Last Night: Thrice At House Of Blues

Photos by Matthew Keever

Thrice
House of Blues
October 5, 2011

You don't have to dress or act a certain way to like Thrice. In fact, in case you didn't already know, you don't have to dress or act a certain way to like any kind of music. But don't take our word for it.

"I think that's something that happens with youth a lot, with the music they listen to," drummer Riley Breckenridge said before the show. They're like, 'Well, I can only do this, I can only listen to these types of bands, I have to dress this way, and I have to hang out with these people.' And it doesn't need to be like that."

Wednesday night, the all-encompassing Thrice did not disappoint its fans, who packed the House of Blues floor. On tour in support of their eighth studio album, Major/Minor, the California-based four-piece had the crowd chanting, screaming and singing along for over an hour with a scattered repertoire consisting of both old and new material.

Major/Minor, which was produced Dave Schiffman, who engineered 2005's Vheissu and mixed 2009's Beggars, has received rave reviews. And judging from what Aftermath heard last night (as well as what we've heard online), the album is a must-have for Thrice fans, and it's also satisfying enough for any music lover to enjoy.

"In the early days, when our music was more rooted in punk rock, metal and hardcore, movement in the crowd was a gauge of how successful the show was," Breckenridge said. "And now, with some different styles of music in what we're doing, it's those sing-along moments... Looking out and seeing people really engaged in what's going on, that's the coolest thing for me."

Prior to Thrice taking the stage, Aftermath sat down with Breckenridge, who shed some light on the band, its writing process and how, in spite of their creative process taking longer than that of most other acts, he wouldn't rather be a drummer in any other band.

"All of us have the ability to write on multiple instruments, and all of us have very distinct tastes in music," Breckenridge said. "The thing that has made us us over the years has been all four individuals writing ideas for music, coming together as a collective and kind of using that collective as a filter to shape these ideas into songs.

"It's not the most efficient process," he added with a laugh. "It would be way easier to have a chief songwriter, who just wrote the songs and said, 'You play this, and you play this'... And it takes us a long time to get on the same page with what we're writing but, especially for me, as a drummer, the fact that I've been able to contribute musically has been really rewarding and awesome."