Brand New’s lame show fails to live up to high expectations

Anticipation for this concert began early — I bought my ticket months in advance and pinned it to my wall. I would walk in every day with eyes wide as I scanned my pass to what I hoped would be the best concert ever.

Boy, was I mistaken.

The show at the House of Blues had a good start. Almost-unknowns The Manchester Orchestra and Kevin Devine were the openers. The first band was probably the crowd favorite, except for a cover by Kevin Devine that included a bass drum, tambourine and stomping and clapping.

The mosh, however, was ridiculous. Now, I’m all for a good mosh. Jumping, a little pushing. I feel pretty proud that I can take it like the boys when I’m on the floor. This concert, however, seemed to be full of half-intoxicated giants. I was thrown around like a rag doll.

Time for a little singing along from the back row. Once the crowd settled a bit, I was back in the action. But a more settled crowd made for a lamer show.

Brand New played many songs from its latest album, "The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me." Several fans were fonder of material from previous albums, "Your Favorite Weapon" and "Deja Entendu." Many signature songs were left out of the set: "Soco Amaretto Lime," "The No Seatbelt Song" and "Jude Law and a Semester Abroad."

Any concert you go to, most of the fans are singing along while the band plays all the crowd-pleasers. Brand New, on the other hand, had a different equation for a good show. As they took to the stage, there seemed to be little positive energy, like they knew they could just play about 10 songs and be done with their night.

To top it off, what kind of band closes the curtains to a room full of fans screaming for an encore? Many of these concertgoers probably will close their wallets for this band the next time it comes to Las Vegas.

Even though the show cost only $18, I wouldn’t pay that much again to see Brand New. Not worth it.

So in the end, we can say thanks to Brand New, and don’t come again.