Something Like Sound

Long Island-based Brand New is one of those groups that cannot be easily described in words or photos. Rather than simply putting on a concert, a Brand New show is more of a full-body experience. Hardcore fans scream every lyric as they push and claw their way to be near the stage. The music pounding out of the speakers is not quite the same as the emo-tinged anthems of years gone by, it is more raw, it is more free, it is brand new.

With their newest record, Daisy, Brand New toured the U.S. this past fall with the support of Atlanta-based Manchester Orchestra. Unfortunately for concertgoers in Salt Lake City and Denver those dates were postponed due to illness. Saturday night, nearly four months after the original date, Brand New returned to Denver.

The momentum of the evening really began to pick up when Manchester Orchestra took the stage. For a brief moment I thought I had been transported back to the early 90’s, to a Nirvana concert. However, the lyrics I heard were not reminiscent of nihilistic teenage angst, but rather turned out to be deep and thought-provoking. “Where Have You Been” is always the highlight of a M.O. set, and that night’s performance was no exception. Toward the end of the song (on the big build-up part) they had 4 drummers going simultaneously; it was a sight to see and a sound to (literally) feel.

I was unsure what to expect from Brand New. This particular show was my third time seeing them, and I anticipated they would play heavily from Daisy. Much to my surprise front-man Jesse Lacey started the set with “Soco Amaretto Lime,” a soft number from 2001’s Your Favorite Weapon.

From then on they pulled out all the stops. With each song the crowd never appeared to grow weary despite singing/yelling along and a generous amount of “rocking out.” Highlights included “Sic Transit Gloria (Glory Fades)” going straight in to “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows” and set closers “Jude Law and a Semester Abroad” and “Seventy Times 7.”

Looking back on the night as a whole I can say confidently that this was the best performance I have seen from Brand New. While they did showcase quite a bit of their new material (“Vices” was my personal favorite from that bunch), the group stayed true to their roots and fan base. For anyone who is unfamiliar with Brand New, go out listen to 2003’s Deja Entendu, the record that introduced me to their unique style and caused me to fall in love with their live set.

To see the full sets of photos from the show check out these two galleries: Set 1 | Set 2