AN EXTREMELY BIASED ARTICLE:
If you’ve been in the Alternative Scene for a while, you most likely remember the band Never Shout Never. If not, you definitely remember their song ‘Trouble’.
You know the one.
“I’m in trouble, I’m an addict. I’m addicted to this girl, she’s got my heart tied in a knot and my stomach in a whirl”.
Yes, that’s the one.
Well, I’ve been a huge fan of this band ever since I can remember. When I say that, I mean it. I remember being in the FIRST GRADE and sneaking on MySpace to listen to their music. In a way, their music raised me. It got me into this whole alternative scene and I’ve stuck by them ever since. From songs like ‘Sky High Standards’ to ‘Raindrop Blues’, I’ve been here through it all.
In High school, I was never actually allowed to go to their shows(I’m sure some of my younger readers feel me on this). Well, I probably could have gone had any of my friends been willing to take me and the shows not been on school nights. But without fail, time and time again, I would ask to see Never Shout Never in concert on one of their tour dates or Warped tour, and the answer was always “Lexi, it’s a school night”, or “Sure, find a ride”(Spoiler Alert: I never got a fucking ride). So, basically, it never worked out.
But this year, the universe finally made it happened. The stars were aligned and everything worked out absolutely perfectly.
If you didn’t know, Never Shout Never was recently on their ‘Songs of Love Acoustic Tour’. This was not a tour for their newest EP and there wasn’t even a set list. Chris pretty much just improvised the whole set. When I heard about the show coming to Ohio and the vibe of the whole thing, I was so stoked. I was finally going to see the band that I had been supporting for eleven years. Now, back in the day, Never Shout Never was huge, and even now his audience is ever changing and ever expanding. Based on this, I knew the crowd was going to be packed and it was going to be hard to get barrier, so I got there early. Eleven hours early to be specific. I sat outside the venue for hours, not using the restroom, not getting food or water, just baking in 80-degree weather because I was afraid that once I left, someone would come and take my spot. THANKFULLY, all of that waiting paid off. I was waiting outside when Chris and his crew showed up and started unpacking equipment. I was in awe. I wanted to say something. He was literally standing right in front of me, while one of his people tried to get the door unlocked. I guess he noticed I was staring at him rather intensely and ended up starting a conversation with me. This encounter concluded with a very long and warm hug that made the eleven years entirely worth the wait. After he entered the venue, I genuinely was just brought to tears by the power of the moment. It was completely overwhelming to meet someone I had been supporting for so long. After some time went by, Chris came out to smoke and we started to chat again. I told him how long I had been waiting for this show and how much his music meant to me. Then it gradually just turned into us talking about life. He ended up asking me what I wanted to hear. I vividly remember my heart just speeding up. I’d always wanted to hear ‘Uraltalk’ live. It’s one of those songs that you can only find a couple of live performances of, so I always thought it would be so special to get to see it, so that’s what I told him. Chris eventually had to go back inside, so he put out his cigarette and looked at the line that had slowly formed. He walked down the line, shaking every person’s hand and introducing himself before making his way inside.
Now for the actual show.
This was an acoustic show, so everything was incredibly chill. There was no set list, so practically the entire show was performed based on requests. Midway through the show, Chris stopped the show to ask me how I was doing and if the show was worth the wait. He then proceeded to perform Uraltalk for me. He only got about halfway through the song, because he couldn’t remember the rest, but the fact that he even attempted it for someone he didn’t know just shows how humble and thankful he is for his fans. The whole show was a night of throwbacks, such as Piggy Bank, Big City Dreams, and (of course)Trouble. For being such an old fan of theirs, it was absolutely perfect, once again, I won’t even pretend to not be biased. I am so thankful that I was able to experience that show and make such a personal connection with Chris.
We love and support everything you do here at Tantrum Press, Wild Cat. We can’t wait to see what else you do with Never Shout Never, Eatmeraw, Eatmewhileimhot!, Loveway Records, your poetry books and any future projects.
Things to check out by Chris:
Never Shout Never Media:
Article by: Alexis Lightle