Live Review: Brand New
Posted 07/16/2009 07:09AM by Nicholas Fritz as Show Review
When Brand New released their debut full length Your Favorite Weapon, I didn’t get the hype, and I still wasn’t swayed after seeing them live for the first time about seven years ago. Two years later, with the release of Deja Entendu, the band received their big break and I was mildly obsessed with it – it had me hooked and I played it for months at a time. Brand New’s third album The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me didn’t grab me at first, but I loved it after a few spins and became mildly obsessed with that one as well.
I always missed Brand New every time they came to my area, so the only time I was able to see them was earlier in the decade, as mentioned before, when I didn’t even like them. In June of 2009 the band announced a handful of shows in select cities, going back to their roots by picking small clubs that only hold a few hundred people. Luckily, one of those dates was at the North Star Bar in Philadelphia, only about 30 minutes from me so I was determined to get tickets, and I eventually bought them even though they sold out in about two minutes – a record for the venue.
The North Star Bar is a hole in the wall venue located in a sketchy area of Philadelphia, but it’s a pretty well known place for music in the city and gets all types of top-notch acts, despite the size of the bar. Giving it my best guess, I’d say max capacity is about 200 people, give or take 50. At first I was excited at the thought of seeing Brand New in an intimate setting like that, since they typically play places that hold five times that amount of people or more, but then I became a bit nervous wondering if years of playing on bigger stages with extravagant light shows would hinder their performance when you strip all those perks away.
Accompanying Brand New was a band called Robbers, also from Long Island. Before going into Brand New’s set, I wanted to bring up the opener because they were phenomenal. I listened to most of their songs on MySpace to get an idea of their sound, but I was surprised at how much better it sounded live. Robbers can be described as a cross between Brand New and Radiohead with some more schizophrenic moments that are along the lines of mewithoutYou. The band didn’t move around too much as a whole but it was okay because they played tightly and most of the eyes were focused on the singer anyway as he hit almost every note with precision, while his body convulsed, twisted, and turned during some of the rock-out parts. Quirky singers tend to be most entertaining live, and Robbers is another prime example of that, serving as a satisfactory opening to the show.
Since there were only two bands on the bill for the night, that would leave Brand New up next. After waiting around for a good 10-15 minutes, it was clear the crowd was getting antsy, including myself. I noticed the rest of the attendees became silent about 15 minutes after that and realized they were watching Brand New walk onto the stage; the silence was soon disrupted by cheers, and Brand New instantly went into their first song without saying a word.
The first three songs were off of Deja Entendu, and I thought it was a bit odd to play three older songs in a row. “Guernica” was first, followed by “Sic Transit Gloria…,” and then “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows” completed the trifecta. I must say I was moderately disappointed after these initial tunes; the band didn’t seem that into it and just kind of plowed right through them like it was a chore. That changed soon enough, though, as Brand New moved on to the next batch of songs from their debut full length, but I was surprised again to hear they weren’t playing newer material. The crowd exploded during these songs, especially “Shower Scene,” and Brand New also started to come to life in return. Singer Jesse Lacey seemed caught off guard that the majority of the people there still remembered those older songs and he started talking to the crowd more, which is unusual at a Brand New show, but makes sense given the informal environment.
At this point we’re about five or six songs into the set and Brand New finally broke out some of the newer songs I’ve been waiting to hear, starting with “Sowing Season” - one of my personal favorites. The band didn’t spend too much time on the newer songs at this point and then moved on to playing some brand new material from their upcoming album. No names were given for the songs, but they were both aggressive, dark, and dare I say heavy – at least for Brand New. I totally dug the new jams, but I hope the album has more diversity with some softer songs. The rest of the 75-minute set was filled with a mix of old and new songs from all three albums, as well as a cover of Weezer’s “El Scorcho.” Many of these songs in the last half of the set were by request, which was really interesting because the band was still able to play all the older songs, even though you could tell they weren’t rehearsed for this tour.
Sadly, like all good things, Brand New’s set had to come to an end at some point. Before they announced the last song, I was trying to think what they would play since they already did all the hits. Once again, I was surprised to hear they were ending with a new song, with just Jesse singing and playing guitar. The new song was good but very depressing and was a weird way to end the night after the light-hearted nature of the later part of the set.
All in all, though, this was a fantastic experience that I won’t soon forget. It was great to finally be able to see one of my favorite bands in a small club like the North Star Bar, and having a killer opener like Robbers definitely helped to make the night even better.
--Nicholas Fritz
Comments
San Jose, CA
They sound like a good live band. Deja imo was severely overrated, but The Devil and God hit all sorts of good things.
last.fm/user/thetsaiguy
Coopersburg, PA
Going back and listening to Deja Entendu now, I still like about 60% of the songs but The Devil and God is definitely superior. It sounds like the album they wanted to make with Deja Entendu and was a big step for them. It'll be interesting to see how the new one turns out.
Raleigh, NC
I think seeing this band live would be very emotional, IMO. I'd love to have the opportunity to see them in this setting.
Somewhere in New York
I saw them 3 nights in a row, 2 nights in Montreal and one in Burlington, Vermont. They were fucking amazing the first night, pretty great the second night, and the third night was sub-par. They really are a band that is hit or miss live, but luckily for you they brought their A-game.When I saw them though, they played the entire Devil and God album, and the entire Deja for the second set, sprinkling in the "Shower Scene" and "No Seatbelt song"
"If someone gives you a kazoo and toots around the house to MTV, they're not gonna fuck you." - David Cross
Coopersburg, PA
Was that on this most recent tour or are talking about an older one? I'd like to see them play The Devil and God all the way through, I love that album. It seems like they typically try to mix things up and make their shows interesting not only for themselves but for the fans. Playing different sets on the same tour is evidence of that anyway.
Somewhere in New York
It was their tour in 2007
"If someone gives you a kazoo and toots around the house to MTV, they're not gonna fuck you." - David Cross