The 2014 edition of the “Where’s the Band?” Tour concluded at the Glass House in Pomona on Sunday.
The short five-date tour had singers singing songs from their respected band or original material acoustically.
The lineup featured: Dustin Kensrue from Thrice, Dan Andriano from Alkaline Trio, Casey Crescenzo from The Dear Hunter and Andy Jackson from Hot Rod Circuit.
Andy Jackson started things out and set the tone for the evening. The audience even set the tone by staying absolutely quiet during his acoustic renditions of Hot Rod Circuit songs. Jackson acknowledged and respected this. He even performed an original song that he wrote with his wife for his side project.
Casey Crescenzo upped the ante with his stage presence. Not only with his music, but with his banter as well.
Crescenzo sang songs from The Dear Hunter beautifully, and to much audience delight. He “argued” with the hecklers in the crowd many times.
He even stopped mid-song when an audience member laughed for an unknown reason. Crescenzo stopped and said, “What the fuck is so funny?” He laughed as he said it. The audience member kindly apologized and Crescenzo continued right where he left off.
Dan Andriano was next to the stage and played music from Alkaline Trio and his side project Dan Andriano in The Emergency Room.
He tried to compete with Cresceno’s witty remarks to the crowd, but it was difficult to surpass. The audience still enjoyed what he said though and were kindly silent throughout his performance.
Dustin Kensrue closed out the evening and tour playing for 40 minutes. Ten minutes longer than each of his tour mates.
He started out with an original song, “Pistol,” off of his first solo album, “Please come Home.” He played two other songs off of this album as well as one new song that he said would be featured on his next solo album, released in Spring. Kensrue said he thought it would take two or three years to make his second solo album. He said he didn’t think it would take eight years.
The crowd forgave Kensrue when he forgot the words to one of his own original songs. He laughed it off, the crowd quickly cheered and Kensrue recovered, to audience approval.
Kensrue was the only artist during the evening to add another instrument to his performance, a harmonica, that he played very well for a few songs.
For those lucky enough to attend these shows, they got to witness Kensrue sing two Thrice songs acoustically, including “A Song for Milly Michaelson” and “Words in the Water.”
Kensrue spoke plenty in between songs, talking about the song he just played or was about to play. He said he had a difficult time writing lyrics for “Words in the Water,” but did so after he heard his Thrice bandmates play their parts.
Probably the most surprising song he sang was from a more recent artist in Lorde. He sang his own version of her song, “Buzzcut Season.”
Kensrue addressed the crowd and said they had an interesting dynamic, staying quiet during songs, and heckling when songs weren’t playing. The crowd and artist had a mutual respect towards each other this evening and it was wonderful.
The engagement was finalized by having all four artists play one final song together. Each played their acoustic guitars and chimed in on the song “The Weight” by The Band. It was a perfect way to end the show and tour.
Matt Pryor from The Get Up Kids also was on the tour but did not play for this show.
Did you attend any of these shows? How was it? Comment below.
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Concluding this show, and shown on Thrice’s website the next morning, was a black-and-white picture of a recording studio and in large letters “Thrice 2015,” signifying that Thrice will reunite in 2015. This will end their hiatus that they went on in 2012.
Is a new album in the works? A tour? Possibly both?
Comment below with your thoughts.
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I went to both Troubadour and Glasshouse shows, and both had their strengths and weaknesses. The Troubadour is probably my all-time favorite music venue to attend to because of its intimacy, history, natural acoustics, and seemingly consistent audiences. I attended this show quite early. Early enough where Dustin Kensrue decided to bless us with his presence on the floor. There were signings and pictures taken..I was taken aback by his warmth. During his grueling touring days, there were times where he seemed to be brash and short with people which is considerably understandable. I could clearly tell her missed playing for such audiences and took his time to meet and greet his fans.
The show started out with Andy Jackson in his adorable christmas-themed onesie that only he in the lineup could pull off. With the bright white lights shining down center stage with blue ambience filling the room with a sense of calmness amongst the storm that is Hollywood, all artists played their hearts out. Casey Crescenzo’s soul-wrenching note towards the end of “His Hands Matched His Tongue” was awe-inspiring, Andy Jackson’s catchy tunes and hilarious lyric from “The Human Centipede” were a highlight, Dan Andriano’s sense of timely blues brought the house down, Matt Pryor’s sing-along set was a fan favorite, and Dustin Kensrue’s set was enough to drop every jaw within the vicinity. The audience was close to perfect even with a few technical hiccups through out the show. However, I feel as if the artists together weren’t as cohesive as line-ups from years past. We all know Matt Pryor’s personality, but he seemed oddly displaced that night. He was cursing excessively when talking and gave Andy a hard time. I’m for a little ribbing here and there, but it just felt Matt was out of place with the other guys. “The Weight” sang by all seemed rushed and not rehearsed well, although it was very enjoyable nevertheless. Dustin came out to an encore with an acoustic rendition of “A Song for Milly Michaelson” which blew everyone away with its harmonica counterpart.
The Glasshouse and Finale of the mini-tour felt less rushed through the progression of artists. Matt Pryor did not make this show for unknown reasons, however I felt, personally, it was a better show without him. I love the Get Up Kids and his acoustic shows, but I just didn’t think he was into this tour this year. He even looked like he barely woke up for the show in WeHo, but remember, this is just my opinion. I still love his music and him as a person. The biggest weakness in the Glasshouse show was the audience. As a resident of the Inland Empire, I felt embarrassed for DK and Co. I do not want them to remember Pomona as a heckled-filled show that was close to unappreciated. From Casey’s set to Dustin’s, there was no negativity, but a lot of unnecessary jawing of those that wanted 15 seconds of glory. I was next to the guy who gave Dustin a hard time during his time, and I held back a lot to confront him, but Dustin, as always, kept his cool and played on. What i really hate as a 10 year Thrice fan are the individuals stuck in 2004 yelling for “Deadbolt”, “T&C”, and other such classics at ALL their shows up until 2012. We get it. You don’t care for their progressive change in direction of their music and want to prove you’re an oldfag by yelling out random old songs. Calm yourself. Excuse my language. However, besides the audience, it was an overall great show from start to finish, with songs everyone knew to new songs that are coming out in the near future. The Glasshouse played a great host with friendly staff and a good bar. Friends and I stayed after to talk to Andy, Casey, and Dustin. We spent a good while getting to know them. They felt appreciated which is always a positive thing.
As a ThriceHead Veteran of 23 shows spanding 4 states, I, for one, can say that I am extremely excited for a return in 2015. I do believe it will be just a tour though. DK is writing his newest solo album and with Eddie playing with A&A, Riley with Puig Destroyer and his baseball blog, and Teps with his leather goods company, Teranishi Handcrafted based in Vashon Island, WA, I’s hard to imagine a new album anytime this year.
I hope I am wrong.
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