Thursday / Envy on the Coast / Innerpartysystem / God Fires Man @ Poughkeepsie 4/24

April 28, 2008

In early April, Thursday announced that they would be recording a split with Envy, a Japanese hardcore outfit on Temporary Residence Records. I got a chance to speak with Geoff Rickly, Steve Pedulla, and Tom Keely, who shed some light on that record:

Unlike A City by the Light Divided, the band recorded the split completely analog, working with tapes instead of ones and zeros. Three songs were recorded and mixed at Big Blue Meenie Studios, a familiar location for Thursday in their home state of New Jersey. Steve hinted that one more song may be recorded, but that for now they’ll be playing a new track live for the first time (which Geoff would later call “As He Climbed the Dark Mountain”, inspired in part by Cormac McCarthy’s The Road).

I spoke to Tom about the Requiem for a Dream soundtrack, a recommendation he made a few months ago to me; he followed it up with recommending The Fountain‘s soundtrack. It’s something I’ll need to check out for sure, as Clint Mansell’s work is remarkable. Geoff’s recommendation of Beirut certainly paid off well, and I can only recommend Beirut right back to anyone who is reading this. We talked briefly about the differences between Beirut’s two albums, agreeing that the first one is probably better.

I got a chance to talk to Steve about record labels and the art of releasing music; we spoke about the NIN and Radiohead method, and it being something the band would be interested in if they had the giant fanbase/audience that those bands have. It will be interesting to see what the band does for their next full-length, as Steve said they are “exploring many possibilities”. After mentioning the leak of their good friends’ Thrice’s Alchemy Index, Steve mentioned his disgust for the demos leaking from A City by the Light Divided, an emotion I can certainly understand, though we both agreed we do listen to album leaks from our favorite bands.

For anyone wondering about the band’s Bamboozle chances (Bearfort?), the answer is a resounding “no”, straight from the band’s mouth. I was interested in talking to Andrew Everding about his role in the upcoming split, but he and Tim weren’t around at the time.

God Fires Man, an alternative rock band from New York City, opened the evening. The band certainly had the energy to keep on pace with their good friends in Thursday, but the live act didn’t do much to convince me that the band really stands out. The band’s drummer really sets the pace for their sound, but they try to merge too many styles without really doing anything particularly memorable. They certainly have their punk and hardcore influences, but they never fully embrace them, instead straddling multiple genres and never really defining their own sound. Their debut record, A Billion Balconies Facing the Sun, was just released in February; I haven’t had a chance to check that out yet, but maybe it will open my eyes to what the band is trying to accomplish.

Philadelphia’s Innerpartysystem set up their equipment next, with a rig including lights and lasers. A band I was first introduced to on New Year’s Even (again, opening for Thursday), they blend a handful of styles together that most closely resembles Men Women & Children mixed with mainstream dance. The band comes off strongly as a novelty; they seem to enjoy what they’re doing, but it’s nothing I’d want to see again, already tired of their act from earlier in the year. It’s something I’d recommend checking out once–you really should see their lighting/lasers–but the band seems more suited to opening for a crowd that is ready to dance. They would define the experience I’d love at a club (see what AFI-side project Blaqk Audio is prying at), but they are extremely out of place opening for Thursday.

Envy on the Coast, from Long Island, New York, directly supported Thursday this evening and opened with”Artist and Repertoire”. Vocalist Ryan Hunter sounds like a watered-down Daryl Palumbo, which is nearly a metaphor for the entire band — a watered down version of some sound they are striving to create. They’re trying, which is more that can be said for a lot of other bands that sound similar, but they constantly fall short. That isn’t to say their efforts aren’t good anyway; they write some solid songs with hooks you’d only expect from a band with a lot more experience. On the flip side, the band tries to incorporate effects and keyboard (and for that matter, a level of technical guitar playing), but the result is never quite as strong as the band will lead you to believe.

Nonetheless, the band played well, with Hunter’s voice sound remarkably close to the their debut album Lucy Gray. In fact, most of the instrumentation is recreated near-perfectly, a good indication that the band isn’t drowning in studio magic. Lucy Gray (and consequently their live show, which consists entirely of material from that debut on Photo Finish Records) is so promising, that you can’t help feeling excited that their follow-up has serious potential, as long as the band decides to move away from their sugary pop elements and more towards the technical side they keep hinting at.

The band closed the evening with “Gift Of Paralysis”, probably my favorite song by the band (if not “Tell Them That She’s Not Scared” or “Sugar Skulls” even). The full set is as follows

Artist and Repertoire
Sugar Skulls
(X) Amount Of Truth
Vultures
Mirrors
Tell Them That She’s Not Scared
Suckerpunch
Gift Of Paralysis

Thursday took the stage near 10PM, opening with “Into the Blinding Light” (the first time I’ve seen the band open with this track). Upon first inspection, the band sounds like any local post-hardcore band with tight instruments but with a vocalist struggling to keep up. Luckily for Thursday, this was only the case due to how low Geoff’s vocals were mixed; in this instance, he was completely drowned out by the dueling guitars of Steve and Tom. With the lack of vocals, the song failed to capture the audience.

