Slappin' dat bass, mon

Saw Brand New at the Aragon last night with my good friend Professor Rage. Excellent. Only second time I've seen those guys and I thought they were really good again. The only other time was at Liberty Hall, T-Minus and myself chugging Rojo Toro and vodkas and smoking in the back row of the balcony (fantastic view too, really), across the aisle from 4/5's of The Get Up Kids (whom we are seeing later in the month!). Back to the show; Manchester Orchestra opened, and we missed the beginning of their set - Rage was not keen on that, but when you start drinking at Rossi's, it's hard to leave. That, and I didn't hear (if they played it) 'I Can Barely Breathe,' but still good, the remainder of the set that we saw.

So, BN opened with 'You Won't Know' and that was interesting and great choice. They didn't play much from Daisy, but did play 'At The Bottom' and 'Bought A Bride,' a pair of songs that I dig from the album. Thinking back, what's amazing is what they didn't play. No 'The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows,' nor 'The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot,' perhaps my favorite song of theirs, and yet no complaints about the song selection. For some reason, this spritely sprightly redhead (heh) and I were singing together, arms over each other's shoulders, during 'Jaws Theme Swimming' like it was the most natural thing in the world, and we didn't talk to one another before, during, or after the show (reminds me of the NFG show Tone, and you know what I'm thinking of) - McMike was getting beers during that time. Weird, yet oddly common at shows, for me. Maybe not that exactly, but odd occurrences that seem to exist solely in the rock club during the show, and then are completely ignored/forgotten afterwards. Fuck, last time I saw Alkaline, I was drinking with this woman that was there with her husband and his girlfriend, and everyone was "cool."

...Where was I?

After the show, things get hazy. Woke up on my couch with some missed calls and texts to tune of "where are you (or usually, 'where r u')?" from a chorus of peeps. I remember going to the Uptown afterwards, and then the hole-in-the-wall Mexican joint but...details.

In summation, go see Brand New if they come through, as they don't tour all that often it seems. And, if you don't have Deja Entendu or The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me, go get them immediately, as these albums are required listening. Gonna watch last night's SNL now, with Ryan Reynolds and Lady CaCa (enjoy this year honey, we bore easily of shtick, even for cretins). Is Reynolds the Mark Harmon of our generation?

UPDATE: On second thought, Brand New did play a fair amount of the new album, not that anyone cares.