How did I know it was going to be a memorable night? While walking to the Venue, Nick (photos) and I witnessed a high speed chase that ended in a stunning collision right in the middle of Hollywood & Vine! Turns out police were chasing a murder suspect who they believed had a weapon. We watched (and photographed) as more than a dozen patrol cars and unmarked police cars swarmed the intersection and dragged the guy out. I laughed to myself as the tourists stared in disbelief. Welcome to Hollywood.
After two great opening acts (Pelican and Circa Survive), the audience was practically foaming at the mouth, waiting in eager anticipation to hear the quartet from Orange County. The house lights cut out and the crowd greeted Thrice to a roar of cheers and applause. To start the show off, the band played a few bars from the haunting track off the Earth Disc, The Lion and The Wolf. As soon as they finished the house lights cut off and shrill siren sounds filled the air and the tension began to rise as the ominous sound continued. With an explosion of light and sound Thrice tore into Firebreather off the Fire Disc from The Alchemy Index and the audience went wild. Eddie Breckenridges bass line in the second verse conjures up images of molten lava moving out of his cabinet. The feeling of dread that the song presents quickly changes during the final chorus and presents the audience with feelings of hope and freedom. To make the scene even sweeter, the band members of Pelican and Circa Survive rushed the stage to join in the final choral chants at the end of the song. This was the last show of the tour and the boys loved every moment of it.
From here the band kept the energy going by moving to The Messenger off the Fire Disc. Despite the energy that the crowd put out from the previous bands, they showed no signs of slowing down as they jumped and thrashed around to the songs. Over the course of the show, Thrice delved into different songs from each of the four albums comprising The Alchemy Index and earlier works. The crowd favorite Deadbolt from The Illusion of Safety whipped up a few circle pits in the crowd. Other poignant moments included Dustins scorn to the gods at the end of the powerful song of loss titled Daedalus, the voice effect at the end of Digital Sea that broke down Dustins voice into lower and lower audio qualities, the intense opening barrage of Hold Fast Hope, the champagne that was brought out to celebrate the final show of the tour, Eddies horse mask, the splendid cover of The Earth Isnt Humming originally done by Frodus, and many more personal moments that each audience member pulled from the show.
To close such an amazing night, Thrice picked the amazing The Earth Will Shake track off the Vheissu album. As soon as the song started, all the band members from the other bands rushed the stage once more but this time they were in full party mode. A few came out on stage in costume and several proceeded to saran wrap the members and a few times Dustin had to stop singing because he was laughing too much. He and lead guitarist Teppei had to jump their way out of the wrap to break free! It was great to see everyone in high spirits and an amazing way to end a great tour.