Geoff stepped down into the crowd for “At This Velocity”, and all doubts of Thursday’s live abilities were immediately put to rest. “Division St.” followed, and Geoff’s vocals were finally more prominently mixed, and the crowd responded appropriately. It’s clear that most fans still prefers Full Collapse and War All the Time, so cuts from those albums definitely got the crowd moving.

Introduced as a song about being forced to write pop-rock songs for a major label, “Dead Songs” was next. Probably the strongest cut on Kill the House Lights, the song interestingly has elements in the chorus that are easily the poppiest Thursday has ever sounded. Even so, their message isn’t convoluted in the least, with Geoff’s delivery as honest as it is passionate.

The car crash pair of songs followed, and though I’ve seen these songs live (especially “Understanding”) many, many times, it’s clear that they are two of Thursday’s strongest live tracks and will remain in rotation for a long time. I was hoping to possibly hear “Panic On The Streets Of Health Care City” (a partial demo of “Other Side of the Crash”) at some point live, but it looks unlikely, and it doesn’t really matter considering how good the A City by the Light product is.

Two more from War All the Time (“Signals Over the Air”, “For The Workforce, Drowning”) were next. Both were performed exceptionally well live, much better than their album counterparts which themselves are great anyway. My favorite live Thursday song, “How Long is the Night?” was next, though this was clearly one of the band’s worst performances of the song. Geoff just didn’t click with the band throughout the song as he normally does. It was nice to see the song reintroduced into the set, however.

The most exciting part of the evening was easily Thursday’s first-ever performance of “As He Climbed the Dark Mountain”. One part The Road and one part a dream Geoff had about the helplessness and sheer terror of losing his father, the song was exactly what you would expect on a split with Envy. The band showcased a side they’ve only hinted at, writing technical, speedy riffs. Tucker pummeled the drums in perfect time, and somehow Geoff managed to sound completely different yet familiar at the same time. The song was dedicated to Geoff’s father who was in attendance.

“Jet Black New Year”, a crowd favorite, rocked The Chance. The band followed up with “The Lovesong Writer”, a great song that unfortunately didn’t appeal to much of the crowd hoping for more older material to close the set. The band walked off stage and came back with an encore of “Autobiography of a Nation” and “Sugar in the Sacrament”, the former being a great way to end a show while the latter not so much so.

A great song live on its own merits, “Sugar in the Sacrament” doesn’t pack the intensity I think the band feels it does, and it’s kind of disappointing to hear them close a show with it, especially when Geoff hinted at the possibility that they would play “A Hole in the World” (a cut I haven’t heard live since War All the Times was released in 2003) after being offered ten dollars to do so by some fans before the show. The full set list:

Into the Blinding Light
At This Velocity
Division St.
Dead Songs
Other Side of the Crash/Over and Out (of Control)
Understanding in a Car Crash
Signals Over the Air
For the Workforce, Drowning
How Long is the Night?
As He Climbed the Dark Mountain
Jet Black New Year
The Lovesong Writer
Autobiography of a Nation
Sugar in the Sacrament

Despite early vocal issues, the band played extremely well the entire evening, especially on the new track, which only excites me more for their upcoming split. There are a few bootlegs of the song from The Chance on Google Video.

Leave a Comment » | Envy on the Coast, God Fires Man, Innerpartysystem, Poughkeepsie, The Chance, Thursday | Permalink
Posted by Anthony Charles Ambrose

Thursday / Circa Survive / The Gaslight Anthem / Innerpartysystem @ Sayreville 12/31

January 1, 2008

New Year’s Eve began formally by meeting up outside Sayreville’s Starland Ballroom with a handful of friends from around the country; this was quickly followed by happy hour with the guys in Thursday. It wouldn’t be for a few hours until the show began, but it was relaxing sitting at the bar for a bit while the bands soundchecked and set up on stage.

Philadelphia’s Innerpartysystem opened the evening, setting the tone for what would quickly become an incredible New Year’s Eve party. Best described as some sort of hybrid between Head Automatica (vocalist Patrick Nissley could be mistaken for Daryl Palumbo) and Men, Women & Children–somehow mixed with a heavier dance and electronica influence–the band didn’t interact with the crowd, instead focusing their brief time slot entirely on a light show-induced dance party with catchy hooks, pulsing beats, and surprisingly strong vocal deliveries.

