Album Review :
Mini Thrice Show Review House of Blues 5-28-08

Well, I attended the Thrice show last night at House of Blues in Anaheim, CA. (Downtown Disney) and it was quite a show. I got there kinda late and we were hungry so we ate in the restraunt portion of the venue while Aushua and Pelican were playing. I didn’t hear either band so I apologize if I can’t comment on them. We finally finished up our meal and I entered the venue just before Circa Survive went on…..

Circa Survive went on and immediately I wanted to cover my ears. I was checking my watch all during their set. I mean I appreciate their musicianship but I’m not a fan of the vocals, sorry. I wanted to leave and come back but we decided to stay. Well CS finished up their set a good 30-45 minutes later and the crowd grew anxious for Thrice. When the Thrice “Alchemy Index” banner dropped behind the stage, the crowd was elated and cheered. It was only a banner but you could tell what this crowd was there for. The band finally took the stage after what seemed like endless minutes of set up time. This is where my review gets a little sketchy. I cant entirely remember what song they started with but it was one off of Alchemy Index. I believe it was “Firebreather”. Everyone cheered in unison as soon as they hit the last note of the song. It was nuts. It was also unbearably warm in the venue and my legs were beginning to hurt, yeah I’m a big baby and not used to “standing” so long in a venue. Anyway, the band immediately ripped into another Alchemy Index track next and I can’t remember which one. I do know they played Digital Sea, Come All You Weary, The Whaler, Open Water, and the Frodus cover. Before all this went down, the band informed us of one very important tidbit, the show was being taped for a future LIVE DVD! So that was pretty cool. When the band decided to tear into songs from the Artist in the Ambulance album, the crowd went nuts. Everyone seemed to know the words and were singing along. It was classic. I know they played Stare at the Sun, All That’s Left, The Melting Point of Wax and a few others that I can’t remember the names to. Sorry guys and gals, I’m terrible with memory retention. In a suprising move, someone from the crowd was chanting for them to play T&C (Identity Crisis) and Dustin kindly asked them to be patient and that they weren’t going to play it just yet (I think that’s what he said of course I could be dreaming he said that, I dont know, my hearing isn’t near what it used to be. They did play an Illusion of Safety track that I can’t remember which one off the top of my head but it was good, believe me. The crowd ate up the older material and you could have sworn from the energy of the room that they were playing brand new songs but they weren’t, this was classic Thrice in all their glory. Just as I was getting fired up about the older material, my wife was kindly asking me to leave so we could get some air. I was in agreement with her and felt I needed to get outside too. This is where the story sadly ends, once we got out from behind the ropes, that was it for the evening. I knew we weren’t coming back. I worked all day and was just too tired to stand there and listen to 1 1/2 hours of Thrice, even though I regrettably wish I had. I have a feeling and I’ll have to check some sources later today but I think they WERE going to play Identity Crisis songs, maybe one or two. I am sure they played another Illusion of Safety track as well. Bummer for me. The point is this. I have grown accustomed to “sitting” in venues and going to shows where I can comfortably enjoy myself from the safety of the seat rather than standing in a hot venue for hours on end. Call it lazy or call it age, I dont know which it is but I’ve grown tired of going to shows. I loved Thrice however. One of my favorite bands and the fact that they played classic songs further cemented my love for them, my attraction to their music. After tonight (last night), I have decided to retire myself from going to any more stand up venues for a while, especially on a work night, I just don’t have the energy for it. ha ha. I know I’m not THAT old but sometimes I feel age creeping up behind me. I have gone to shows steadily since I was 15 and my hearing isn’t what it used to be. That’s 15 years of live and loud shows!! I’ve had my fix and I really don’t desire to go to that many shows much anymore. I enjoy listening to cds from the comfort of my Ipod in the car stereo on the drive to work each day, so much that there really isn’t a point in seeing a live band. Gasp! Yikes! Wowzers. ROFL. Since Anberlin is one of my favorite live bands, I think I’ll wait till they play our area again before I go to my next show. However Jimmy Eat World and Coldplay sound incredibly enticing to me. Maybe I am just full of crap and I’ll hit another show up in 4 months, who knows. I just feel that the allure of the LIVE show is growing increasingly dim for me.

All in all, Thrice put on one of the best live shows I’ve seen in recent years and I couldn’t recommend a better band for people to check out. They are tight and in precise tune with one another, a better band would be hard to find. They mix the perfect balance of hard, heavy, and soft rock to complete the ideal sound for any music listener. Will I see Thrice again? Well I’d love to, if only they’ll play a bigger venue with lots of seating. Lol.

***Thrice appeared live at the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA. on May 28th, 2008 and I, Brandon Jones, was in attendance with my wife of 10 years, Charis.***

This review was written by Brandon Jones.