Photos & Review: Reggie and the Full Effect
Featuring: Reggie and the Full Effect
Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO. 12/12/14
Photos and Review by: Shannon Shumaker
The first time I saw Reggie and the Full Effect, I was about fifteen years old and I had listened to them maybe once or twice in my lifetime. That being said, I was in no way prepared for the performance I was about to experience. The coolest thing about watching Reggie and the Full Effect live is the fact that they don’t take themselves too seriously. Vocalist and only permanent member, James Dewees has always been one for crazy on-stage antics and banter, and it’s good to know that not much has changed since the first time I watched Reggie and the Full Effect nearly ten years ago.
This time around, Reggie was opening for Saves The Day and Say Anything on an incredible anniversary tour. While Saves The Day and Say Anything would be playing Through Being Cool and Is A Real Boy… respectively, Reggie and the Full Effect was set to play Under The Tray, and the evening promised to be amazing. Thankfully, Reggie didn’t disappoint.
From the moment that they took the stage, Dewees’ sass level was high, prompting the crowd to scream a little louder before diving into their first song, asking, “Is that really all you’ve got?” Throughout their set, Dewees peppered in jokes and comments, mostly about Colorado’s legalization of marijuana (even going as far as to ask why we haven’t legalized cocaine yet, which obviously got some hilarious reactions from the crowd.)
It’s also worth mentioning that throughout much of their set, Dewees was clad in a (probably ridiculously hot) Santa suit, while the rest of the band were dressed as his elves. Throughout the set, though, Dewees shed most of his attire, ending the set hilarious and half-naked (per usual) for a ridiculous solo performance of “Love Reality.”
Gimmicks, stage antics, and banter aside, musically, Reggie and the Full Effect’s performance was stellar. While much of the crowd was definitely there for Saves The Day or headliners, Say Anything, there were naturally quite a few die-hard fans of Reggie and the Full Effect in the crowd as well, and I can guarantee that they went home feeling fulfilled and satisfied with the band’s performance, even if they didn’t necessarily play the entire album (time obviously wouldn’t permit for seventeen tracks). Eleven years after releasing Under The Tray, Dewees was still more than capable of putting on an incredible performance, proving that not much has changed – Reggie and the Full Effect are still killing it.