Stepping out onto the sidewalk from the taxi, I was met with a wall of stars: A Tribe Called Quest. Limp Bizkit. Husker Dü (Mac royalty!). First Avenue is a truly sacred venue. Finally, after waiting four long months, I was going to see Thursday, Rival Schools and Many Eyes all within the same night. After a solid half hour of leaning against the wall of fame and wondering how many apples tall the Target Center may be, I was eventually let into the venue — of course, not without under-21 black marker X’s on both hands — and it looked how you may expect: moody. It was actually pretty well-lit, and I certainly felt safe, but everything was painted black, like an angsty teenager’s bedroom. Did it help with acoustics? Or was it to keep the bands from getting stage fright, because they wouldn’t be able to tell how big the room really was? Maybe they were covering up years of damage; after all, bringing the best of what the music world has to offer to the Twin Cities for decades had probably worn the place down as the years drew on.
Once I scouted out the best merch, I spent another half hour or so chewing on some ice from the complementary water. I forgot that concert water could be free. Eventually, a wall of sound let me know that Many Eyes had started their set. I had no earthly idea who they were up until that point, but they rocked so hard that I was sent scrambling for earbuds the moment their set ended to save what little hearing I had left after their set. Were they any good? I couldn’t really tell you. Were they a good time? Absolutely.
Next was Rival Schools, a classic post-hardcore band hailing from New York, New York. As much as I have always adored the headlining act, Rival Schools were truly who I was most excited about. They’re a band that usually only lives in the pipe dreams of cagey RateYourMusic.com forum users arguing over the true unsung heroes of the Northeastern Seaboard post-hardcore scene (to the uninitiated, RateYourMusic. com is like Letterboxd for music. It has a discussion forum, but it’s notoriously elitist). To see them live, in any capacity, is a treat. Their greatest value as a band, in my eyes, comes from deep cuts like “Small Doses” that simply will never see the light of day as long as they remain an opening act. Hearing their iconic “Used for Glue” and “High Acetate” live, though, was still worthwhile, even if vocalist Walter Schreifels’s screams began to wear as the set went on. Overall, I was a little disappointed in their lack of energy, though I also had to keep in mind that they could never match the raw intensity of a hungry opening band like Many Eyes.
Finally, hailing from New Brunswick, New Jersey, was Thursday, a post-hardcore band that has found well-deserved acclaim within their niche but never received their mainstream flowers (in my opinion, due to their ungoogleable name). I hope my words find the proper emphasis when I say that vocalist Geoff Rickly displayed truly remarkable skill and stamina in this concert. His stage presence was phenomenal.
This tour, Thursday has opted to perform the entire “War All the Time” album in honor of its 20th anniversary since its release as their third studio album. With its live highlights being the forever magnificent “Division St.,” and a stripped-down rendition of “This Song Brought To You By a Falling Bomb,” Rickly’s vocals managed to sound studio-perfect 20 years removed from the project’s initial release. He did all this while completely owning the stage with energized flailing to accentuate each lyric. After acknowledging the Minneapolis audience’s supremacy over the previous night’s audience in Chicago, Thursday treated us to sophomore record “Full Collapse” fan-favorites “Cross Out the Eyes,” and, of course, “Understanding In a Car Crash,” with the latter being a common cut on Spotify’s “Emo Forever” grab-bag playlist.
Sometimes, you come to a concert expecting to love the headliner and come out a bigger fan of the opening act. Other times, however, you end up liking the artist even more. I will continue to sing Thursday’s praises every chance I get, as they delivered a truly unforgettable concert experience when I needed it most.
