The Skinny: from: (http://www.fightoffyourdemons.com/)
Brand New was started in a very obligatory basement in Merrick, New York, a suburb of Manhattan by singer/guitarist Jesse Lacey, drummer Brian Lane, guitarist Vin Accardi, and bassist Garrett Tierney. The four individuals all had musical roots sunk in the Long Island Independent/Hardcore music scene, but with tastes that ranged from Buddy Rich to the Archers of Loaf. The band always felt like it could move outside of whatever notions they felt inclined to when they were making music as younger people. After recording their first record, Your Favorite Weapon, with a friend and fifth band member, Mike Sapone, they began to tour the nation relentlessly. A second record, Deja Entendu, followed and so did the touring. They went everywhere from U.S. to U.K., Canada, Australia, and Japan.

The Date & Place: 11-2-2006 at the AAC Building at Morehead State University

The Review: So this is my first review and I’m very excited that it will be about one of my favorite bands: Brand New. As I was entered the arena I was very excited to find that my seat in the 6th row lined up perfectly with the drum set on the stage. I thought to myself: ”how could this get any better?” As 8 o’ clock drew nearer and nearer, I was amazed to see that hardly anyone who bought tickets for the first 5 rows were present. Showtime finally came and all the lights went off except for the green, glowing stage where I knew a band that I wanted to see for ages would soon appear. Behind and above the stage was a beautiful background of green lights that blinked in a rotating style that made everything feel really calm, even though the crowd was going crazy. Even though Dashboard Confessional was the main event of the night, a lot of the faces in the crowd seemed to be proudly displaying Brand New T-shirts

Brand New took the stage and began playing the raging guitar riff of “The Shower Scene” and the crowd went wild. Now the word “wild” would seem like a great adjective to describe the crowd but my definition of wild may surprise you. When I said, “the crowd went wild”, I meant the crowd started stampeding towards the five front rows of empty chairs. Normally, I would’ve just sat there and laughed while all these people jumped over chair after chair to get closer to the stage but I thought to myself “Carpe Diem bitches!” and joined the crazy mass of people running towards the stage. Now that I was standing on a chair of the second row I realized that things did get better! After singing to “The Shower Scene” a lot more people joined in when they went directly in to playing “Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades”. This song was the perfect sequel to the smashing hit “Jude Law And A Semester Abroad”.

With a new album coming up, they played about 5 songs that appeared unfamiliar to me. Now that I have the new album (which is wonderful-pick one up!) I know for a fact they played “Sowing Season (Yeah)”, “Millstone”, and “You Won’t Know”. When they played the new songs, there was this feeling in the air that was rather hard to describe. I’ve been to several shows where bands were very energetic and encouraged the crowd to dance and participate in singing every once n’ awhile, but this show was a little different. When you hear Brand New’s music, especially the lyrics they would somewhat fit in the rather heavily stereotyped genre of “Emo”. As much as I hate stereotyping music into genres, the music that they played was rather emotional. The lead singer looked like he was so into what he was doing. It was as if he was telling the crowd about his life: all the hardships and all the missed opportunities, all the heartache and all the disappointment. But what was even more beautiful than that was the crowd was there soaking in every word and being sympathetic…it was somewhat like a religious experience! Sorry, I got a bit carried away with me emotions. But as I was enjoying the new songs I was feeling somewhat anxious because just like a lot of people, I can relate to certain songs and they help me get through a bad day or some other hardship and I wanted to hear my favorite song that always gets me through performed live. Well, there are several songs that I can relate to with Brand New but “Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don’t” has to be the all time remedy for my heart. When they announced their thanks and that his was their last song, my heart started to beat faster and then I heard the beginning of the quiet riff of “Tommy Gun” and I screamed at the top of my lungs in delight. Everyone around me joined in singing the lyrics and it gave me chills. By the time we got to the chorus I was in tears because the song is just so true and pure and just being reminded of how I got through such a hard time with that song made the experience somewhat liberating. They finished the song and left with the crowd begging for more and chanting “Brand New.”

Now, I enjoyed Dashboard Confessional but I didn’t get any chills, or shed any tears like I did for Brand New. They just didn’t seem as “into it” as much as Brand New was but every band is different and I respect their individuality. So Open G-String Readers, WATCH OUT!! ‘Cause you just read probably one of the dorkiest reviews ever, but I meant every word. Music is something that’s hard to objectively talk about and hard to sound completely unbiased but I hope you enjoyed my review and look forward to the many more to come!

KT