We think you should get in your fans’ pants. Thanks to our friends at Sonic Promos you can do just that, safely. Although if you’re looking to get into your fans’ pants through their phone, learn how to make iPhone apps at MobBase.com!
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On September 10th I went and saw Brand New perform at the Regency Grand Ballroom in San Francisco. This was an evening of firsts – it was the first time Brand New had been in San Francisco since 2009, the first time they had toured in a year, and my first time seeing them live.
Walking into the room, we all knew we were there for the same reason – the music we loved and an experience we would never forget. Each fan expected something different – for those seeing the band for the first time, they had no idea what to expect but knew it would be something they would remember; for those seeing Brand New for their fourth or fifth time, they knew the energy the band would bring but waited in anticipation for the songs the band would showcase. Everyone went straight to the front of the ballroom as soon as the doors opened, squishing up towards the barricade as close as they could in hopes that they would be able to catch something at the end of the show.
The show began and Robbers stepped onto the stage. They brought an easy indie vibe to the crowd that encouraged some bobbing heads and slow movement. After they closed their set, Sainthood Reps took the stage and brought a faster alternative vibe to the crowd causing them to jump and begin to push up closer to the stage. As I listened to both of these bands for the first time, I could tell that they were inspired by Brand New in some sort of way and pulled two different aspects from their music. Robbers was pulling from their slower, more melodic songs like “Jesus Christ” and “The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot.” Sainthood Reps were getting their inspiration from songs like “Seventy Times Seven” and “Vices.” With both of these bands opening, they exposed the audience to different musical aspects that Brand New would tie together as soon as they took the stage.
It was at 10 o’clock that Brand New finally ascended the stage, opening with “Sowing Season (Yeah).” The crowd surged and went insane as soon as the first “Yeah!” was sung; while there was no mosh pit, the amount of movement occurring throughout the crowd never stopped. Halfway through their set they played “Jude Law and a Semester Abroad“, off of their first album Your Favorite Weapon, followed by “Seventy Time Seven”, a fan-favorite and my favorite song by them. The crowd went supremely crazy during these two songs because they are very fast paced and come from their early days.
Brand New continued to intertwine songs from different albums and made their encore “At the Bottom,” “Jesus Christ”, and “Soco Amaretto Lime. The last song was played just by Jesse Lacey, the lead singer, as the rest of the band members walked off stage. All the fans were singing and many had tears in their eyes due to the lyrics that Jesse changed from “you’re just jealous cause we’re young and in love,” to “I’m just jealous cause you’re young and in love.” The tears also stemmed from not knowing when Brand New would be back and playing shows, or when they would release their next album.
This was one of the best concerts I have ever been to hands down. While Brand New did not talk a lot in between their songs, make jokes with the crowd or involve them too much with the live show, they delivered a set list and performance that they knew their fans wanted to see. The unique thing about Brand New fans is that they don’t just know “the popular songs” or the newest album, but they love each album and know the majority or all of the songs they played. Simply put, they’re dedicated – I met people who had seen them the night before in Chico and drove down to San Francisco to see them again, and one person who drove sixteen hours to see the band. This made for the entire crowd singing each song, sometimes even louder than the microphone was.
While no one knows when the next Brand New album will come out, or how much longer they will be around, the performances they give are not going downhill or lacking in any aspect. The next time they come around I know I will be there no matter how much tickets are or how far I have to drive.
This past Saturday night, I went and watched Matt & Kim perform at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California. While being a band with only a keyboardist and drummer, they are known for their upbeat music and energetic crowds. I walked into the show with high expectations, as it was my second time seeing them (I had seen their amazing performance at Live 105‘s BFD in 2010), and I expected this show to be better than the last because it was not in an outdoor venue with a short amount of time to play. Simply put, they delivered one of the most energetic performances I have ever seen and exceeded the expectations I had.
As the lights went down, after The Thermals delivered a fantastic opening, I could feel the energy radiating from the crowd. The keyboard and drums were set up on a small raised platform on the stage, illuminated by the stage lights. Matt and Kim ascended the stage and took their places, Kim at the drums and Matt at the keys, and dove into “Block After Block”, their newest single off their album Sidewalks. This immediately pumped up the crowd and got everyone jumping, pushing, and singing every word at the top of their lungs.
As they continued their show, they connected with the audience and encouraged everyone to get involved, even the balcony. Instead of just asking everyone to sing along and jump up and down like the typical band, they threw out deflated balloons and told us all to blow them up. I enthusiastically grabbed one of the balloons and began to inflate it. Matt then told us to hold onto them until he said “One, two, one, two, three, four!,” which meant to the crowd that we would be dancing to their song “Yea Yeah.”
