Show Review: Brand New w/ Robbers

The last concert of my Messiah career was both sold out and substantially harder than any other. Unlike the last time I saw them, Brand New was not touring an album, and was therefore free to fill my night (and everyone else's) with the old songs we fell in love with as teenagers. But before Brubaker Auditorium erupted into a massive sing-along, we were subjected to some rather strange experiences.

photo courtesy of Angela Darte

True to form, the difficult-to-classify Long Island rockers brought another genre-busting hometown act with them on tour. Robbers are an upbeat bunch with a histrionic frontman whose Afro and mannerisms had the audience incessantly shouting for various Hendrix songs. Unfortunately for any other impressions they may have made, their set was abruptly interrupted by a kid in the front row who was having a seizure. Security inexplicably chose to keep him in the middle of the floor and stop the show until EMS arrived, truncating the performance drastically.

photo courtesy of Amanda Fox

As Brand New took the stage, the crowd erupted with cheers and cameras (despite a regulation attempting to deter the latter). Peppering a set of songs that the college-age and up crowd had grown up to with a few recent roars from Daisy and college radio staples from the critically-acclaimed The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, Jesse Lacey and company masterfully worked their audience into a frenzy. As Lacey was left alone on stage for a more intimate set, it became clear just how much Brand New means to their fans, and "Soco Amaretto Lime" seemed the perfect sendup of and sendoff to our college days:

Show Review: Colour Revolt

Though their name is spelled in the King's English, Colour Revolt hail from Oxford, Mississippi-the name is a reference to 19th-century English schoolteacher Edwin Abbott's satirical novel Flatland. Their literary name is the first indication of the intelligence that enabled the mixture of huge portions of post-rock and punk in their distinctive Southern gumbo. Having opened for both mewithoutYou [show review here] and Brand New [show review here], it is perhaps unsurprising that lead vocalist Jesse Coppenbarger brings a howl not unlike that of Aaron Weiss with a deadpan delivery Jesse Lacey would be proud of.
The Southern rock that no doubt permeated their upbringing comes through most clearly in their guitar tones, Coppenbarger's a crunchy blues rhythm with Sean Kirkpatrick adding psychedelic accents. An impressive array of gear ensures their compelling riffs and complex rhythms move the crowd both physically and emotionally. Colour Revolt puts on a great live show, to the point that many of us on SAB were discussing hopefully the possibility of their imminent return with Brand New on April 30th (an eventuality that has not materialized).

Show Review: Brand New, Glassjaw, Crime in Stereo

Apologies for the lateness (and associated brevity) of this post.

When my friend Alejandro hooked me up with a ticket to the second night of Brand New's sold-out stay at the Electric Factory, I wasn't expecting an old-school hardcore show. The all Long Island lineup drew fans of the differing styles of each of Brand New's diverse albums, along with a huge contingent of Glassjaw fans eager to see a band coming off a long hiatus.

Openers Crime in Stereo got things started without being particularly impressive, setting the tone with a hard-hitting set delivered nonchalantly beneath dim lighting.

Glassjaw took the stage in a unique semi-circular formation occasionally completed by frontman Daryl Palumbo as he drunkenly stalked around the stage. The setup made the entire show seem as if they were practicing onstage, understandable for a band that hadn't played publicly since 2004. The crowd was slightly older than usual for a hardcore show, and the mosh pit jammed full of drinkers who rushed down from the balcony bar when Glassjaw took the stage. Technical flawlessness coupled with their bizarre formation made for a mesmerizing stage presence.

Each successive album from Brand New has evolved their style, and their latest effort "Daisy" is no exception. Far from their pop-punk roots, and even further from the indie ethos of "The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me", the new record is significantly more hardcore, filled with heavy riffs supporting Jesse Lacey's screaming vocal. Even the older material was played in this style, with a couple exceptions involving Jesse alone onstage, minus the extra drumkit and instrumentation involved in the rest of the show. The new songs were accompanied by background video clips and flashing images projected on the wall behind the band, which seemed to mollify an audience with little knowledge of the new material. Unlike other bands of similar age, Brand New hasn't lost a thing.