20 April 2008

Thrice/Circa Survive/Pelican @ The Marquee 4/19/2008

Pelican was my second favorite of the night by a large margin. It's funny but I always think these Post-Rock/Metal groups are always going to be boring live and every time they blow me away. Unlike when I saw Mono, the crowd never really got into these guys, but they really were great. Like all of these sorts of bands, it took me about 5 minutes to really get into it with them, but once I was there, the whole journey was amazing. Also did a good job of moving around and getting into the music which the crowd never ended up feeding off of unfortunately. Also really friendly folks, ended up manning their own merch booth after the show and they were quite nice and enthusiastic about what they do. Every time I go see a Post-Rock/Metal band I think I should go to a sitting venue but every time I am so mistaken. These bands are amazing live.

Circa Survive was maybe on par with the last time I saw them. The music is good, and the crowd energy level was high when they came on, the crowd was jumping just seconds into their set, but they failed to harness that energy. By the end of the first song, the crowd was more subdued and just sort of nodding along. I don't know what it is, because the music is fine, but the extra hidden factor just isn't there for these guys. It's a shame because they had such a solid base to build on that i thought they would be really great.

Thrice was amazing as usual. Still nothing from Identity Crisis but a few from Illusion of Safety including Trust which was a new one for me. A lot of focus on newer songs of course, which was cool and not cool at the same time. The newest album came out Tuesday but I had not yet heard it so there were a handful of song I was completely unfamiliar with. Add to that the drunk next to me who couldn't stop ruining the show for everyone around him and we have so strong negatives. But all the same I think this was the best show of theirs I have been to. It might have just been my long hiatus from going to shows, but I really felt...cathartic...going to this show. I screamed my heart out along with the band, moved my head until my neck was stiff as a board, and through it all thoroughly enjoyed the whole show. Objectively, their set up is getting better everytime though. The whole experience continues to improve music remains amazing as ever, with some extended endings even on a few songs.

4 comments:

becktronbexbecky said...

Does anyone just like Thrice? I think that either people are obsessed with them or are totally apathetic. At least that's the case with people I know.

Owen Marshall said...

More importantly, does anyone HATE Thrice? FLAME WAR!

becktronbexbecky said...

Hahah, I don't know if anyone hates them either. How can a band totally lack polarization?

Vince said...

Hating Thrice is impossible because Thrice transcends music tastes, duh guys.