Daily Loaf

Ritz Ybor’s website boasts a capacity of 1,150 for its concert hall. I would call that a conservative estimate for Brand New and Thrice as I politely pushed through the throng of mostly teenage girls clogging the stairways leading to the pit. All the ”Excuse Me’s” I could muster made no difference when I bumped a girl’s flip-flopped foot and received a flat, condescending “Ow” in reply. Here’s a novel idea — don’t wear flip-flops to rock concerts and don’t stop in the middle of a stairway to watch a band. Unless you’ll permit the rest of us to pee on you instead of pushing through to the facilities.

Following a false start, Thrice (pictured right, all photos by Mike Wilson) hit the stage around eight and overcame some early technical problems to deliver a ten-song set of competent, mostly mid-tempo post-rock with intermittent lite-hardcore breakdowns. Guitarist Teppei Teranishi’s backup vocals created some pleasant harmonies with frontman Dustin Kensrue’s otherwise bland leads. Thrice didn’t perform as if very excited, and aside from a pinch of hardcore fans singing every word they elicited little more than head-bobbing from the crowd. It took a cover of “Helter Skelter” — a song that pre-dates the birth of every bandmember and most of the audience — to finally evoke some movement. “Silhouette” off their major label debut, The Artist In The Ambulance, received the best fan reaction, and enough people caught onto the “We are beggars, all” chant from their new LP’s title-track as Thrice finally forged a connection before ending their set. I heard more than a few Thrice supporters object the lack of ‘hits.’

Thankfully, Brand New (pictured below) left little room for similar complaints. (Setlists for both bands after the jump!) Eight of the 19 songs from Brand New’s set came from their best album, 2006’s The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me. They hit the stage as a sometimes six-piece (three guitars, bass, drums, and an extra percussionist who would come and go), treating “Welcome To Bangkok” as an instrumental warm-up before stomping out Daisy deep-cut “Sink.” New album or not, single or not, everyone knew the words and started jumping and screaming along almost instantly. Three guitarists meant the riffs and melodies would sound somewhat muddled, but Brand New was otherwise well-mixed at the Ritz. Despite his distinctive style, frontman Jesse Lacey’s voice was not the strongest in a live setting. Similar to Thrice earlier, it was the backup vocals (in this case, those of guitarist Vincent Accardi) that provided a certain boost.

Jesse tried to slow things down with numbers like “Degausser” and a mostly solo-electric ”Limousine” from Devil And God… His attempts at pathos fell pretty flat, though — not due to any failed execution, but because the audience screamed every goddamn word. Emo boys and girls shouting lyrics in each others’ faces is just not romantic.

Jesse asked the crowd if anyone was following them around the state given the strange tour schedule — the Tampa show sandwiched between two Orlando dates — and promised a little something different for the night. A four-song stretch early on showcased Brand New’s early poppier material. Two songs each from the band’s first two albums followed — including fan favorites “Sic Transit Gloria… Glory Fades” and “Jude Law And A Semester Abroad,” each marked by the evening’s largest, most turbulent pits and loudest sing-alongs. Brand New jumped between the newer, more melodic and complex material and the older, pedantic pop-punk with ease, and managed to deftly showcase their evolution over the past decade.

Thrice
All The World Is Mad
The Weight
Of Dust And Nations
A Song For Milly Michaelson
Talking Through Glass
The Arsonist
Helter Skelter [Beatles cover]
In Exile
Silhouette
Bang Bang [tease] / Beggars

Brand New
Welcome To Bangkok [instrumental]
Sink
You Won’t Know
Degausser
Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don’t
Sic Transit Gloria… Glory Fades
Jude Law And A Semester Abroad
Seventy Times 7
Limousine (MS Rebridge)
Vices
Gasoline
Sowing Season (Yeah)
You Stole
Luka
The Archers Bows Have Broken
Jesus
Bought A Bride
At The Bottom
Play Crack The Sky

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