As soon as the song started, the balloons went flying around and the crowd was going crazy – the balloons continued to get tossed around throughout the rest of their set and I never saw one touch the ground. Their crowd interaction did not end there, as Kim would look at people in the audience and point or smile at them – I was lucky enough to get about a minute of her eye-contact and it genuinely made the show better. She would also step away from her drums and run out to the crowd and grab the hands of fans and even hand out her drumsticks. Matt would do the same when he could and would reach out to the crowd and encourage them to sing the words instead of him. The entire show was filled with amazing energy from the both of them – the jumping never stopped and the singing continued long after the show within my ears.
They ended their set with their most popular song “Daylight”, and when the crowd commanded them to perform an encore, they did something I had never seen before. Instead of just performing another song, they did a mash-up of all the hooks within all of their songs including: “Daylight,” “Cameras”, “Yea Yeah”, and “Lightspeed”.
Matt and Kim completely blew me away. Instead of being the same band I saw with the same great live performance, they got better. They reminisced on their last time in the Bay Area (at BFD), where Kim did her infamous “booty dance” for the first time, and after announcing this, she recreated it for us. They also reflected back on their first show in Oakland, where they played to a cafe filled with six people, and the show got shut down because they were not the “acoustic” band that the manager had thought.
While being just two people, Matt and Kim deliver one of the most energetic and genuinely fun performances I have ever seen. With the show that I experienced on Saturday night, I know that Matt and Kim love what they do and could tell that they see themselves performing and creating music for a very long time.
Looking for a bad ass remix contest to get into? MixMatchMusic has teamed up with URB and Camp Bisco to bring you the Camp Bisco X Remix Contest! The 10th annual Camp Bisco in Mariaville, New York is just around the corner, and we’re featuring three different artists and songs to remix including “O.N.E” by Yeasayer, “Feeling Twisted” by the Disco Biscuits, and “Gimme Music” by DJ Nickodemus. One finalist for each song gets 2 weekend passes to the festival. Among those finalists, one grand-prize winner will be awarded a DJ set at this year’s Camp Bisco!
The songs
“O.N.E.” by Yeasayer
“Gimme the Music” by Nickodemus feat The Real Live Show
“Feeling Twisted” by The Disco Biscuits
How to participate?
1) Choose a song to remix and go to that song’s remix widget.
2) Download the song stems, its free and easy!
3) Create your remix using the stems and any additional music that either you have created or have a creative commons license for. You can also make your mix online by clicking on the MixMaker button of the widget.
4) Upload an MP3 of your remix via the same widget you used to download the stems. Enter as many Camp Bisco remixes as you like!
5) Share the track with your friends and ask them to comment and rate your mix and share it with their friends on Twitter, Facebook, their blogs, etc.
6) Once you’ve finished and uploaded your remix, judges from Camp Bisco and URB.com will select a winner for each track and one grand-prize winner!
7) Contest ends June 10, 2011.
Grand prize!
The winning remix of each track will receive two tickets to the festival. Each of those winners will go on to compete for the grand prize. One grand prize winner will receive 2 passes to the festival with Artist credentials, a custom MobBase Android app (with lifetime subscription) and support on how to create mobile apps, $250 for travel expenses, and the chance of a lifetime — a DJ set in front of thousands of festival goers at Camp Bisco 10!
About Camp Bisco X
Camp Bisco is an outdoor music festival held near Albany, NY. It starts on July 7th and features 3 days and 3 nights of music on 5 stages, including 2 side-by-side main stages, two afternoon and late night dance tents featuring top international Dance acts, a silent disco and an up & coming stage. Artists include the Disco Biscuits, Cut Copy, Wiz Khalifa, Bassnectar, Pretty Lights, Shpongle Live, Ratatat, Death from Above 1979, MSTRKRFT, Ghostland Observatory, James Murphy and Pat Mahoney (DFA/LCD Soundsystem-DJ Set), Yeasayer, Neon Indian, Four Tet, Break Science w/ RJD2, Holy Ghost! (dj set), Easy Star All Stars, Beats Antique, Das Racist, Treasure Fingers, Nickodemus, Mr. Lif and many more!
To start remixing, visit the Camp Disco Remix Contest page on URB today!
We’re excited to announce that MobBase, the fast and easy way for musicians to make mobile apps, has partnered with Guitar Center to create apps for Guitar Center employees through their GAIN Program. Thousands of Guitar Center employees are musicians themselves and through this partnership, they will be able to easily build their own iPhone and Android apps at a vastly discounted price. If you’re a member of GAIN, be sure to check this out.
The GAIN Program was launched in March 2007 to help Guitar Center team members achieve their musical aspirations. At the heart of GAIN is an extensive private social network where Guitar Center employees can post music, pictures, blogs and online discussions, in order to share with and learn from each other. In addition, GAIN presents a number of other benefits, deals, offers and opportunities to its participants, including partnerships with a number of vendors, services and institutions. The GAIN program continues to build relationships with companies, organizations and individuals who can provide exposure, insight, tools and opportunity to the musicians who work for Guitar Center, Inc.
Check out the poster we created for the campaign – it will be going up in every Guitar Center location in the US!
