On March the 29th of 2003, I witnessed a short yet shockingly sweet set from the band I now know to be Brand New. At the time, they were seemingly on the last part of their mammoth tour with Finch and heartily blasting out tracks from their debut album ‘Your favourite weapon’. I think I was captivated. They were like Finch, but not. Maybe a little more accessible. Who knows? but tonight my encounter with the band was to be much different. A changed band, one might say.
Openers tonight were Moneen, a band who play self professed ‘aggressive melodic powerpunk pop’ and have travelled from Canada to perform. Tonight’s show was by far the biggest venue of the tour (2500 capacity) and they were met by a mixed reaction by the crowd.
I’d be lying if I didn’t say the crowd was mainly inhabited by teenage girls, probably only there to see Jesse from Brand New, so this “post hardcore” was not the kind of thing they were after. Reminiscent of early Finch and maybe even a taste of Your Favourite Weapon, they played a 30 minute set and seemingly enjoyed every moment. Extremely energetic on stage and obviously there for a good time.
Unfortunately no songs really stood out from their set which makes me assume they may be easily forgettable in many peoples minds. I wouldn’t like to predict their future. I’ll certainly be looking out for them though.
Next up were the well anticipated ‘Straylight Run’ which features two ex-members of Taking Back Sunday. Their brand of mellow tear worthy pop-rock sent me to sleep the first time I saw them (10 days beforehand) but tonight their set was somewhat refreshing. They played for 30 minutes and had arms waving and lighters… well, lighting. The only problem I see with this band is that they seem to be very famous by association no thanks to John and Shaun leaving Taking Back Sunday. This is no real problem, all press is good press apparently, but although the sounds aren’t *that* different there is a significant change in style. They are not another Taking Back Sunday and never will be by all accounts.
The highlight of the set probably being ‘It’s For The Best’.
Undoubtedly though, somehow, Brand New had managed to fill the London Astoria. This of course being no mean feat, considering 10 days prior to this show I had seen them in a <200 capacity club. The crowd had many expectations about tonight and I don’t believe the band managed to live up to them.
Their clean shaven baby faced set comprised of 15 songs spanning over an hour. This was made up of a mix of tracks from both Your Favourite Weapon and Deja Entendu.
This to me was the beginning of the trouble.
Your Favourite Weapon and Deja Entendu are two very different albums. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that they are the same band on both cds. It’s as if they suddenly matured overnight and there was no in-between ground for fans to base their new opinions on.
Musically, tonight was sound. [No pun intended] The Astoria yet again in my opinion using its great potential to the maximum and integrating the use of intrepid lighting effects and great sound quality to enhance any show, no matter how bad the band played.
However, performance wise, it lacked greatly. The excitement and energy I first witnessed them portraying seemed lost and forgotten, even in the midst of their most popular song, ‘Jude Law and a semester abroad’.
Drab and dull is maybe a little harsh to describe their performance but maybe it’s due to my bias of seeing them before playing much more energetically.
According to some fans the change is for the better, but I for one disagree. I’m not an elitist. I didn’t hear of Brand New years ago. But I do know that I much prefer their older stuff and I look back on their previous shows fondly.
Throughout their set they seemed transformed from ‘Brand New’ to ‘Very Old’ by the time they had finished. A show I found myself yawning along to. Not often does this happen, but tonight I was bored. Upsettingly bored.
All in all, a lousy climax to a potentially great show. Moneen and Straylight Run providing ample talent and diversity to please many and Brand New playing a dreary almost boring set that was a surprise to many.
Come on Brand New. We know what you’re capable of. Come back and prove it.
Visit Brand New’s website for Tour Dates, Music, Bios and Other Information.