I don't mind you under my skin, I'll let the bad parts in
posted May 5, 2008, 3:33 pm | Log In To Post Comments | 
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Tags: Brand New, The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me, Deja Entendu, Your Favorite Weapon, last.fm, live, concerts, shows, webster theater
May 24, 2007 I saw my second favorite band. Or maybe third favorite... One of my sentimental favorites.
I bought the tickets months ago before there were any New York dates because I wanted to make sure I could see Brand New this time around. I wasn't going to wait. The drive to Hartford was kind of annoying, but we got there in time. Caught the end of Anathallo's set. They had a ton of people on stage and seemed to be creating nothing but whiny noise.
Brand New's techs set up, then we waited 15+ minutes for the band to come on. I guess kids don't realize bands have schedules and that clapping doesn't make them run out. A few people would start clapping then others would chime in. Before you knew it, most of the crowd was cheering... for nothing. Then it'd die. Repeat. Finally they came out playing, The Shower Scene, which I thought they'd retired for sure. Instead of a projection screen on the wall behind them they had a chain mail-type contraption that they projected images and strange live angles onto. It was pretty neat. The lights were pretty rainbow colors that worked well. In the beginning of the set I thought I grew out of the band for sure. They played only songs off Deja Entendu and Your Favorite Weapon. It was so bad that at some point Bryan asked me if they knew they had a new album out. Then came Untitled 01. Wonderful transition song. Thank goodness it wasn't forgotten about. I do have problems listening to it though because I guess it brings me back to around this time last year. "Something dies when you grow older" struck home and in the set worked well to pave the way for the new stuff. They went into Sowing Season which was tremendous. Two drummers mirroring each other. It looked so interesting, the stage set-up almost seemed symmetric. Then they went into Millstone, which had Bryan and I asking each other if they were going to play all of The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me. I think they went into You Won't Know, from there. That was disappointing. I was hoping for a run-through of the whole album. They ended up playing everything except Untitled and Not the Sun, which isn't bad. Yakking bitches ruined most of it for me though, especially during Limousine. Katie Flynn deserves more respect than that. If you don't know who she is, please educate yourself. My hands were clenched and I had to hide them otherwise I'd get my ass kicked. I almost lost it when they busted into Untitled 05. That's my favorite demo and probably favorite Brand New song ever. It shows so much capability within the band and it strikes me hard for some reason. It's about robbing a bank or something, but the song is just written so well. I never thought I'd hear it live. I'm so glad it hasn't been ignored. During Jesus Christ all I could hear was Jacqui Pratt's voice in my head. Her cover really is great. And the kids clapped during the "fake-out." Every time the music dropped out people would start clapping. They clapped before the end of every single song. How rude is that? The best was during, Okay I Believe You, but My Tommy Gun Don't. Jesse played a measure or two then stopped and everyone else sang the entire first verse. He just stood there, unamused. Then when the crowd finally died down he busted in with, "I am heaven sent, don't you dare forget." I love his arrogance so much. Then to make it even better, the band dragged on the bridge and Jesse faked out the crowd with the ending. He'd step up to the microphone as if he was going to begin singing and would essentially convulse. He did that about five times before screaming at the top of his lungs, "This is the grace only we can bestow. This is the price you pay for loss of control. This is the break in the bend. This is the closest of calls. This is the reason you're alone. This is the rise and the fall." Perfect. I love you Jesse Lacey, but not like these girls do. I appreciate your writing, your pretty music, your perspective, your attitude, your normalness. These girls miss the fact that he is just a normal dude. He has normal hair (although he did sing into his pick-ups at some point), wears generic striped shirts with white tees underneath and regular jeans. He's just a dude making some music. If you pay money to watch him perform, then don't be rude. Shut the fuck up and listen to the music. And I absolutely hate cameras and cell phones.
I like what Drew from Cobalt said so I'm going to quote it here. I read somewhere that the "I am not your friend/I am just a man who knows how it feels...." is directed at the fans who go up to Jesse and say "Ohmigawd!! Your lyrics speak to me!! I know JUST how you feel!!! Sic Transit Gloria is, lyke, MY LYFE!!!!!!" And what's with all these retarded bitches who scream during the "It's ladies night, all the girls drink for free" line during Ms vs. Maradona vs. Elvis? I'm sure Jesse dies a little inside every time that happens. This band is too good for 95% of their fans. I couldn't have said it better myself. Bryan said I'm excused because I'm slightly misogynistic to begin with and I know what's up.
Then at the end of the show everyone was trying to leave in an orderly fashion and 5 people with wristbands shoved their way through, knocking me into a wall. First was a bitch so as soon as she passed I kicked her. Then some dude following her told me to "respect my elders." Now this is why I wanted to get a wristband, but then I thought about it and realized I didn't have to prove to anyone that I'm not a child. I was too broke to drink. So I did what I do best, I screamed, "Fuck you!" at him. Then the bitch following him told me to relax. I essentially replied with a "NO U!" Good one, Neesh. So clever. I think I just wanted to fight someone. That crowd made me so angry.
Now Brand New isn't the most talented band. Bryan summed it up befittingly. He said that they're of the "garden variety." It's so true. I appreciate their abundance of wankery now-a-days, but I still do wish it went somewhere. It's a start, at the very least. I hope their next album is weird like hell because of all the crazy things they do like using two drummers (to mask the simplicity + add intensity) and using a violin bow and fucking with tuning while playing. I hope that chases away all the morons who think they like Brand New.
