BRAND NEW
The Fillmore Miami Beach
Nov. 23rd, 2007
By Sylvana Fernandez
As every frequent concertgoer knows, there are certain shows that you will walk out of with mixed feelings; the mewithoutYou, Thrice and Brand New show on Nov. 23rd at the Fillmore Miami Beach was one of them.
The night began with mewithoutYou, arguably the worst performance I have ever seen. Though the band members seemed to have a lot of energy (read: TOO MUCH of it), very little seemed to carry over to the audience, not even to the pit. I had had heard some of their songs before and was aware of the fact that they are very experimental, but they were awful live.
Save & Share |
|
|
|
|
| Share on Facebook | |
I knew Aaron Weiss would mostly be speaking and wailing instead of singing, but his words were indistinguishable, and the use of maracas, accordion and tambourines did not add to their sound in any way whatsoever. The constant random thrashing around combined with the muffled words took me to a point where I just couldn’t take it anymore and decided to focus my attention elsewhere for a while.
I had not been at the Fillmore since I was in the fifth grade. Back then, it was called the Jackie Gleason, and except for some crystal chandeliers and a pair of digital panels with a rotating tie-dye pattern on both sides of the theatre, it looks exactly the same: beautiful. I initially felt this would be a good venue, but once I settled into my orchestra seat, I began to feel very distant from what was happening onstage.
Vocalist Lacey sounds even better live than he does on a CD.
Fortunately, Thrice was able to close that gap quite a bit. They immediately captured the attention of everyone who had been squirming in their seats when mewithoutYou did their set. Playing old songs like, "The Artist in the Ambulance" and pieces from the first two of the four EPs they plan to release within a few months of each other, they marked the beginning of the improvement of the night.
The light show was impressive and relevant. During "The Whaler" off the Water EP of The Alchemy Index, the ceiling was bathed in blue light that resembled ocean waves, and "Firebreather" from the Fire EP featured flashes of red and orange light. Their intense, heart-pounding performance was closed with "The Earth Will Shake." Then the moment everyone had been waiting for arrived: Jesse Lacey, Brian Lane, Vince Accardi and Garrett Tierney of Brand New took the stage. They began with the slow, tragic "Limousine," one of the best tracks from their newest album, The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me. Every song after that became increasingly impressive. Two drum sets contributed to a booming sound, and Accardi and Tierney’s guitar work was amazing. Vocalist Lacey sounds even better live than he does on a CD.
Wearing a slightly faded-looking plaid long-sleeve shirt over a white tee and humbly thanking the audience for coming out for the show, you would never imagine him to have such a towering stage presence. But the raw emotion behind how he sings those sarcastically beautiful lyrics is evident and captivating, and the reason why most of the people in the theatre are seeing the band for their second (or third or fourth) time. The best moment of the entire show was when they played the crowd favorite "Okay, I believe you, but my Tommy Gun Don’t." As hundreds jumped and sang it word for word, Lacey declared: "Oh, it hurts to be this good…" After such an incredible performance, I can’t help but agree: It must.
E-mail outloud@outloud.com. with your thoughts on this issue.