The Bravery @ Crash Mansion (Grand Opening) 2/2/08

The official grand opening of (and my first time at) Crash Mansion L.A. was not bad. Parking costs $10, and is conveniently located right next to the venue. There are three door guys: one at the outside entrance checks IDs, then wraps a band slightly too tight on your wrist if you’re 21 or over (this happens to be an 18 plus venue); the second door guy is located right at the bottom of some steps and checks yo’ bags. Finally after climbing some stairs, you arrive at the top and there he is: the last guy…checks your passes, tickets or whatever and in you are. Oh I totally feel like I have been here before, but I don’t think so. Crash got the location of the bar right…once you’ve dodged all the door guys, you’ll be greeted by a pretty bartender and drinks galore. The bartenders were attentive so I got my jack and coke in seconds— that’s a plus, so after wetting my palette I ventured into the abyss of fellow drinkers and such.

London indie rock band Switches was getting the crowd uber happy as I walked to the front side of the stage…they had a really fun poppy sound that all the kids at the front seemed to dig. But what really got this crowd jumping around was “Lay down the Law”. Lead singer of Switches gave one thirsty fan his budweiser; kid guzzled it down like a pro.

45 minutes later The Bravery hit the stage…they made an announcement right before the third song of their set. Lead singer Sam confessed their new album was complete and would be all the same songs from original album “The Sun” but a completely different album titled “The Moon” redone by the band. A March release date is expected to be announced soon. Take it away, wikipedia:

In January 2008, the band announced the new release of “ The Sun and The Moon Complete,” a two disc set featuring “The Sun” (the original Brendan O’Brien Produced 12 songs) and “The Moon” (the same exact 12 songs, in the same order, but re-imagined and re-worked by the band.) In an Island Records Press Release, Endicott states, “This is ‘The Moon’ side of ‘The Sun and the Moon,’ all the same songs but a completely different album. ‘The Sun’ is us experimenting in the studio; ‘The Moon’ is us back on our home turf.”

The Sun and The Moon Complete is scheduled to be released in March of 2008. A new album cover and packaging will accompany the 2 disk set