Brand X

I went and saw Brand X play last night, and man what a show! The level of musicianship was incredible - I went with members of my band, and every one of us was in awe of the Brand X member playing our respective instrument.

Honestly, I wasn't a fan of the venue--The Rose in Pasadena, CA. The service was subpar and everything was incredibly expensive. That isn't really a huge issue for me though, as I came primarily to watch the band.

A band called Pet Shark opened for them, playing some mid-tempo metal that was kind of boring and uninspired. No worries though, it only served to build my group's excitement for the real deal. 

I myself am a drummer, and watching Kenny Grohowski was amazing and just a little bit discouraging; he moves throughout the kit with such fluidity and confidence that I was just blown away. My band's bassist couldn't get over the fact that Percy Jones used a fretless 5-string, and was talking about it the rest of the night. Our guitarist loved John Goodsall's style, and though our keyboardist couldn't make it, we all could appreciate Robin Lumley's stellar improvisation across the keys.

What took my bandmates and I aback the most, though, was the sheer coordination between all members of the band. On songs like "Nuclear Burn", it seemed like they could turn the intensity up to 11, then stop on a dime immediately afterwards. Needless to say, we were all impressed.

Overall, I would highly recommend this show if you can make it. It's relatively cheap (tickets were $20-$40 depending on where you sit), and they have a great sense of humor that comes through in their music and their performance. This review is from the point of view of a 17 year old, so I don't have any of the predispositions towards the band or a certain lineup like some may have, so take my words with a grain of salt. If Brand X makes their way into your town, I would strongly suggest you go check them out.