An interesting change of style that ultimately seemed too foreign
Like many of the other bands that chose to perform additional acoustic sets on the Jagermeister stage, Taking Dawn’s music wasn’t an obvious choice to receive an acoustic translation. The band admitted that they don’t perform acoustically on many occasions, with their heavy rock style not really adapting to its new presentational appearance.
However, unlike many bands that would safely restrict themselves to strumming chords, Taking Dawn decide to preserve the intricate guitar melodic lines, thus maintaining the spirit of the original compositions. Frontman Chris Babbitt still manages to execute his guitar lead breaks with an impressive lyrical quality, despite the lack of guitar distortion that would normally be propelling him forwards.
The sparser acoustic sound did allow for the vocal harmonies to become more prominent, which was refreshing for anyone who had witnessed their electric set the previous day, as it gave people the opportunity to notice different intricacies within the band’s music.
The success of the translation between electric and acoustic for Taking Dawn’s music was very hit and miss. As they strummed away with power chords, it did lack character. But as soon as the vocal harmonies kicked in, enriching their sound, Taking Dawn’s performance began to evolve into a natural product. What didn’t seem natural was that the band were confined to their seats �" Taking Dawn need to be able to run free!