On Tuesday night, hundreds of Thrice fans lucky enough to score tickets converged upon the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA. (The show reportedly sold out in 45 seconds) I was late to the evening but made it just minutes prior to start of the set. We were packed in the main music hall of the venue. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen signs on the doors of the main room stating that it was “subject to capacity”. I found later that a friend of mine was unable to come downstairs due to the room overflowing with people. We were all sweaty, uncomfortable and absolutely eager. Flannel was a bad choice.
The house lights turned down and the four members of Thrice took the stage for the first time in three years. The set started with the haunting “The Earth Will Shake” and right into The Alchemy Index’s “The Arsonist”. My professional wrestling loving heart swelled as the crowd chanted “THAT WAS AWESOME!” *clap clap clap-clap-clap*. A chant often heard around the squared-circle. (More of these would come)
Thrice then went into an Artist In The Ambulance three-peat with “Paper Tigers”, “Stare At The Sun” and a rare performance of “All That’s Left”. The delighted and raucous crowd showed their appreciation with a lively “WELCOME BACK! WELCOME BACK!” chant. Dustin responded by thanking everyone for coming to the first “warm up show” and that they “need it”. Trust me; this band needs no warming up.
The band took a mellow direction and brought in cuts from Beggars, Vheissu and one of my personal favorites off their last studio release, Major/Minor, “Promises”. The usual cries for “Deadbolt!” rang out and Kensrue jokingly responded, “We can only play the songs that we practiced.”
As the set wound down, the energy seemed to take a dip with “Daedalus” and “Circles”. That was quickly remedied with another back to back AITA punch with Artist’s title track and “Silhouette”. Then came the time for what the crowd had been begging for in “Deadbolt”. Metal fingers raised in the air swiftly as the Thrice faithful lost their collective minds. Thrice closed out the set with “Firebreather” and left the fans stunned in delight as they chanted “YOU STILL GOT IT!”
The wait was brief as Dustin (vox/guitar), Teppei (guitar), Riley (drums) and Eddie (bass/vox) came back to the stage and started their two-song encore with the song they closed with three years ago, “Anthology”, and closed the night out with “Beggars.”
The band sounded incredible all night. There was one slight lyric flub by my count, but Dustin recovered immediately. Basically, Thrice did not disappoint. Any set you get from these guys, if you’re a fan; you’re going to be very happy about. And how can you not admire a band that takes a loving jab at their fans by printing shirts that simply say “PLAY DEADBOLT”?
Set List:
The Earth Will Shake
The Arsonist
Paper Tigers
Stare At The Sun
All That’s Left
The Weight
In Exile
Of Dust And Nations
Come All You Weary
Promises
Daedalus
Cataracts
Circles
Artist In The Ambulance
Silhouette
Deadbolt
Firebreather
Encore:
Anthology
Beggars