Show Review: Thrice Celebrates 10 Years of Beggars at House of Blues Anaheim
Fans having the best time while Thrice plays their rendition of The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter”.
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY JAZMIN LEMUS
Anyone who grew up in Southern California who listened to alternative rock, post hardcore, or emo, most definitely listened to Thrice or at least gave them a shot. I consider myself one of the lucky ones that learned about them early enough in their career to see their music hit radio and other music charts. I became a fan and I feel like since then, I have grown up with the band. The Artist In The Ambulance was released the summer before I started high school so the timing of it all was perfect.
Throughout their career, Thrice has experimented with their sound. With ten successful studio albums, two live albums, and seven EPs, you gotta respect their dedication, craft, and professionalism. The band has gone on to tour with several acts over the years and perform at different festivals, but it wasn’t until they pointed it out that I realized that they had never performed an album of theirs from front to back. When Thrice announced that they would play Beggars in its entirety in their hometown of Orange County to help celebrate 10 years of its release, I WAS IMMEDIATELY SOLD. Thrice has become one of my all time favorite bands. If I’m being honest, they’re in my top 3. When Friday, December 6th finally arrived, I couldn’t wait to step into the House of Blues in Anaheim and watch the band do what they do best.
To kick off the night, Charity Swim took the stage. Playing to a packed room early on, the band did not hesitate to engage with people. They immediately reminded me of a mix of Cloud Nothings and FIDLAR, which is a great thing if you’re a fan of either band! Anyone who is a fan of either band may agree and hear the similarities? I hope so! Immediately following Charity Swim, were LA locals, Low Speech.
I first heard of Low Speech when Wiretap Records had included them on their ATTENTION! Charity Compilation in early 2017. The band has made their way around Southern California opening for acts such as Tigers Jaw, Saosin, and Taken. Well, now they can add Thrice to their resume of bands they’ve played with. With the venue hitting capacity, the emo rock quartet did not fail to get the crowd’s attention. They successfully got the crowd warmed up for Thrice.
As soon as Thrice took the stage, I felt some kind of adrenaline rush. I think the excitement was just really kicking in. As soon as Thrice dropped the first note off of “All The World Is Mad”, that was enough to get the crowd moving. “The Weight” a huge fan favorite, got the crowd going even more. Everyone was singing every word at the top of their lungs all while moshing and moving, of course being respectful. With “Circles” being the first slow song on the album, the crowd mellowed out for a bit, but continued to sing every word. When super fan favorite, “In Exile” kicked in however, that was a cue to all that it was time to get really loud.
I feel like it was a super special night for many of us for different reasons. When Thrice released Beggars, I had only seen the band twice at that point. Over the years, especially since they returned from their hiatus, I’ve made it a HUGE priority to see them on every tour they’ve done. Hearing “Talking Through Glass/We Move Like Swing Sets” and “The Great Exchange” live for the very first time, was truly incredible and something that a lot of us feel lucky we got to hear live.
After playing “Beggars”, the band was not done with Beggars. Thrice still played the b-sides: “Answered” (live debut) and “Red Telephone”. The band could not end the night without playing fan favorites such as “The Artist In The Ambulance” and “Deadbolt”. They also played songs off their latest albums such as “Black Honey” and “The Long Defeat” off of To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere, “Beyond The Pines” off of Palms, AND “Deeper Wells” off of Deeper Wells EP. WHAT A SETLIST. But the cherry on the top was Thrice ending the night with their rendition of The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter”, which was a huge part of the Beggars era.
This was a super special night for all fans in attendance and we are definitely lucky to have been able to have this experience because one, we saw this show in Thrice’s hometown; two, this is the first time the band has played an album of theirs in its entirety; and three, this was a one-off show (at least for now) dedicated to playing this album. I cannot wait to see the band do the same with Vheissu next year. It will be POSI.
You can check out photos of the show here and while you’re at it, give all the bands’ latest releases a listen?!
