Photos and words by Samantha Skapin

I was fortunate enough to catch one of my all-time favorite bands, Brand New at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, OH for a show on their fall tour. The lineup for this tour is absolutely stacked, with Modern Baseball and The Front Bottoms opening.

Modern Baseball started off the show with one of their more popular songs, “Wedding Singer” off of their latest release Holy Ghost. I caught these guys opening for Say Anything a couple of years ago in Columbus and I absolutely loved them, so seeing them open for Brand New in an arena was almost surreal to me. The crowd was really responsive to these guys and began crowd surfing as soon as they began playing. The set was a bit on the shorter side, but they were sure to include songs from both You’re Gonna Miss It All and Sports. These guys were so fun to watch live since they seemed really laid back and would joke around a lot during the set. They played their most popular song, “Your Graduation” to close out their set and the crowd sang every word right back to them. Like I said before, these guys deserve every ounce of success and seeing them open in an arena was like a proud mom moment for me. These guys are amazing to watch play and every album they’ve released has been incredibly solid, so definitely check them out and their newest release Holy Ghost.

Next up was The Front Bottoms. I had seen these guys play a couple times, and every time I’ve seen them they get better and better. They had an awesome set up, which included a bunch of lamps around the stage, a couch, and a TV playing Rush Hour the entire set. They started things off with the song “The Plan (Fuck Jobs)” off of their 2015 release Back On Top. The crowd was absolutely ready for these guys because EVERYONE started screaming the lyrics as soon as Brian Sella starting singing. The band sounded super crisp, including trumpet parts and catchy keyboard riffs. The played songs ranging all of their albums, including “Summer Shandy“, “Skeleton”, and even “Joanie” off of their newest release, Needy When I’m Needy. Cleveland was incredibly welcoming for these guys, even holding up the flashlights on their phones to make a crowd of lights during their song “Au Revior (Adios)”. As always, these guys were incredibly entertaining to watch and definitely check them out if they play near you!

Next up was what the arena had been waiting for all night, Brand New. I had gotten the chance to see them play only once before two years ago at The Nautica in Cleveland, and it was one of the most special shows I had ever attended. They came out to the stage in completely darkness, the crowd erupting with screams. They picked up their instruments, vocalist Jesse Lacey making his way to his flower covered mic stand, and went straight into their newest single, “I Am A Nightmare“. The lighting design for this set was impeccable and made the show even more eye catching, and they even having video looping behind them for certain songs. After “I Am A Nightmare”, they went into a couple of songs from their album Deja Entendu which included “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows” and “Play Crack The Sky”, which the crowd absolutely loved. Brand New had announced in a statement a couple weeks prior to the tour that would play their album, The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me front to back during the show, which everyone was pumped for. Jesse Lacey said six words before they begun to play the album, which were “This is the Devil and God” and the crowd’s cheers filled the Wolstein Center. The set included of course the whole album, such as songs “Sowing Season”, “Limousine”, and of course, the infamous “Jesus Christ“. Seeing that album is one of my all-time favorites, I was in complete bliss. I couldn’t have asked for anything more as Brand New honored their 2006 album in the most respectful way. You can tell these guys play with every ounce in them, and it definitely rubs off on you. Hell, I even caught the guy at the sound board head banging to a couple of songs. This just goes to show that they play such a solid show that everyone can enjoy. They of course finished their set, with a track off of TDAG called “Untitled” and quietly walked off the stage to a lighting design that read “Brand New 2000-2018” with an inverted cross covered in flowers. Now, there have been rumors of them implying a break-up in the near future, but I guess we will just have to wait and see. One thing is for sure, Brand New always keeps it interesting. I don’t even think I have to say it, but if you get the chance to catch Brand New before this potential “break-up”, 1000% take it, because they put on one of the best shows I’ve had the pleasure of seeing.