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| Brand New / Thrice / mewithoutYoulive in New York2007 live show  Review by: Brian See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
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Published on December 7th 2007
Hammerstein Ballroom is a very large venue. It can fit approximately 2500 patrons, actually. When watching bands perform at these type of venues from a seated mezzanine section, it can reduce your enjoyability quite considerably. Luckily, this was a compromise I took on -- albeit begrudgingly -- due to the rather affectionate nature I held for the entire lineup playing.
Set list (7:21-8:18):
The band added lots of interesting flourishes to all their songs. Whether it was fucking around with "Bangkok" or adding different tones to Your Favourite Weapon-era tracks, it added a much-needed differential to the live show. Of note was an absolutely flawless performance of "Play Crack the Sky" -- Lacey seriously nailed it. Meanwhile, he even obliged their pickier fans with "The No Seatbelt Song" and "The Shower Scene"; the former was entirely more fractured and haunting than I've ever heard it played, and when the full band kicked in during the bridge it made for an absolutely agonizing end to the song -- it sounded like a suicide note. "Sic Transit Gloria"'s intro was practically unrecognizable, but fans managed to recognize that bassline buried underneath it and went wild. "Degausser" featured hilariously unintelligible screaming during its chorus and pre-chorus, but it didn't totally ruin the song. Lacey even offered up a completely solo cover of Built to Spill's "Car," but I'm not entirely sure he even mentioned who it was by. Unsurprisingly, it seemed no one in the crowd recognized it, including myself. Granted, it was rather hard to hear Lacey's in-between-song muttering, as he was constantly held inaudible by rabid screaming. The encore itself was original and more than a pleasant surprise. An opening guitar riff reminiscent of "Jesus" was played for quite a while until the entire band came in for a long instrumental outro with a huge, awesome climax. Certain moments on The Devil and God seriously lead me to believe Brand New would like to replace Godspeed You! Black Emperor someday, and this impressive display didn't sway my opinion. In fact, that opening guitar loop was played over the PA after the show, proving that this song may in fact already be recorded. Could an instrumental EP be on the way? Doubtful, but the band could certainly produce a solid effort of such. Overall, all bands met my expectations, with Brand New even surpassing them just a bit. The ultimate set would've included one or two demos from the leaked Fight Off Your Demons set, but merely having my cake was enough. This show would probably be a 9 had I been on the floor and a 10 if I could actually see what was going on through 20/80 vision. Hence, an 8. Set list (8:51-10:24):
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No, Brand New didn't say a single word during their set in Austin, either. Dustin from Thrice spoke maybe three or four times, but that was all. I just saw this concert in Boston (well, lowell) and i just wish this tour came around had come around before either of these bands new records were release becasue quite frankly, they are BOTH doing this whole "we are growing as musicians, so that means all of our new songs are all slow, drudgy and kind of bleed together AKA artsy" I mean i am all for band growth, but that doesnt mean abandon everything from your past. I even think that both of the new records are very good, solid efforts, i just didnt think they resonated as what i pictured a "thrice/brand new" show to be.... but this coming from a guy who essentially just wanted to hear all of TAITA and deja entendu... I wish Thrice had played more TAITA stuff in ATX, but I'd say it was a good mix up. Apparently they only Illusion of Safety songs they're allowing themselves to play are Kill Me Quickly and Deadbolt, but whatever. mewithoutyou just played the same song for about 30 minutes. Oh, what was that? They were different? Hadn't noticed. They were pretty lame. xote: thrice's new album is horrible I didn't know Me Without You had a new album out. Well it's not even new that was sure under the radar who has it? Whats it like? Good? I hope so. Ha, you went to see brand new. I've never heard them, but i have a feeling they suck, probably in a totally shittier way than thrice. Does anyone else think mewithoutyou is plagiarizing the heck out of Les Savy Fav? no "quiet thing that no one ever knows"? Also like to add that Jesse Lacey, however tormented he is, is a despicable guy. Been to a couple Brand New shows and he thinks he's a third-world six year old AK-47 swinging king martyr. Sad day when Brand New headlines over Thrice. Brand New's got some solid songs, above-par lyrics; but they're not a band so much as Jesse Lacey and his producers, whereas Thrice, instrumentally and, I hate to use this term, metaphysically, incorporate as tighter, better musicians. score is for nocigars choice of words. I saw this lineup in Portland a couple months ago and while I enjoyed myself, there were a few aspects that left a bad taste in my mouth. Thrices set list was pretty dissapointing and I felt they couldn't pull off the new jams in a live setting with much confidence at all. To much build up, build up, HEAVY PART!, melodic outro formula going on. Plus their light show was a headache and a half. Brand New was decent, and what really made their set for me was the inclusion of untitled #1, that song is just to brilliant. thatsyouth I was at this show. I think Brand New played pretty well but the crowd was so obnoxious. The set list was good though, I was happy to hear mostly new stuff. i saw this in austin. i dont know how anyone can take mewithoutyou seriously. they fucking blow. i wanted to punch the singer in the face the whole time. and the encore song was an extended version of "Untitled." yea, if you were on the floor it was a sight to see. "Play Crack The Sky" was definitely the highlight. all had stunning sets in San jose, with the worst being Brand New. but a great tour nonetheless. people have been complaining about the lack of old material but the last tour they did it was pretty much every song they wrote pre-devil and god, so i have no clue what all the bitching is for. the new stuff is so much better anyways. went to this. They are always fantastic, but recently the song choice has just been irking me. I can completely understand getting tired of playing certain songs and all....but it seems kind of a dick move to me to choose to play instrumental songs and a Built to Spill cover instead of playing the cheesy fan favorites. mewithoutyou put on a great live show that is a pretty crappy encore it has been about a year and half since I've seen them but I was pretty surprised then that they played a handful of songs off of Your Favorite Weapon I would expect even less now that the last full length has actually come out. Also, I was on the floor, funniest thing I heard: Hammerstein can actually fit 5000 there chief. Roseland is 3500. So it's kind of a mini arena in a way (with the balconies). I got dragged into seeing Brand New in April. They didn't play anything off "Your Favorite Weapon" and overall they were pretty boring. Good musicians, yes, but it was 25 bucks I'm never getting back. i saw this show in Detroit. Brand New were fuckin great live......again. |
