Radiohead, for all of our 90’s grunge nostalgia fills our ears. The song ended with a jam session between Nelson and Jacob, and the band leaves the stage, but the amps left on, and the stage lights are still lit brightly.
“Encore!” “One more song!” - the infamous chants of any concert goer as the headliner leaves the stage, knowing they still have to go out with a bigger bang. Moments pass, and the band leaps back onto the stage and ends the night with their first radio successes, “Wolves,” “Painkiller,” and “Sweet Disaster.” During “Painkiller,” the guitars pick up intensity, and then, Wold puts his guitar down and jumps up and down, requesting the crowd do the same. Seconds pass, and Wold is jumping off the stage into the crowd, jumping and singing along with the crowd. Smiles lit up the crowd, as the room was filled with harmony, love, and passion as they all sang every word, howled at the moon, and danced with each other.
Dreamers put on an energetic show filled with a 90’s-inspired indie, alternative rock sound, mellow and highly energetic stage presence, stage lights that reflect the colorful energy that the band always presents, and the warmest of hearts filled with love and passion for what they do.