Last week Monday, Mike and I went down to the Pound in S.F. to see Brandtson play. Brandtson's label, The Militia Group, included a sampler CD with the issue of Alternative Press that had Fall Out Boy on the cover. I checked that disc out, and really liked the Brandtson song "Escapist". So, I bought their new album, "Send us a Signal". Many listens later, I passed it on to Sara and Kevin, and apparently, I scored direct hits with both of them. Kevin found out that they were playing S.F., and even though he flaked out, Mike and I still went and had a good time.
This band is very tight, and put on a pretty great show. I wasn't bringing my A-game in terms of energy level that night, but I was still impressed by what I heard. This band is able to change tempos on a dime, and thus can shift from hard rock to more of a lo-fi style quite easily. It seems like they were trying to accentuate their harder stuff though, and while they did play a number of songs that I like, such as "Who Are You Now?", "Mercy Medical", and "Over And Out" -- they didn't play "Escapist"! Argh! That song is the whole reason that I even got into this band in the first place.
Now I'll just have to see them again, so I can see that song live.
-Andy.