Tess Dunn Blog Pre-Warped!

My dear Darlings,

I am blogging to you with one of the worst bangovers in my life. Why do I have one, you might ask? Because I headlined a concert Wednesday night!

The concert was pretty laid back. But I had so much fun, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat without changing anything (okay, maybe my keytar strap’s length, but aside from that).

I’m pretty sure I was this close from twisting my ankle before soundcheck, so that was awesome. Aside from that panic moment, the load-in and soundcheck were easy. Everything meshed well together volume-wise, and we got to practice a few songs as well.

Urban Theory opened for me, and let me tell you – I. Am. In. Love. It won’t be long until you see them all over your Tumblr dashboards. I had never heard their music, but I knew of the band because Rory, my guitarist, is their drummer. I didn’t know what I was signing up for when I asked them to open, but the second I attended one of their practices, I knew I’d made the right choice. I was dancing backstage to all of the songs, it was so good. Their stage presence, harmonies, and dynamics all come together so well. Basically, you should be jealous that I snagged them to be my opening band. Sorry not sorry!

Urban Theory finished their set after 45 minutes, and then it was me. Which was terrifying. I was already feeling nervous, then Urban Theory had to go and make me feel intimidated. But I felt at home onstage, despite nearly throwing up from nerves.

I messed up and forgot words, screwed up timing, and dropped the F-bomb a lot – but I laughed it off and enjoyed myself. I felt rusty and kind of awkward, but apparently (and thankfully!) it didn’t show. Performing is second nature to me, but that doesn’t mean being in front of people doesn’t scare me! Especially since I’m so shy.

Both Ryan Cummings and Alex Abreu from Urban Theory did songs with me. Alex sang Mr./Ms. Brightside together as a duet, and Ryan sang with me on my unreleased song, Static Words. Both sounded AMAZING.

My encore was Fire, which was fun to perform as always, and then… it was over. Just like that. It was relieving and surprising – I felt like it had flown by in a few minutes.

I met plenty of awesome people, caught up with friends, and hung out and took pictures with all the band members afterward.  I’ll post a few photos when I get them. :]

Next show coming up: Warped Tour in Mountain View on June 22^nd! I’ll hopefully have some tricks up my sleeves, so stay tuned…

Well, it’s 4 in the morning now (I hate insomnia), so I’m signing off, Darlings. See you at one of my shows soon – and that’s an order!

<3
Tess