Written by Rebecca Ackerman
When you think of traveling for a concert, you usually don’t envision going to Fort Wayne, Indiana. It’s probably not even on your radar as a place that exists, but let’s go back in time for a second.
Last October, I traveled to Madison, WI to see The Band CAMINO for the first time. Being based in Minneapolis, that was a much easier road trip to tackle. If you’re familiar with The Band CAMINO at all, you know this is the show where one of the lead singers, Jeffery Jordan, lost his voice. Luckily, they have two singers in the band. Despite being visibly nervous for Jordan, Spencer Stewart took over as the main singer for the entire show. Even though the entire show had an air of nervousness to it, I knew this was a band I wanted to keep seeing live. The way they persevered through that is an incredible feat and something I still think about.
When The Band CAMINO announced their Taking Shape tour, the only show I could realistically make was the show in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I grew up and still have family in Illinois, so it was a great midway stopping point. I don’t think I’ve ever really considered Fort Wayne as an actual place people go (to the people of Fort Wayne, I’m only a little sorry). However, I'm always down for an experience, and it was worth it.
The theme of their most recent EP, Bruises, is apples, so the stage was adorned with barrels of apples. Anyone who knows me knows I’ve been obsessed with apples for as long as I can remember and hardly ever go a day without eating one. Needless to say, this era of their music is one of my favorites.
Knox was the opening act for the show. I’ve seen Knox perform a few times and his energy is always fun. Knox and The Band CAMINO have stylistic similarities, so going between the two acts made sense. He mentioned his upcoming performance at Lollapalooza and tested out his setlist on us. If I were the one deciding his setlist, that would be what I would choose. The people standing behind me were loving every minute of it.
When I know all of a band’s music, I never look at the setlist, so everything I was about to see was a surprise. Immediately, I felt that driving to this random town in Indiana was worth it. When I envisioned this show and the setlist, I knew that of their three newly released songs, they’d open with “Nostalgia”. It just felt like the correct vibe to start a show off with. That song does actually make me feel nostalgic when I listen to it. I’m reminded of growing up and making promises to people that were inevitably broken.
Their setlist was a mix of all the music they’ve released so far, and it was the longest setlist they’ve ever performed. They played songs from every EP and album they’ve released which was like their own little eras tour. Some of my favorite performances were “Damage”, “Three Month Hangover”, “See Through”, and “Song About You”. I’m going to stop there because I’m tempted to list every single song on that setlist. They were all that good.
In the middle of their show, they did an acoustic set where fans scream songs they want or put songs they want on their phones and hold them up. My favorite song is “My Thoughts on You”, which I thought I’d never hear because it’s a slower and older song. I still held it up on my phone. To my surprise, they did end up playing it, and my night was made. What I love about this part of the show is how willing they are to play whatever fans want because it challenges them. They played 7 acoustic songs in Fort Wayne and seemed to keep going until they played most of the fan requests.
The Band CAMINO does a great job at really interacting and connecting with their audience. It almost feels like they’re singing to you individually. They take gifts from fans and wear them or wave them around. Towards the end of their set, they brought up a member of the audience to play the cowbell in “I Think I Like You”. The audience interaction and participation sets them apart from many bands and artists I’ve seen who don’t talk or look at the fans at all.
Their shows are high energy, well thought through, and you can tell how much they all love performing up there just by seeing the genuine enjoyment on their faces.
Will I ever go back to Fort Wayne again? Probably not, but I don’t regret my time there at all. I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better night.
There’s only one way to end this and it’s by asking the two questions that were on my mind as soon as I saw those apples onstage: How many apples are on that stage, and of those, how many are edible?
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