"Braid Reunion Tour 2004" at the Trocadero
Fortunately we were able to buy tickets at the box office, I was a bit worried about missing out.
The first band to play was Orange Island. There was really nothing special going about them. Honestly, I couldn't really link a genre to them if I tried, but there truly wasn't anything exceptional about the music they played. Oh sure the lead singer had a nice voice (albeit, not the greatest attitude), but I just couldn't really get into it. Whether it was the bands that they were matched up against or that they just really were a bit crumby, I really couldn't tell you.
The crowd was caught up in its enthusiasm over the next groups to take the stage. I think they were probably tired of listening to the predictable shit they were being put through. It didn't help that the lead singer was overly arrogant and had this image of him and his band being great or something. He definitely liked to diss the crowd when they were just over eager to see the bands they had come for.

I must admit, I went to "the Braid Reunion Tour" only to see Murder by Death. I had never before had the priviledge to experience such an amazing live performance. I could only guess at how good it would be, and if my expectations were great, they were far more than satiated by the time it was over.
I swear, Murder by Death is by far the craziest collection of individuals, come together, I have ever seen. Just to give a hint of the surprise I was experiencing I'll give a little description of each member of the band: the lead singer (a long-haired type, he exhibited some type of drawn accent that I would've thought belonged to a cowboy. I had expected more of an indie rock type figure, but then again listen to his voice.), the cellist (a hell of a lot more beautiful than the expected cellist behind the amazing instrumentals dispersed throughout MBD's anthems. She looked somewhat like Drew Barrymore. She had an amazing stage presence, not just because of her beauty, but also because she went crazy on that electric cello like nothing I'd seen before, shaking her hips and taking her body all over the chair with the rhythm.), the keyboardist (seemed like the type of guy you'd find on a real piano, playing a peice by mozart rather than on the keyboard tearing it up. He even held his fingers in the correct posture, it was really cool. Also he'd probably fit perfectly with his nose in a book rather than on the road on tour with a band. What was strange was that he looked like he was my age.), the bassist (kind of a stocky, jock/preppy looking fellow.), the drummer (looked about 10 years older than everyone else in the band. He beat the shit out of those drums, but I still couldn't get over the fact of how old he looked).
Of course Murder by Death's actual performance was sick, too. There's just nothing like it, that I can remember hearing. You find yourself wondering if you've popped in the wrong CD and you're listening to an orchestra rather than a modern band (because of course, modern bands have no musical value...well here's the exception). The singer has a disparate tone to his voice that seems like it should stick out, but oddly, after you get used to it, it fits without fault. Before I could restrain myself from drifting into the subconscious, I had been put into a trance by the ambient music. The band played a fair mix of their two albums and I found myself balanced between the soft instrumental filled first album, and the celerity of the second, more acrimonious of the two. I had never expected that the long lengthed instrumentals -- that are intros to various songs -- would be played to their full extent. It was numbing to have the sound completely ambush my eardrums with its excellence. Thats the word; they were excellent.

Next band to play was a somewhat experimentalist, but still smooth and legato band called, Minus the Bear. The first thing I noticed when they took the stage was that they had set up a stand for not only a keyboard, but also a IBook that I assumed contained different beats to play. I had thought they would be a band with harder rhythms, but actually they were very soft. It was definitely relaxing. They reminded me of Cursive for the briefest of moments. The lead singers voice kind of struck a chord inside my head that rang, Tim Kasher. That was only for a few seconds though, now I don't know what I was thinking.
Instead they, of course had a dance beat in the background (hence the IBook/keyboard for beats). Also their lead singer had a high range and sang out. I yelled "Argh!" up to him, but with no response; evidently bands might enjoy when the crowd yells "Argh!" (a song name of theirs), but they don't necessarily respond. The back-up vocals provided some significant harmonies that helped to make the sound more moving. They were kind of jazzy too, I think. Very smooth. This was my first time listening to them so I know I really haven't done justice to their sound. They were pretty good, and they had a unique sound. Give them a listen, definitely.

Well these bands were all playing to promote the reunion of Braid (click that or their tour website). Before seeing them, I had only listened too a couple of their songs, but I never truly paid much attention them. It's too bad I hadn't solicited them earlier in my life, their prepossessing sound was little in comparison to their words. I had always assumed they were similar to the band Sunny Day Real Estate, just because they were from the same era. Boy, was I wrong! Sure there are a couple similarities that coincide with the era of music, but there are far more differences.
For instance, they are a bit harder, they even scream a lot of their lyrics. Instead of being slow and smooth, even their guitar is a rapid succession of chords and the drums beat pretty hard. Overall its a smooth roughness (if that makes sense). I really enjoyed the combination of vocals that voiced in depth conversations back and forth. Each voice touched some crazy rhythms and notes to match the whole mystique of the song. The songs they played were truly heartfelt. You could tell at some point in their lives these songs had been everything they had been feeling inside. One big thing, I noticed though, was that instead of their lyrics being full of melancholy; instead they were upbeat. I mean you could smile while you listened to them. The whole entirety of their sound was happy and lacked the somber tunes that so many bands are spitting out these days.
It was a real enjoyment to see this band that I had thought was before my time, and too far gone to ever see perform. I mean I missed them the first time 'round, I'm glad I was fortunate enough to see them before the real disbandment. It's really fortunate for all the real fans that the band didn't risk their friendships on the band, in the past. Who knows how many more tours they'll go on. Hell, I really like their music now (I wouldn't mind seeing them again). Now I defintely have some more CDs that I need to pick up. (Mental note: add Braid to the list.)