By Tom Cadrin

I first heard Thrice during the summer of 2001. A friend of mine had recently moved out to California. “Sup dude” is how The Cali Kid opened his instant message. “You should check out this band, Thrice ~ everyone out here loves them ~ and I know you’re into that heavier stuff.” A musical fanatic, I immediately checked out their myspace and was punched in the face by what left the speakers. I loved every second of it. At this time, Screamo was in its heyday and Thrice was pioneering the more metal side of the genre. With fairly constant galloped riffs under highly suggestive and deeply contemplative strained vocals, this early version of the band created a distinctive metallic blend of wailing guitar work and unbridled passion. Since this early incarnation, Thrice has grown exponentially with each of their 7 releases, encompassing multiple concept albums portraying drastic shifts in flavor, feel and overall genre ~ all while retaining everything that they are. Now, as I walked into the House of Blues in Boston on June 17, 2010, I was about to witness Thrice’s ascension to greatness as a headliner in a multi-thousand person venue.

The evening progressed towards the headliners in a silky, rippleless fashion. First played NYC’s The Dig (see below), with their electric garage rock, then the Cincinatti drum and guitar duo Bad Veins, beating along with reel-to-reel accompaniment, finally followed by the entirely self aware NYC singer-songwriter Kevin Devine. It was interesting for me to note that each opening act highlighted individual and extraordinary facets of the bill headliners’ discography. Thrice’s ability to push boundaries with a “We’re gonna do whatever the hell we want to” attitude has allowed for intense creative freedom, not to mention a cultivation of an everlasting group of fans.

From the floor/pit that night, Thrice discharged. They were able to hurl a swirl of noise that became so pleasantly disorienting that, from time to time, all I could do was to treat the experience as a dream. I closed my eyes, put back my head and made my ears as open as possible, allowing these four Californian musical phantoms to instill in me a new reality. The musical prowess collected on stage was palpable as each song was stitched into a set lasting roughly two hours. Never once was the audience in a lull, even during those rare breaks between songs.

At the end of the evening, hoping for anything more from their demigods, the crowd roared and cheered for an encore, reminiscent of the noise bellowing from the west coast where the Boston Celtics and Thrice’s hometown favorites, the L.A. Lakers, battled out the decisive game of the 2010 NBA Finals. “We heard you guys screaming, ‘Lakers! Lakers’,” frontman Dustin Kensrue joked as he regained his throne, “And we took that as our cue to come back. Here’s some more ~ thanks for coming out.”

A gamut was stolen that evening: L.A. beat Boston while Thrice performed there, a pitch perfect performance was created and accepted graciously by thousands of tireless, adoring fans all while the legacy of a cornerstone rock band continued.

www.thrice.net
www.myspace.com/thrice

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You can feel it curling up from your toes and over your eyes like the spiral of smoke from a discharged gun. It hits you and for a moment, you’re not sure if the warmth you feel is pleasure or pain, or maybe this is just a waking dream, like some sort of déjà vu. Part indie, part garage rock, part four-dudes-hanging-out-making-some-awesome-music, Electric Toys, the first full length by NYC rockers The Dig, causes this sort of visceral reaction. It’s an epic, wonderfully abrasive and beautiful up and down 12 song journey. And by the end of the record, you’ll inevitably end up an audio masochist.

Listening to Electric Toys is like flipping through your best friend’s old summer photo album where they found and lost their first deep love. Elation and deflation are made easy to swallow throughout this album as they’re mixed with hard punching hooks strewn throughout the guitars and the vocals. Dual lead singers David Baldwin (guitar) and Emile Mosseri (bass) have assimilated their unique vocal styles, allowing them the ability to pass off lead lines in the middle of songs, back each other up seamlessly and create pitch perfect harmonies with complimenting timbres; one is reminded of the guttural grit of belted lyrics from The Strokes or Jet. The atmosphere and landscapes created herein are consistent with the bass pedals and solid drum grooves on Radiohead’s In Rainbows or something off of Beck’s Sea Change.

When asked about constructing an exemplary set to showcase on their current 2010 summer tour with Thrice, the response was unanimous: “We just play our songs, ya know, and try to play the more upbeat sh*t – just get up there and hit ‘em in the face.”

Get more info on The Dig at www.myspace.com/thedigisup.