Thursday, May 14, 2015

SURPRISE! You're Going to Pomona on a Wednesday!

Thrice (5/13/15 @ The Glass House, Pomona CA)

I'm a Thrice fan. I have been ever since I heard them on my friend Duffy's stereo back in high school. They remain one of those constant bands I can listen to a trillion times and not get sick of. Their first 3 albums are fucking gold. Then Vheissu came along, and it was different and weird, but far from terrible. But then they took that one step further by releasing a 4 disc concept record called The Alchemy Index, each disc representing a different element: Hard as fuck, Digital as fuck, Acoustic as fuck, and Soft Rock as fuck (Or Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Whatever). I still liked it, not the greatest, but not the worst. Then they put out 2 more increasingly mediocre records and called it quits.

3 years later and here they are playing shows again. Last time I saw Thrice was a decade ago. So obviously when Duffy asked if I wanted tickets to go see them in Pomona, I laced up my giant Osiris shoes, and jumped at the chance.

Normally the drive to Pomona isn't that bad. Today, it decided to be a fucking dick. When we got on the 57 north, it turned into an anarchist parking lot. Seriously, no one was moving. Cars were trying to drive sideways across the freeway, blocking lanes trying to cut off other vehicles that were also not moving. It was madness. Eventually, after driving about 3 miles in 1 hour, and fighting the stupidest drivers to merge down to one lane, we discovered why. Apparently a semi truck carrying a fork lift, had a tire blow out and it hit the center divide, throwing the fork lift over into the opposite lanes and taking out 6 or 7 vehicles, then smashed through into oncoming traffic and collided head on with a car (Sadly, I read, the driver of the car died). When we finally drove past the carnage, it looked like it was staged. Maybe a shitty publicity stunt for the new Mad Max movie, or like it was a set for the new Walking Dead spin off. It was nuts. But we eventually made it through and got to the Glasshouse with almost perfect timing (If you can call having all your pre-show drinking time eaten up "perfect").

What the fuck is this thing?

Pretty much when we got there Thrice started playing. The place was packed, a sold out crowd, and we were regulated to standing on the left side of the stage in the back. Now, don't get me wrong, Thrice is very very good live, but I think I have been spoiled with the normal bar shows I attend because there was just something off. I guess I'm just used to seeing pop punk bands that get drunk and have a good time. Thrice is the opposite of that. Very technical, very precise, with almost no crowd interaction (I think they stopped playing 3 times, once for the standard "How you doing Pomona?") They show up, play their songs, and that's about it. That's not to say they are bad live or anything. They actually kill it. Teppei is one of the best guitar players out there, Dustin sounded great, and Riley drummed. Ed was the only one moving around and bobbing to his bass the ENTIRE time. Then their was the set list. I don't know who decided it, but they played like 6 slow songs in a row which you can tell kind of took something out of the crowd. But as soon as they started playing The Artist in the Ambulance they came back alive. I even saw a crowd surfer! They also ended on another pretty slow song which was weird, but thankfully came back out for a 2 song encore (Can we please stop the stupid fucking encore? No one even chants or anything anymore, they kind of just stand there until they come back out) but then AGAIN ended on a fucking slow song (It's not that I don't like the slow songs, it's just, mix them up a little bit, maybe go out on a high note). Again, it's not that it was terrible (the opposite) it's just so not what I'm used to seeing anymore. 

Also, all Thrice fans are 6'2" or taller

All in all, it was an OK time. Keri bought me a beer (Thanks!) and they played Paper Tiger at least. I will give them credit for having one of the best shirts for sale, it just says on the front "Play Deadbolt." They know their fans. Oh, and we also hit more traffic on the way home because the Punk gods hate me and don't want me to go to sleep before 1am on school days.

Set list:
Firebreather (Alchemy Index: Fire)
Paper Tigers (The Artist in the Ambulance)
Stare at the Sun (The Artist in the Ambulance)
All That's Left (The Artist in the Ambulance)
The Weight (Beggars)
In Exile (Beggars)
Words on the Water (Major/Minor)
Blur (Major/Minor)
Daedalus (Alchemy Index: Air)
Red Sky (Vheissu)
Come All You Weary (Alchemy Index: Earth)
Promises (Major/Minor)
The Artist in the Ambulance (The Artist in the Ambulance)
Silhouette (The Artist in the Ambulance)
Deadbolt (The Illusion of Safety)
The Arsonist (Alchemy Index: Fire)
Anthology (Major/Minor)

The Earth Will Shake (Vheissu)
Beggars (Beggars)


Thanks Duffy!

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