As the third consecutive show in the city of Los Angeles (the prior two nights having quickly sold out in advance), you’d think that the kids might have been exhausted or apathetic. However, the attendance once again prevailed with the energy of an umpteenth level. After all, this should be expected, as this night is the final chance on this tour for the fans of Thrice’s home (the neighboring Orange County to the south) to show their allegiance and make Brand New ponder why they were the tour’s headliners.
After the reliably entertaining Mewithoutyou left the stage soaked in sweat, a banner acting as a flag was hung high behind the stage with the same arcane crop circle symbols that adorn the cover of Thrice’s latest release: The Alchemy Index Volumes One (Fire) and Two (Water). Soon the theatre plunged into darkness as the opening track “Firebreather” began its distinct cacophonous siren intro followed by the heavy hitting wall of sound that the four piece consisting of Dustin Kensrue (vocals, guitar), Teppei Teranishi (guitar), Eddie Breckenridge (bass guitar), and Riley Breckenridge (drums) faithfully instill into the cavities of their audience’s bodies, minds, and souls.
Contrary to the brethren of their genre, Thrice does not attire hoodies, shrunken black t-shirts, or torn skater shoes. Tailored in sharp jackets and designer jeans, the band carries a subtle essence of hip—that is, however, if you can manage to even see them. Blame it on a non-egoistical mindset or even potential stage fright, but Thrice does not like to be perpetually seen while performing. This can be concluded by their elaborative system of lights that turn stereotypical rock star stances into mere silhouettes. A set of mini-stadium lights even stood behind them as if to flash the audience like a bombing ground more than themselves. But the effect turns into an uncanny result that mimics the same mood as the songs they perform: mysterious, ardent, epic.
After the fan-favorite sing/clap along “Artist In The Ambulance,” Thrice rested their instruments (sans Riley) and took places behind keyboard/programming tools for “Digital Sea” from the mostly electronic EP Water. Watching Kensrue handle the mic minus guitar takes a moment to become comfortable with, but he handles the transition well. “Stare At The Sun” quickly lifted any heads that may have dozed off and the set continued to implement in rotation more songs from the band’s new digital direction. In order to keep the set unique from the previous two nights, Kensrue picked up an acoustic towards the end and performed the unreleased track “Come All You Weary” from the forthcoming Earth EP which takes a slight eerily resemblance to the songs from Kensrue’s folk rock solo album Please Come Home.
Even long after the lights turned on after the choreographed foot-stomping closer “The Earth Will Shake” and the crowd’s chants of “one more song” echoed throughout the theatre, it became apparent that the army audience of Thrice had staked their approving claim and declared victory.
For more information, visit www.alchemyindex.com or www.myspace.com/thrice
