It’s difficult to describe the feeling of seeing your favorite band live for the first time. A lot of words come to mind – incredible, intense and spectacular (just to name a few).
All of those words describe the Brand New and Manchester Orchestra concert last week at the Uptown Theatre.
The beautiful, unique venue hosted a three-hour onslaught of pure rock music.
Waiting through the line that wrapped around the outside of the building, you could feel the anticipation of the excitement about to come. These people had come to rock out.
The first band, Sybris, came on with powerful rock instrumentals and a very talented female vocalist.
This was the first time I heard the band and was very impressed by their level of musicianship. This is not the last we will hear from this band, and I expect them to move up in the indie rock world in the near future.
After their short set, Manchester Orchestra took the stage.
To say they melted people’s faces off with their intensity would be an understatement.
Andy Hull, lead singer and one of Manchester Orchestra’s guitar players, instantly commanded audience attention with eerie guitar tones and his vocal range.
After opening with the slower track “Pride,” they moved straight into “Shake It Out,” to get the crowd moving.
Songs such as the radio single “I’ve Got Friends” kept the set list moving fluidly. Fittingly, they ended their set with the song “Party’s Over/The Only One.” It was the end to their 30-minute party, filled with emotion, intensity and overall fun.
This band is going places and I would be shocked if they don’t have their own headlining tour soon.
The anticipation building before Brand New was thick enough you could have cut it with a knife.
This being my first time seeing them in concert, I was both nervous and excited. The whole day I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve – you know something big is coming, but you don’t quite know what to expect.
When the lights went out, the crowd immediately went into a frenzy. People began to push forward in anticipation, knowing they were about to experience something truly incredible.
From the first note of “You Won’t Know,” the show was intense.
Frontman Jesse Lacey’s vocals were truly powerful and mesmerizing. And even though he was sick, you could not tell it was affecting him in any way.
The next few songs switched between their albums The Devil and God and Deja Entendu.
A pleasant surprise was thrown in when they played “No Seatbelt Song” off their first album, Your Favorite Weapon.
This marked the next transition in the show. The backdrops came on and they began to play songs off their most recent record, Daisy.
It was very appropriate how they marked that shift because it showed how different the band is from their early days. The songs off Daisy are very emotional, dark and really captured the crowd.
The most emotional song of the night, by far, was “Jesus Christ.” It is extremely powerful and has a lot of meaning.
To wrap up their set, they performed “Play Crack the Sky,” and Hull, of Manchester Orchestra, joined them on stage.
It was a great ending to an incredible show.
I highly recommend listening to all of these artists and catching a show if possible.
A+.
Band Info:
Manchester Orchestra: website | myspace | Mean Everything to Nothing review | @ radio room | interview with Chris Freeman | @ lollapalooza | @ record bar
Brand New: website | myspace | Daisy review
Written by: Casey Osburn and Jacob Brewer
Photos by: Joshua Hammond
