I’ve got a slight rant.On October 13, I decided to make the long journey to Portland, Oregon to see one of my favourite bands, Brand New.Sure, I’ve seen this band a thousand times. So I guess travelling to Portland to see them was also a bit excessive (considering they were in Seattle the day before…). Also, I’m not the biggest fan of their new album, Daisy, of which they are supporting. Like it’s not bad, just not their best work. But whatever.I’ve been a fan of this band since their 2003 sophomore album, Deja Entendu, and their 2006 record, The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me, is one of my all-time favourites. So I felt obliged to my former self to see them on this tour before they broke up. And after seeing this show, I am convinced that the break up of this band isn’t far off.Brand New was loud and played many of the songs I wanted, so I was generally content with their set. But in my opinion, their performance was lacklustre and front man Jesse Lacey seemed completely disinterested in the material. But what confirmed the inevitable demise of this band was how disconnected they were with the audience. And you know what, I don’t blame them. The crowd at this show was an awful dichotomy of hormonal teenagers and pretentious college students, all of whom appeared to not go to many shows. Which would explain their lack of show etiquette. For example, during a slow, gut-wrenching version of “The No Seat Belt Song” from their debut, Your Favorite Weapon, the crowd started to clap at double the tempo of the song. This provoked Lacey to forcefully demand the crowd to “please don’t clap”, making the remainder of the track incredibly awkward.Lacey’s frustration shows that Brand New isn’t detached from their fan base, but that their fan base is detached from Brand New. Their rabid (and I mean frothing-at-the-mouth, RABID) fan base is far too immersed in itself to understand this band, and it shows.As Brand New grows up and evolves, the group of people that grew up listening to them decidedly stay at the same mental age, blinding themselves of the personal growth that this band has undergone. Which must be exhausting for the band, considering how much more dense their material with each album.Save for their first two records, Brand New has certainly diverted the brunt of their lyrics from being angry or sad over girls. But these kids don’t see this. For them, the epic ship-wreck metaphor for love that is “Play Crack the Sky” doubles as a great way to impress the ladies on guitar. Also, ”Jesus Christ” is the perfect soundtrack to lose one’s virginity to; they just need to ignore the intense personal critique and bold religious imagery. I’m sure that was the intent when this group of 30 something-or-others wrote these songs, right?Of course, who am I to judge other people’s opinions? Mind you, who are they? I remember when The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me came out, I engaged in a forum discussing the new album. Despite my adoration, I mentioned that I thought the closing track; “Handcuffs” was a weak album closer. The response was harsh. I was the recipient of relentless criticism (most of which was ridiculously juvenile). I was flamed to no end, and ultimately, I was banned from the forum!I’ve never experienced a fan base quite like it. It would drive me crazy if I were the artist. But that’s what has bugged me over the last couple days. I know it’s insignificant and I’m over-analyzing it. It’s just interesting to watch these kids make icons of people who obviously don’t want to be icons. Jamie