Ok, so I headed up to Chicago last night to see Brandtson open for The Rocket Summer at the Park West.  I hadn't been to the Park West in about 10 years, so it was nice to be back.  Great venue and the sound was killer all night.  But that's not what this is about.

There has already been a BUNCH of talk about Brandtson's 'new sound'.  The general consensus has been everything from accusations of them riding a fad, to it being likeable, to just downright danceable.  There's also been alot of talk about the band not staying true to their roots (whatever that means), and that they are only trying to cash in on the latest MTV trends in music that seem to prevail.  I too was a bit skeptical, honestly, when I heard the new direction of the album.  Blanket judgments have been tossed around based on 30 second sound bites on vh1.com, which I don't really get, since it's all but impossible to get a REAL idea of what a song sounds like in a 30 second clip, but I digress.  Even Myk Porter himself said those clips sounded terrible.  So take those with a grain of salt.

So last night I met up with the guys to check out their set while they tour with The Rocket Summer.  Playing second, they were only allowed a 25 minute set, but they made the most of it.  I pretty much knew coming in that the majority of their set was going to consist of material from the new album, and I was correct.  The band ripped through 4-5 of the new tracks, including the songs currently being featured on their myspace page, like "Earthquakes & Sharks", and "Here We Go".  They opened with the cd's opening track, "A Thousand Years", a slow, low key song that led perfectly live, as well as on the cd, into "Nobody Dances Anymore".  Inbetween new songs, they also threw in "The Escapist" and "Mexico" from "Send Us a Signal".  The band has always, in my opinion, had good energy live.  Their energy is even higher now and more animated as well, which compliments the new material well.

Another big change that fans are getting their first glimpse of is the addition of new bassist Adam Boose.  John Sayre enjoyed a long tenure with Brandtson, and admittedly, it was hard to imagine Brandtson without John in the lineup.  The direction the band has taken compliments the addition of Adam perfectly, however.  Manning not only his bass, but also keys, programming via his Mac, and additional vocals, Adam is a busy guy on stage, but still finds time to rock the songs out while juggling duties.  Adam is definitely the perfect fit for the new direction Brandtson has taken.

Here's the bottom line about the 'new' Brandtson everyone seems so mixed on....give them a chance.  If you haven't liked them for the last few years, chances are you won't start now.  If you liked them with the release of "Send Us a Signal", then this is something of a natural progression for them.  But if you think they've departed from their indie roots and traded in their sound for the latest Franz Ferdinand wave, you're wrong.  I would compare it to the change U2 made some years ago with the transition years between “The Joshua Tree” and “Pop”.  Many fans now find the latter as one of their favorite U2 albums.  Brandtson live is still Brandtson.  Do they use keys and programming now?  Yeah, so what.  All the indie elitists who are crying about it now will be all about it in a year when it's the latest indie craze.  Go to their live show, or listen to their new cd with an open mind, and you won't be disappointed.