Set changes were brief, and New Brunswick’s The Gaslight Anthem took the stage shortly after. Fans of older Alkaline Trio records take note, this could be your new favorite band. I had only briefly listened to the four-piece going into the evening, but their incredible live performance convinced me to pick up a copy of their debut, Sink or Swim. Lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Brian Fallon’s stage presence was incredibly strong for such a young band, and the rest of the band locked together tighter than any other band of the evening. Choruses became immediately crowd-singable the second time through each song, a remarkable feat considering most of the crowd was experiencing the band for the first time. Near the end of their set, they kicked into a solid rendition of Tom Petty’s classic “American Girl” before closing with “We’re Getting A Divorce”.

Circa Survive, Equal Vision Records’s progressive-rock tinged five-piece featuring ex-Saosin and This Day Forward members, came out as direct support to Thursday. The band played ten songs:

Wish Resign
Living Together
Mandala
Oh, Hello
In Fear and Faith
The Only Difference
Holding Someone’s Hair Back
Semi Constructive Criticism
Stop the Fucking Car
Kicking Your Crosses Down

A great setlist mixed evenly with tracks from Juturna and On Letting Go, vocalist Anthony Green engaged the crowd the entire performance albeit stumbling through a few lyrics from time to time. A band I’ve seen quite a few times, this was easily their strongest performance, though–it was nice to see them stick to their strongest older songs as well as mix in cuts from their latest effort. Songs like “Semi Constructive Criticism” come off as tame on the album when compared live, and “Kicking Your Crosses Down” received incredibly delicate treatment. On Letting Go songs translate so much better live; I’m now rethinking which Circa Survive album is actually my favorite.

Hosts Thursday took the stage around 11PM, their first New Year’s Eve show in exactly one decade; fans of the band will quickly recite that Thursday’s first show ever was in vocalist Geoff Rickly’s basement, December 31, 1998. Much has changed in ten years, and this particularly evening the band kicked off with Kill The House Lights‘s “Dead Songs”, an interesting (but more importantly, refreshing) take on opening a Thursday show. Newly rejuvenated and reinserted into live shows, “Between Rupture and Rapture” followed, and anyone who didn’t know band’s new lyrics on the previous song certainly woke up to the War All The Time track.

“The Other Side Of The Crash/Over And Out (Of Control)” followed, and I quickly realized that the only people in attendance were actually Thursday fans–unlike many concerts where it’s something to do on a bored evening, or fans who enjoy one album or one single, the entire crowd sung along to a track that normally only saw limited audience engagement on previous tours. Met with interesting responses, A City By The Light Divided divided Thursday’s fan base; on this New Year’s Eve, however, it was the true fans who passed up other parties and attended the show, singing every word of the newer songs.

Partner to “Other Side”, “Understanding In A Car Crash” was next (as always), and the fans were treated to the first of three Full Collapse songs that evening, though unfortunately, staple-songs like “Paris In Flames” and “How Long Is the Night?” didn’t make it.

Eerie sounding, faith-questioning “Sugar In The Sacrament” came next, and it’s no question Geoff feels every haunted word sung. In contrast, the brash and abrasive “At This Velocity” kicked the crowd into a frenzy; the final drum roll segwayed into the pounding drums of “Division. St”. Not one of my favorite Thursday songs–I find it too personal and direct–I did listen to Geoff speak candidly about the song (and how important it is for him) for some time earlier in the evening, and it’s not shocking the band plays it at every show.

The first surprise of the evening came with “War All The Time”, a song Geoff often cites as too personal/emotional to play live. It’s been some time since I’ve heard the track live, and the band did absolute justice to the song. It tends to drag a little on the album, but live the song is explosive and more emotional than can be explained in text. There’s something defining about Thursday being a true “live band” with the lines “all those nights in the basement, the kids are still screaming: ‘on and on and on and on’” being screamed by everyone in the venue.

“Ladies and Gentleman: My Brother, The Failure”, a song featuring Cursive’s Tim Kasher on the album, comes off unfortunately weak live, though it could easily be one of Thursday’s strongest live tracks with an improved performance of Kasher’s lines live. As it stands, guitarist Steve Pedulla seems to handle the lines, but his delivery isn’t right, and his microphone is way too low. Perhaps letting keyboardist Andrew Everding handle the duties would fit better, though I’m not sure the band even realizes that it’s coming off so weak; someone should tell them.

By this time, Thursday is more than halfway finished for the evening, but it feels like they’ve just begun. Indeed, time flies when the band is on stage; there is never a dull moment.

Before kicking into the sexually charged (and setlist staple) “Signals Over The Air”, Geoff wished everyone a happy new year, and reasserted Thursday’s beliefs that every human being is equal: gay, straight, black, white, male, female, or otherwise; that to party with the band this evening should convey those thoughts. Like many Thursday songs, “Signals” comes off more powerful than could ever be recorded in the studio.

