Brand New at Ohio State
I completely forgot to publish this article and words fall short to describe how much I enjoyed this show. If you have not already heard of Brand New I encourage you to take a step away from main stream expectations, keep an open mind and give the band a listen.
Ohio State’s New Port Music Hall greeted us September 24th with the scent of overwhelming anticipation. A sold out venue of enthusiastic fans gathered in support of the progressive rock band Brand New. The band opened with a silhouette of duel drummers and the thrilling Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades. It was difficult not to get a chill from the venues passionate atmosphere and the bands captivating lyrics.
To be honest, I wish I knew more about the band and amidst the mosh pit and fanatic fans it was difficult to focus on anything else but the energy. Although they dabbled in some of their lyrically embellished acoustic tracks I could not help but be mezmerized by the bands energizing pick slides, fills and countless other effects that added to the bands raw real sound. The band preformed popular favorites like Mix Tape, Jaws Swimming Theme, Okay I Believe You But, My Tommy Gun Don’t and The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows from their past two albums Deja Entendu and Your Favourite Weapon.
The band wrapped up with tracks from their most recent album The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me. An album which was a true testament to the bands growth and one which delivered a mature texture of tracks with somber intriguing lyrics filled with questions of religion and death. Personal favorites include Sowing Season (Yeah), Milestone, You Won’t Know, Not The Sun, and Archers.
Mike Reuther
Yeah I attended this show with Mike and one of his roommates. It really was an awesome show for so many reasons. After hearing and reading negative remarks about their live performance it was especially nice that they put on a good show this time around. Vinnie and Jesse really did some expanded experimentation on solos and some bridges that just made the performance that much better to watch. The drums were mic’d especially well so when there was multiple drummers it was pretty incredible.
For anyone interested the opener was The Builders and Butchers. I personally have not heard of them, but their drummer accompanied Brand New at the beginning and end of the show for duel drums. It should also be noted that a third guitarist/keyboardist/backup vocalist that I do not know played with the band that night. He did a good job. I also liked the venue, it reminded me of the Agora from back home only a little smaller. It is in the think of OSU on High Street so the location is awesome. Again it was a good show and I encourage everyone to catch them live because even though they may be a little unorthodox with their overall live show, the time they are playing is well worth it.
The set list for Brand New was the following:
Tautou – Intro w/ extra drummer
Sic Transit… Glory Fades
The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows
Jaws Theme Swimming
Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don’t
The Shower Scene
The No Seatbelt Song
Play Crack The Sky
Two-Headed Boy
Handcuffs
Luca
The Archers Bows Have Broken
Jesus
You Won’t Know
Degausser
*They played anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours, I don’t recall.
I too attended this Rock and Rolling concert of sorts. I have been jamming to Brand New for a long time now and this was actually the first time I saw them live….AND IT WAS FUCKIN AWESOME!
Like Mike was saying, I had also heard that they put on a few bad shows but this particular show rocked all three of my socks off. I knew I would go like totally crazy taxi when they played their old stuff but what surprised me the most was how remarkably outstanding their newerish tracks are live. Its not like I didn’t like their new album, I just didn’t think people, including myself, would be able to really get into that sad, slower and sometimes boring music during a live show. I am pleasantly excited to say that I was completely wrong and their new stuff is just the bees knees live.
Had a great time and would mos def see them again.