Band : Thrice
Album title : Live At The House Of Blues
Record label : Vagrant
Distributor : PIAS
Release date : 09/12/2008
Release : 2-CD + DVD

Wow man, Thrice are really something else, both musically ànd as a group of individuals! My personal introduction to the Post-Hardcore quartet came rather late, only with the two Alchemy Index albums (reviews of which were posted on 15/11/2007 and 27/04/2008, which is also where you can find a lot of info on the band…especially in the first case, the second bringing an update), but already I can say they are among my favourite bands in the genre!

In case you’re not a die-hard fan of the band, you might not yet know that, after releasing two albums on major label Island (2003’s The Artist In The Ambulance and 2005’s Vheissu, and in between which the label also issued the 2004 live CD/DVD If We Could Only See Us Now…which outlined the band’s career up to that moment), the guys decided to start up their own label (licencing their work out to Vagrant to distribute it, of course) to be absolutely free of label involvement of release pressure, and to be able to experimennt for the Alchemy Index releases. I was somewhat apprehensive of how the guys were gonna incorporate the synth and digital sounds of those releases into their live set, but all of that is explained not only with the live video footage (the guitarists and bassist clearly freeing themselves of their usual instruments to play keyboards/ synths when necessary), but even more so in the exclusive 52 ½ minutes interview section of the DVD (the drummer also uses a mini-disc to re-play the abnormally recorded drum and percussion bits of the music…but still adds some cymbal play in order to stay active on stage).

With that instrumentation on the stage of Anaheim, California’s House Of Blues club on the eve of the recordings of this album (the date was not disclosed, not even in the credits outro on the DVD), it shouldn’t be a surprise to find the guys play more than half off of those two albums (including the Frodus cover “The Earth Isn’t Humming”, by the way)! But there’s an equal amount of songs off the Island studio albums, and with two more off 2002’s The Illusion Of Safety andthetrack “Flags Of Dawn” off the 2006 Red Sky EP (the last Island product) that makes for a total of 25 songs and a total concert length of nearly 107 minutes (divided on the CDs over two discs, the first with 12 tracks lasting 45 ½ minutes, the second containing the rest for a duration of just over 61 minutes). The track-list ensures that the band frequently alternates more aggressive songs against calmer ones, which works rather well to have the audience feel excited about what’s offered from the very first notes of concert opener “The Lion And The Wolf” to the closing tunes of “The Earth Will Shake”!

I’m pretty sure the real Thrice fan will check out the DVD first, as there’s always something about the “visual” thing of your favourite band that is simply that more attractive! Frankly, I felt the same. I mean, I don’t go to that many concerts anymore by all counts (my time being consumed for the most between my day/nighttime job as a security guard – which gives me a lot of time to listen to music – and the reviewing of all those albums the editor-in-chief happens to throw onto my “to-do” shelve…and you know, that’s quite a few!), so to view a DVD is in many cases the closest I get to watch some of my year-list bands. The fan will not be disappointed, as the footage is of high quality both sound and imagewize, and recorded with several cameras to give the viewer a multi-angle look on things! As a bonus on the DVD, the interview section sees the band giving some rather revealing answers (each member usually giving his own viewpoint) to a bunch of questions sent in by fans.

The bottom line here, is that Thrice are at the top of their scene anyway! I’ve already given their two last studio albums top ratings and included ‘em into my year-lists, and although I don’t rate DVDs or live CD albums by principle, I can tell you that this CD/DVD package is indeed featured in said list of 2008! And after sampling the thing yourself, I’m pretty sure you’ll agree with that!

Tony.