The promotion company Bamp Project has been bringing an incredible amount of music to Honolulu. Bands such as Incubus, Rise Against, and Queens of the Stone Age have sold out multiple dates. Unfortunately the economics of living in Hawaii dictates how many bands a fan can see in a given time period. This time, New Jersey’s beloved emo-thrashers got the short end of the stick. A disappointingly small crowd attended the Friday night performance at The Republik.
Although attendance was low, the band was in high spirits after spending a couple days in Hawaii after arriving from Australia. The crowd? Everyone there WANTED to be at this show. Hawaii fans had waited twenty years to see Thursday play a concert. It was a celebration of 00’s post-hardcore.
The band’s six piece lineup – Vocalist Geoff Rickly, guitarists Steve Pedulla and Tom Keely, bassist Tim Payne, keyboardist Andrew Everding, and drummer Tucker Rule - came out swinging with “For The Workforce, Drowning”. “Hole In The World” followed. After the last verse of the song Rickly jumped into the audience repeating the lyrics with the crowd. The one, two, three punch ended with the song “Cross Out The Eyes”. These three songs set the tone for the night.
The remainder of the set leaned heavily on the bands most popular albums. 2003’s, top 10, major label debut “War All The Time” and their 2001 breakthrough “Full Collapse”. Although the bands lyrics often speak of death and regret the band was not mournful. The band and the audience were celebrating every moment. The bands politically charged lyrics may even be more pertinent today than they were fifteen years ago.
The band ended their set with their hit “Understanding A Car Crash”. A four song encore followed. Between songs Rickly spoke of his past heroin addiction and his bandmates at family were the reason he kicked his habit. Before their final song, “War All The Time”, the band thanked their audience and their crew for making their trip to Hawaii a reality.
The band Thursday has had a tumultuous career. Let’s hope they can regroup in the studio and release more original music. These chaotic times are in need of a new Thursday hardcore anthem.
Setlist
01 For The Workforce, Drowning
02 A Hole In The World
03 Cross Out Eyes
04 Signals Over The Air
05 Paris In Flames
06 Steps Ascending
07 Jet Black New Year
08 Autobiography Of A Nation
09 This Song Brought To You By A Falling Bomb
10 Division Street
11 Understanding In A Car Crash
Encore
12 Circuits Of Fever
13 No Answers
14 Turnpike Divides
15 War All The Time