Live Review: Thrice Farewell Tour, Howard Theatre (5/23/12)

Most bands would kill for the 14 year career that Thrice may be finishing. From being signed to a label after their first record, and going to a major label after their second, to having songs on video games, to touring around the world with fantastic bands such as Dashboard Confessional, Hot Water Music, Brand New, Circa Survive and mewithoutYou, one may say that Thrice has done it all. Now (technically) eight full length albums into their career, the band is deciding to hang it up. While fans are still hopeful that there may be more Thrice in our future, they still experienced Thrice's farewell tour as if it was their last. Amongst the crowd surfing, stage diving, mosh pits, and endless singalongs, Thrice put together a massive 24 song set that took from all eras of the band's career, highlighting the peaks of every diverse sound they decided to take on.

The Daily Blair: The "Get Laid" Playlist Theory

I know you. All you want out of your day is to get your school work done, you want to watch your favorite sports team or TV show, you want to have a brew with a few of your bros, you want to read Eli Kleman's thoughts on some awesome new album, and you want the company of a handsome lady. You feel like you should be able to accomplish all of this in one day but you always seem to strike out when it comes to scoring that mermaid. Let me help you.

The problem you are having is that you like music by artist that are not Gaga, artist who are neither slim nor shady, artist who refuse to kiss you through the phone, and artist who actually have some sort of musical talent. Once the female hears that you like music that is not on "Shit Songs 107.1" she immediately considers you to be a weird person who she could not carry on a romantic relationship with. She needs a man who makes 250K a year not a man who has 250,000 different versions of "Reckoner." Once you admit that you are not a radio robot, all hope seems to be lost.

Eli's First Annual Year End Album Tournament

Welcome, welcome, to Eli’s first annual “Year End Tournament.” Here I indulge in egregious amounts of pretentious tomfoolery, all in attempt to wrap up my final thoughts on music in 2011.

Album Review: Thrice - Major/Minor

It's almost preposterous how good Thrice continue to be. Really, it's just ludicrous that after eight albums, Thrice are still at the top of their game, churning out record after record, song after song, with the same energy and fervor as when they were younger. Starting with their sophomore effort, The Illusion of Safety, Thrice have gone from a passionate, energetic post-hardcore outfit, to a more thoughtful alt-rock group whose material is both experimental and comfortingly familiar. Regardless of what sound the band employs, the result is almost always incredible. This is also the case with the band's most recent album, Major/Minor,a record which sees the band exploiting everything from their past, whilst making something amazingly fresh and exhilarating.

Thrice Announce New Album

It's tough to wander around the internet music scene and not stumble upon Thrice at least once. Thrice are often claimed by many genres: post-hardcore, alternative-rock, progressive, and even Christian rock, so it's easy to see why one would find them literally everywhere. Drawing influences from a number of these sounds, the band have crafted a sound all their own, playing a solid and experimental amalgamation of various styles. Always an act to push the envelope, Thrice consistently add album upon album to their wonderfully diverse and impressive catalog.

The band have recently announced a follow up to their wildly successful 2009 effort, Beggars, entitled Major/Minor. Dustin Kensrue states:

“It’s definitely the most natural progression from record to record that we’ve had in a while. We did The Alchemy Index, which was totally different [from Vheissu]. Then Beggars was kind of the reaction against that. This kind of makes sense coming out of Beggars, but it’s definitely a different record,”

Major/Minor, the band's seventh album, is due to be released September 20th through Vagrant Records. Studio updates and information can be found here.