For several months, I had been planning on attending the November 16th show at Stubb’s BBQ in Austin, TX – Brand New, Thrice, and mewithoutyou. Unfortunately there were a series of mishaps and miscommunications that left me without a ticket to the sold-out show. Lucky for me, it was a nice night.
Stubb’s is an outdoor venue, and running behind it is a bridge that straddles a creek. You can’t see much from there, but the sound is surprisingly good. A few years ago I “saw” Sonic Youth from this perch, so I thought I’d give these bands a try.
I unfortunately missed most of mewithoutyou’s set, but what I did hear was good. Next up was Thrice. They sounded amazing, even from behind and outside the venue. They’ve never failed to amaze me live, and I wasn’t let down even though I spent their set watching a possum navigate along the bank of the creek. For whatever reason, Thrice declined to play their biggest singles – “All That’s Left” and “Image of the Invisible” – but the new material was well-received.
Topping off the night was Brand New. Though they shied away from tracks off of their debut, the night was a good mix between Deja Entendu and the more recent The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me. Early on in the set, vocalist Jesse Lacey leaned toward shouting more than singing, but finally settled into his usual tone. Like Thrice, I wished I would have been able to see the show, but was more than happy with the experience I had sitting out behind the venue.
Mixtapes|Heartbreaks 