6-20-22
House of Blues – Dallas, TX
There’s nothing more satisfying to me than seeing an artist age well. Mobs of bands from the Warped Tour era went the way of Myspace.com years ago and most people don’t even know if they still exist. Others are still in hot pursuit of a successful reinvention formula – hoping to stay relevant in a world that doesn’t buy their swoopy bangs and breakdowns anymore. And then there are bands that keep creating, moving forward, and remaining loyal to a dedicated fanbase.
Thrice and Bayside are two bands that have been around for some time. Both have seen ups and downs as their particular flavors of post-pop-hardcore-punk waxed and waned in popularity. Both of these groups recognize their respective places in the narrative of alternative music and have been respectful of their dedicated fan bases- which has in turn earned them a certain level of their own respectability.
Before I say anything about the bands themselves, I want to briefly commend House of Blues Dallas for being an impressively clean and inviting live music space with great sound and easy access to drinks, food, and restrooms.
The opening band for most of this tour was Anxious, an emo outfit hailing from Connecticut. They appeared to be a bunch of young pups, which admittedly gave them a formidable hill to climb to win over the audience of tenured professors that paid to see Thrice and Bayside. Their songs were upbeat and catchy, with enough aggression and grit to glaze over any polish that might turn noses up at them. This was Anxious’s last night on tour, as they were leaving for Europe the next morning to start another string of dates. As such, there were antics galore from members and crew from the other bands. Anxious won over the crowd not only with their legitimately good music and lively performance, but also their being good sports while the grown men they were on tour with brought out furniture to lounge on the stage, played a couple of (mock) games of poker, and tampered with the Anxious backdrop.
I think one of the most wondrous and appealing factors of a band like Thrice is their ability to take themselves very seriously without giving the impression of pretense. It’s a very hard balance to maintain, and they have been artfully maintaining it for over twenty years. Really – that is something special. Thrice played a set that included cuts from a great many of their eleven studio albums, spanning many stylistic adjustments, but zero lineup changes. Vocalist Dustin Kensrue can still drift effortlessly between many vocal styles, and he does it in a way that truly gives fans their money’s worth. Having come up in a class of artists who seemed to be more concerned with the image and antics of being emo-pop bands, Thrice’s continued commitment to professionalism and artistry has paid off and is truly impressive.
Like a majority of their fans, I discovered Bayside right around the release of 2007’s The Walking Wounded. Alternative Press had written a piece about them that really made them sound appealing to my taste in music at the time, and conveniently enough, they were featured on a Warped Tour 2007 compilation that I picked up that year. Anthony Ranieri’s voice is as crisp and cutting as it was back then, and the band exudes as much energy and excitement as they ever have. Bayside staked out their own slice of the pop-punk-emo landscape that no one has ever come close to touching since they started out in 2000. Something fun to note, in case you haven’t been following them on Instagram – lead guitarist Jack O’Shea played a Jackson Randy Rhodes V-style guitar the whole set, complete with an armband reminiscent of Dave Mustaine. This is just one of many examples of how Bayside continues to push the envelope on what is acceptable in punk music.
Thrice and Bayside are bands from opposite American coasts, but together prove that a band’s prime can last for a long time if they can be humble and consistent. They both sound as good as ever, and for this aging emo kid, seeing them still at their best in 2022 makes me feel young again.
