Live Review – Underoath / Thursday ‘Full Collapse’ show
on February 9th, 2011Thursday, who recently announced the release of their new album ‘No Devolucion‘, (out April 8th via Epitaph / Shock – Pre-Order Here) are currently on tour around the US in aid of the 10th anniversary of the release of their ‘Full Collapse‘ album. The album is being played in full at each show, and last week they teamed up with Underoath, Animals As Leaders and A Skylit Drive in Portland. We sent Mike Olivotto along to the show to see how it panned out, and to grab a pre-show peek at some tunes from their forthcoming album to see what eager fans can expect from it. Click below to expand this post and check it out.
Underoath / Thursday Full Collapse 10th anniversary show
February 2nd, 2011, Portland, OR, USA.
Supports: Animals As Leaders, A Skylit Drive
Words by: Mike Olivotto
With the first band set to take the stage at 7:30pm, the line to get in was already extending around the corner over an hour earlier and the buzz of excitement for the night’s proceedings was clearly apparent. But before the show was to begin, Bombshell was invited to a sneak preview of the new Thursday record due out April 8th, almost 10 years to the day since the release of ‘Full Collapse’.
Entitled ‘No Devolucion’, Thursday are further heading down the experimental route of ‘Common Existence’ but with a clear nod to their roots. Ambient and sometimes sombre, and at other times violent and cathartic they continue attempting to push the envelope of post-hardcore and challenge the very notion of what the genre should be. The tunes are promising for long time fans but whether it is really fresh enough to win over new ones or those they have lost along the way might still be a long shot.
But back to the venue we head in to catch the end half of California’s A Skylit Drive, who with their stage props, matching black outfits and thrashing about guitars came across as more interested in style than substance. Sounding somewhat like a cross between Chiodos and the night’s headlining act, they nevertheless went down well with the younger portion of the audience, as evidenced by the countless arms and bodies flying across the mosh pit.
The other support came in the form of Animals As Leaders, an instrumental progressive metal outfit centred around the mind bogglingly talented Tosin Abasi and his technical proficiency on an 8-string axe. Not the most exciting band to watch as they all stand relatively motionless, but despite this the crowd looked on captivated, eyes glued to the stage in amazement that 3 guys (sans bass!) could produce such thick and layered sounds.
Nine o’clock rolled around and that meant time for the New Jersey veterans in Thursday to take the stage. Worthy headliners in their own right, Thursday were here to play ‘Full Collapse’ in its entirety to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the seminal album. It’s interesting to hear them reminisce on it and how far they have come, one such comment being about how all that time ago they were so stoked on Wind Up and that they had written their first ever breakdown and how over time they looked back on it with a sort of embarrassment.
Going so far as to replicate the intro and outro songs, Thursday did their best to stay true to the record, but with one very much welcomed exception being Geoff talking/mumbling the end to ‘Cross Out The Eyes’ rather than the cringe-worthy screamed recitation of lines. As tight as they were, the passion seemed to be missing, the band coming across as tired and a little bored of the material. One might have considered they were just having an off day, but when they ripped out one final, brand new song to close the set (Turnpike Divides) they were as passionate and driven as any of their performances from their early ‘00s heyday.
Following Thursday’s set, Florida six-piece Underoath headed out to prove just why they were worthy to headline over the band who paved the way for their own careers. Opening with ‘In Regards To Myself’ from 2006’s ‘Define The Great Line’, they delivered a blistering set with enthusiasm, passion and crowd interaction. Whereas Thursday appeared to be going through the motions, Underoath did their utmost to play as if it was the last time they would ever grace a stage.
Aided by visuals such as projections behind the kit, this was for the most part a simple but effective stage show. Their consistent use of colourful strobes surely left a few punters suffering epileptic seizures and were really not necessary as the performance really spoke for itself. The band were tight and well rehearsed, but the poor vocal mix really let them down and put a damper on an otherwise strong performance.
Songs were picked from across their vast catalogue, but the mid-set inclusion of ‘Paper Lung’ from their latest offering was a welcome change of pace from the raging intensity of the rest. Its moody and atmospheric feel gave everyone time to regain their breath, though the crowd seemed to long for nothing more than the intensity to be cranked back up to ten. Within moments the band were happy to oblige and the set soon drew to a close, leaving a satisfied set of Portland fans.
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