Thursday Common Existence Tour

Posted by Carter in Live Reviews, Music on 10 9th, 2009 | no responses |

Common Existence Tour pushes Thursday to a whole new level.

Not many bands can perform after 12 years the same way they did at their first show. Thursday hit the New Jersey scene in 1997 and released 6 full length albums since, including their most recent album Common Existence. Although the album has been out since the band toured on the Taste of Chaos tour, any Thursday fan could agree that the Taste of Chaos tour didn’t feel like a Thursday show.

Common Existence Tour is a very different story.

Backed with the shredding guitars of The Fall of Troy, the un-caged passion of Young Widows and the raw emotion of newcomers La Dispute.

Myself and friends packed into the car and ventured 5 hours from Fort Wayne, IN to Milwaukee, WI to experience the Common Existence tour.

La Dispute opened the night with a typical La Dispute performance: from the deepest part of their hearts with every last bit of passion they had. It was clear that the tour had taken a toll on lead vocalist Jordan Dreyers voice, as it had become raspy and torn but still packed an emotional punch. It’s been a true pleasure watching this band develop and grow since meeting them in the Summer of ’07. Their latest release Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair is one of the most impressive front-to-back albums I’ve heard since Thursday’s Full Collapse or mewithoutYou’s Catch For Us, The Foxes. If you’ve never heard La Dispute, I’d definitely recommend them. Just imagine if Bearvsshark, Thursday, and mewithoutYou had a lovechild, it’d be named La Dispute.

I had only heard amazing things about Young Widows, and was really excited to see them, but sadly some personal issues came up for the band and they had to drop off the tour before the Milwaukee date. Just so everyone is aware, the album is fantastic.

In all honesty, I wasn’t a huge fan of The Fall of Troy walking into this event, and to be blunt I was there for La Dispute and Thursday, but was rather impressed by The Fall of Troy. Guitarist and lead vocalist Thomas Erak puts on one hell of a live show as he would throw down intricate guitar lines overtop of complex melodies. TFoT also had a great connection with the crowd, left them always wanting more.

I’ve been following Thursday for years now, and their performance in Milwaukee was unlike any other performance I’ve seen. Pulling tunes from Paris In Flames (Full Collapse) to Friends in the Armed Forces (Common Existence), Thursday kept the energy high and the crowd on their toes. It always blows me away when a band (especially after 12 years) can come to a show, blow open the doors and play with the same energy and emotion as they did when they toured like they did in the late 90’s. Live Thursday is dead on; vocalist Geoff Rickly hits every note exactly as it is on the album, despite high energy levels and intertwined screaming sections.

The Common Existence Tour exemplifies what music should be. Showcasing the new talents of La Dispute, the technical and energetic sounds of The Fall of Troy and the raw passion of Thursday, the tour is a breath of hope for music. Music is not dead, and it will never die as long as bands like this continue to do what they are doing.

Photography by Lucas Carter Photography.