A Review - Brand New - August 10, 2012



Favorite Show of the Summer? YEAH!!!!!!

Oh Brand New, where do I even start.  Here is a band that rarely comes through Canada. The last time they came to Calgary I didn't even live here so I missed the chance. So after their 2009 release of Daisy, I flew all the way to Toronto to get the opportunity to see these guys play first hand. Seeing them in Toronto was one of the best shows I've ever been to, so needless to say I had a not-so-discreet countdown going on to their August 10th show at MacEwan Hall. (Sorry Facebook 'friends') It was the most highly anticipated show for me this summer for sure, and I've seen my share of great shows in the past few months.

Brand New at MacEwan Hall.

After patiently waiting and waiting, August 10th finally came and I headed to MacEwan with so many other ecstatic fans. Once finished amply teasing his audience with a guest appearance with opening band An Horse and then walking around covering the microphone stands in flowers before his set, Jesse Lacey and Brand New finally took the stage. They opened with Milestone.
The show went on for two hours, but it felt like five minutes to me. Every single song was done in this intense, perfectly, imperfect fashion. Hearing Jesse go from singing that first verse of Sowing Season so softly - so sweetly to screaming 'YEAH' in such a beautifully tortured manner is almost impossible to articulate. I have heard that song at least a hundred times yet I nearly jumped out of my skin when he dove full force into that chorus. It gives me goosebumps just to think about it. I had still not quite recovered from that experience when a few songs later they played Tautou. I was pleasantly surprised to hear this favourite off of Brand New's second album Deja Entendu. Tautou acts as an intro to the record, is just under two minutes long and only contains two lines; "I'm sinking like a stone in the sea; I'm burning like a bridge for your body". The desperation in this song has always haunted me. I could listen to it a thousand times over and it would still feel like the first. And hearing it performed live - seeing Jesse resonate that haunted desperation was unreal. He emitted emotion into the audience that I'm not sure many coming that night knew they would or could feel from a live performance. That is why I love music. That exact feeling is why I will travel miles and miles to see a band and not regret it for a second. It's those moments that I and so many other kindred spirits live for. Not many bands today can portray that emotion and hold that presence for any amount of time, let alone two breathtaking hours. And for that, I am so grateful to Brand New and hope they keep doing what they're doing for years to come. Among other favourites performed were Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't, Degausser, Seventy Times 7, Jude Law and a Semester Abroad, Play Crack the Sky, The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot...I could go on and on. They closed with an extended version of Welcome To Bangkok.  It was a wonderful rendition of the song. As the song came to an end, Jesse tore the flowers free from their mic stands and threw them into the audience. The band left the stage and the lights came up. Though slightly disappointed in the lack of an encore, I left the venue elated. I got what I came for and more. With rumors of uncertainty looming around the release of another album I am just so happy to have had to chance to see this band again. I hope they keep making music for years to come - because every single song they played seemed to make people glad to be where they were with whoever they were there with.