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Brand New
Adam Lazzara of Taking Back
Sunday.
Performers: Brand New, Taking Back
Sunday, Rufio, Little League
Where: The Trocadero
When: Thursday, August 22nd, 2002
7:00 PM
Four bands with a penchant for lovelorn rock anthems and desperately sincere
live shows let their hearts bleed all over Philly’s best known ex-burlesque
house, The Trocadero, on August 22nd. Talk of slit throats,
pretentious British boys, contagious lip disease, and wallowing in cheap booze
were the topics de jour, along with a cozy atmosphere that would have made the
suits at Vagrant records proud.
Riding high from their notorious performance at last
month’s Warped Tour in Camden, where fans scaled speakers and parts of the
stage, Philly’s own
Little League kicked things off with an energetic set reminiscent of
underground vets Hot Water Music. California’s
Rufio followed with a
by the book set, complete with a Kelly Osborne-approved Madonna cover and punk
standards that prompted me to wonder if they had formed a few weeks prior to the
show.
The show’s second half featured two bands on the fast
track to MTV2 stardom, ala Dashboard Confessional.
Taking Back Sunday
and Brand New both feature emotionally
scarred vocalists yearning to excise demons and musicians more than willing to
aid in the exorcism. With acoustic guitar in tow, Taking Back Sunday’s
Adam Lazzara took the stage, banged out a teen idol mini-ballad, and then turned
his band mates loose. For the next 45 minutes, teen girls stared wide-eyed
at Lazzara’s sensitive musings, while John Nolan screamed choruses that would’ve
made the boys in Glassjaw and Thursday proud. The band’s set featured the
bulk of their debut album, Tell All Your Friends, which remains one of
the new bastions of the over-classified Emo genre.
Brand New’s infectious blend of scathing-yet-witty
lyrics and upbeat melodies brought the show to a boiling point unmatched by any
of the night’s acts. Members of other bands crowded the stage, peanut
butter was smeared on drummer Brian Lane (who didn’t miss one beat while
combating the chunky sandwich spread), and bras were proudly slung over guitars
like beauty pageant sashes. All the raucous fun made it seem like somebody
threw a party, and this finely tuned band decided to play in the host’s
basement. After roaring through tracks like “Mixtape,” “Jude Law and a
Semester Abroad,” and “Failure By Design,” the band capped the set off with a
frenetic display of feedback and improvised chaos that left everyone in stunned
disbelief, wondering what would happen next. Brand New may not have heeded
its moniker with its set-ending display of band member stage diving (keep in
mind, this is the place where Eddie Vedder took the infamous plunge in the video
for “Alive”). But, I’m sure everyone in the house was either too young to
remember Grunge-era Pearl Jam or too forgiving after such a fantastic set.
-Wade
Peters
Click on the artist to see photos from this
concert:
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