Thenewno2 with Black Rebel Motorcyle Club

Before this concert I actually had no idea who Black Rebel Motorcycle Club was, embarrassing as that is. However, I decided to make the trek over to Kool Haus on a Thursday evening for the opening act instead; L.A. based group thenewno2 (pronounced: the new number two.) They have been one of my favourite bands since middle school when I happened across the music video for their first single, Choose What You Want, and they have been an integral part of shaping my music tastes introducing me to both more alternative and electronic sounds than the classic rock rut I was stuck in.
It was a great experience getting to see this talented band live! The lineup has grown considerably since I first heard of the band, which originally started off as a duo. Even so, the growth of the band has also allowed for their sound to expand, providing much more depth and dimension. They have a great variety in the tone and styles of their songs, that expands with each release. All the songs on their latest album, thefearofmissingout, are ingenious. There is a lovely assortment of songs on the CD, upbeat and slow, acoustic and electronic, and even a bit of rapping. This is an album that is definitely worth every cent!
Thenewno2 also put on a fantastic show, playing a mix of songs spanning their repertoire. Their sound was great! Definitely the best quality I have heard before at Kool Haus, which is not my favourite venue for sound quality, though not the worst in the city either. Either way, thenewno2 sounded crystal clear and even better than on their recordings. There was not much of a show to thenewno2's performance, but they still had a strong stage presence.
After probably the best opening act I have ever seen (definitely some bias towards this being that I attended the show for them. Oh well!) came the headlining act, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. I did not find anything particularly exciting about their performance, especially after thenewno2. They were not horrible at all, and had a nice enough sound, but they were rather bland, being similar to so many other bands out there both in sound and in showmanship; though they were certainly not the worst band that I have seen. I will give them credit for that!
All in all, the highlight of the night was definitely the very beginning with getting to see my long time favourites, thenewno2. This was definitely a great show to start off my summer with, and a night to remember.