Two numbers from Full Collapse followed; “Autobiography of a Nation” first, one of the most intense tracks of the evening. The energy builds with a long instrumental before the crowd kicks off with “Write these words back down!”, and it immediately feels like 2001 again–and that’s a good thing.

“Cross Out The Eyes” featured Nathan Gray, vocalist of the now-defunct, but quite important post-hardcore outfit, boysetsfire (a band Geoff proudly joked that Thursday ripped off when starting out). Gray didn’t do much to help the song, and in fact routinely butchered the chorus. His talents would have been properly served screaming the song’s final lines, but instead the lines were omitted entirely.

“The Lovesong Writer” was the last song the band played of 2007; interestingly, I had a long conversation with Geoff about the song earlier in the day during happy hour. To get to that point, however, it requires a little back story:

Always puzzled by the first few lines of “I Am The Killer”, I asked Geoff what exactly is being said. He chuckled, but then began to think about it and in fact had no idea. He said that he was working out lyrics in the vocal booth during the recording of Full Collapse, and that he was mumbling them softly, and it was actually caught on tape. The lines were sped up, and eerily inserted into the beginning of the track–the band loved the unplanned result, and it remained during the song’s final mix.

I was forced to comment on my love of “Oh Comely”, the important eighth-track on Neutral Milk Hotel’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, and the nearly inaudible “oh shit!” being yelled at the song’s close, and how it seems quite comparable to the first seconds of “I Am The Killer”. Getting Geoff started on Neutral Milk Hotel (and consequently Jeff Mangum) was more insightful than possibly imaginable (or writable here, in fact, at his request).

I learned that “The Lovesong Writer” was Jeff Mangum; with a few more private facts in place, and another listen to the song, it’s undeniable. Geoff’s stream of consciousness in the song is undeniably Mangum-esque, and even its first lines draw reference to “Oh Comely”.

Concluding our discussion on a subject that we could have talked about for hours was Geoff’s recommendation of Zach Condon (as Beirut)’s Gulag Orkestar–he compares Zach to Mangum; I’m actually a few clicks away right now from seeing if I can get it on iTunes.

Cut back to Thursday’s show, and “The Lovesong Writer” hit me in an entirely new way that evening when the band closed the year with it. Taking a brief break (read: encore), they came back moments before midnight to countdown the new year.

As the the clock struck midnight, the unmistakable “Jet Black New Year” riff kicked in, balloons fell, and the Starland crowd exploded. For the first time in years, the song felt fresh, and important. The night–well, the concert portion, anyway–finished with the second part to “Jet Black New Year”: “Tomorrow I’ll Be You”, a song that the band attempted a few years ago during their annual holiday shows.

Once again, unfortunately, the band didn’t do the song justice. Not to lay the blame on drummer Tucker Rule (whom I consider an excellent drummer), but the song’s timing was completely off the entire song, and it was quite unfortunate that one of Thursday’s best live shows ended on that note. The song itself is one of the band’s best songs; if they manage to get it down, however, it could be one of their best live songs. The setlist at a glance:

Dead Songs
Between Rupture and Rapture
The Other Side of the Crash/Over And Out (Of Control)
Understanding in a Car Crash
Sugar in the Sacrament
At This Velocity
Division St.
War All the Time
Ladies and Gentleman: My Brother, The Failure
Signals Over the Air
For the Workforce, Drowning
Autobiography of a Nation
Cross Out the Eyes
The Lovesong Writer
Jet Black New Year
Tomorrow I’ll Be You

After the show, Starland held a 21+ party until 2AM. The DJs spinning left much to be desired, but the party was a nice way to still have the “out at a bar on New Year’s Eve” experience after the show. Watching the lightweight girls (and guys, surprisingly) take drunken spills was funny, and I had a few good conversations with fellow Thursday fans.

The shenanigans began quite informally after 2AM, though. After a short drive from the venue, we arrived with the guys in Thursday to party at their nearby hotel. Drinks, wildness, and discussions about a wide array of topics (Sailor Jerry, Hillary Clinton, Led Zeppelin vs. The Who, Zeitgeist, Idiocracy, world-wide currency, Zodiac signs, Prince, and everything in between) highlighted the hotel party that spanned many rooms and, later, a nearby Wawa.

An excellent concert turned into a fun after-party is certainly my preferred way to ring in the new year. Thanks to Jess Garcia for greatly helping me out earlier in the afternoon, and special thanks to Geoff, Steve, Josh, Joshie, Tucker, and Dave for being especially hospitable and kind that evening. To everyone I met for the first time, it was fun, and I hope you all have a great 2008.

5 Comments | Circa Survive, Innerpartysystem, Sayreville, Starland Ballroom, The Gaslight Anthem, Thursday | Permalink
Posted by Anthony Charles Ambrose