I went to Vegas this weekend on a little excursion with some friends. Nine of us stayed in a deluxe room at the Monte Carlo. Brandon, Marshall, and I went to the Pearl Theater at the Palms Hotel and Casino to see Brand New and Thrice perform live. The venue was beautiful with great acoustics and sound as can be expected from Vegas music venues on the strip. Thrice was amazing. Playing a variety of new and old music along with some b-sides. Their performance of the songs off the Water Ep from the Alchemy Index were beautifully done with precision. The band moved between a variety of instruments and electronics, at times not a single guitar was being played on the stage. I had seen this exact same show in SLC at the Salt Air (a venue I detest) a week ago but loved it enough to pay out again. Brand New is a band that I have seen a couple times now and although great, inconsistent. Jesse Lacey suffers from a variety of neurosis’ adding an element of instability to Brand New’s music. The show at Salt Air was good but dissatisfying. The performance at the Pearl was incredible. Playing mostly music from their last album, The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me, the band played a lengthy and energetic set. Brand New played two of my favorite tracks off TDAGARIM, Limousine and Untiled. The four piece band would grow in size to seven or eight at times. Brand New’s range and use of dynamics is chilling. The show was worth every dollar and more…which I gambled away at the casinos into the early morning.
Brand New- The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me
This CD is utterly breathtaking. It transcends genre and the musical clichés that have worked their way into the alternative music scene. As if the progression from “Weapon” to “Deja” wasn’t enough Brand New reaches new heights in their 06 release. Jesse surpasses himself lyrically and vocally in these incredibly chilling and eerie tracks with his voice ranging from whispers to feverish screaming. Brand New has thrown out any type of formula or pattern in their songs and moved to a more progressive/climactic song structure while at the same time remaining unpredictable and surprising. The album is characterized by stark contrasts and at times hypnotic melodies. The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me (appropriately named) is teeming with inner conflict and religious overtones dealing with grace, sin, guilt, death, and the afterlife (i.e. Jesus Christ, Millstone, Limousine, and You Won’t Know). I can’t help but notice the heavy Radiohead influence (Brand New has been called the American Radiohead). TDAGARIM is forcefully intense and leaves the hair on my neck sticking straight up every time. This is one of those CD’s that you can drown yourself in with your headphones on and never get sick of it. Truly Brand New.
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November 12, 2007 at 4:11 am
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