photo courtesy of emily driskill

back in 2007, brand new and thrice teamed up for a joint tour and minds were blown. so when it came down to brand new’s headlining tour for daisy, i wasn’t surprised to see thrice on it for another jaunt. the two pair up finely, and held up each other on a certain pedestal of expectation when it came down to the actual performance aspect. i caught two nights in a row and call me partial to thrice, but they outshined brand new on both nights.

what made me even more excited about this tour stop was the fact that it was halloween. now the days of my youth are a bit hazy now, but i think it’s safe to say that there has never been a better halloween show in houston.

BONUS: a good friend of mine had a professional recorder and recorded the sets of thrice and brand new. hopefully they turned out great, so stay tuned for those. i’ll be posting them as soon as i get em.

recap after the jump.

-grizzly

photo courtesy of emily driskill

band one of the evening was the builders and the butchers. i checked them out earlier this week out of curiosity, due to the mere fact that brand new thought they were worthy enough of an opening slot. bands in the past have gone on to measle some of brand new’s fanbase from them, so i’m sure it’s a huge plus to being on tour with em.

i wasn’t too thrilled on the music prior to the show, as it felt more like a scatterbrained version of the decemberists. their live show, however, was enjoyable and precise. dressing up in mummy attire, a giant monkey sans cymbals certainly helped them out too. the band also had two drummers who (most of the time) played similar patterns, but it was LOUD. with verizon wireless theater’s beautiful sound system, i could feel them shits in my chest. i’m not too sure about the fact that i’ll keep up with the band as far as their recording goes, but i wouldn’t mind catching them play some sets opening for bands in the future.

photo courtesy of somebody on absolutepunk.net

thrice was up. yes, this was my 18th time seeing them, y’all. aj so eloquently stated, “your thrice baby is legal now!” dead on. i knew going into the show, that since they were the openers and highly overshadowed on this tour – they’d be showcasing their new album. as much as i love beggars, one of the best things about their show has always been the fact that their sets are always retrospective. shrugged it off.

forgive my lack of star wars knowledge (not a fan), but thrice came out to the tune of the ‘imperial march’ and dressed in full star wars gear. dustin took on the role of a storm trooper and eddie was anakin. i don’t know nearly enough about star wars to know what teppei and riley were, but they were equally awesome in their own right. flying through the beginning of their set, which coincided with the beginning tracks of beggars, thrice maintained their set by brushing in gems like “of dust and nations” and a completely reworked version of “a song for milly michaelson,” which i must state is far superior to the original [ed note: video is below].

let’s continue to be a ridiculous fanatic, shall we? thrice remains as the most consistently progressive and enjoyable bands that has been in my personal rotation for as long as i can remember. i mean, the mere fact that i love everything they’ve ever released and have seen them 18 times since 2001 should bare a testament to my love. that being said, i have a hard time admitting to myself that i’d ever be disappointed with anything they ever do. fanaticism may be an understatement at this point.

photo courtesy of emily driskill

finally, it was time for brand new. it was no secret that daisy is the biggest musical disappointment of the year, but i was going into the show with open ears. what i figured was that i’d end up liking daisy a bit more after seeing the songs performed live, and i can kinda get with that whole thing now that the show’s done. there’s a few songs (see: vices, gasoline, in a jar) that i still can’t stomach because they’re unlistenable to me for the most part.

photo courtesy of emily driskill

anyway, they came out to (to the pink panther theme song, dressed as bandits) and played about 6 songs without addressing daisy, so that was a definite plus. they got their songs that are highly requested (sic transit gloria, quiet things, tommy gun) out of the way in this little jaunt. i’m sure it was to keep time-warped bros on their toes as they went into aforementioned daisy tracks. one thing about brand new’s crowds is that it’s always an eerie feeling similar to that of being in a church singing hymns. they’re often times in a trance and can only regurgitate what lacey feeds them. i don’t, and never have minded that though.

photo courtesy of emily driskill

songs like “sink” and “at the bottom” grew in stock quotes after seeing them live, and hearing pretty much anything off the devil and god… is an automatic two thumbs up to me. new material in consideration, it was a weak set. i was bummed to see a lack of “noro” and “daisy,” but it’s all good. the set was overall impressive and the group was as on-point as they’ll ever be.

hope there are moar tours in the future.

for more pics from the tour and brand new pictures, please visit our friend emily’s tumblr.

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[setlists]

thrice:

all the world is mad
the weight
of dust and nations
a song for milly michaelson (reworked)
doublespeak
the arsonist
in exile
silhouette
beggars

brand new:

you won’t know
degausser
ok i believe you, but my tommy gun don’t
sic transit gloria
the quiet things that no one ever knows
limosine (ms rebridge)
vices
gasoline
sowing season (yeah)
you stole
in a jar
luca
the archers bows have broken
jesus
sink
at the bottom
play crack the sky

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VIDEOS:

[brand new]:

[thrice]:

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thanks for reading.

-grizzly