What did you learn tonight? You're shouting so loud you barely enjoy this broken thing. "You're a voice that never sings," is what I say.

Not that I’ve ever raved about them before, but Brand New is still one of my favorite bands. I finally saw them in concert a few days ago. Sadly, they are better on CD. Oddly enough, it’s not an “on key v/s off key” thing. There’s not a lot of pitch to their music in the first place. The band seems to be more about mood than tone; calling the genre “screamo” is only fair.

I find it bizarre that some people seem to mean what they say more than others. The guy who hollers into your ear is probably a tad more sincere than the one who isn’t even looking at you. But is he really? This concert was proof that there is just a little more to sincerity than sheer volume. The song “Gernicia” is about Jesse Lacey’s dying grandfather (I think). It’s pretty intense on the CD, but live, Lacey seemed present in body but not so much in spirit.

That’s okay though. I had a good time. As a screamo band, Brand New attracts lots of teenagers apparently. Excepting some random old guy with gray hair, I think I was the oldest one at that concert. Fortunately, the majority being too young to drink (and maybe vote), there were more seats upstairs. IBPG and I found a nice* spot on the upper bleacher just to the left of center-stage. Her underaged brother was stuck with the masses. I felt a little bad. Teenage fans care more about shoving the strangers around them than actually enjoying the music. They’re nothing like the classy group surrounding IBPG and myself upstairs.

During a quieter song:

“Shut the f$%*# up!”
“No YOU, Shut the f$%*# up!!”
“YOU Shut the f$%*# up!!!”
“YOU Shut the f$%*# up!!!!”
“YOU Shut the f$%*# up!!!!”
“Hey ALL you SHUT the f$%*# up!”

That’s why I go to these concerts, the overt love my fellow men.

IBPG’s brother’s experience made me a little nostalgic. I remember the last (and only time) I went to a concert I couldn’t Benjoy because there were like 6 other bodies smushed against me at any given time. It was a Counting Crows concert, I was also 18.

Ahhhhhh, the super loud music, wanting to punch every male within a 100 foot radius in the teeth, pseudo feeling bad for the panicked 90 pound teeny boppers** , having a shirt soaked in sweat*** from top to bottom…Luckily there was, and continues to be, the post-concert trip to Wendy’s. At least I can count on that.

*the leaky roof sometimes took as long as two minutes to drip on us.
** my older sister who was somewhere is also in that weight class, so I have to be careful what I say ;)
***most of which probably wasn’t even my own…gross.
Brand New - The Archer's Bows Are Broken