To follow my pattern of too often mentioning early 2000s bands, I’m back to talk about Thursday, Touche Amore, Basement, and Cities Aviv playing at Showbox Sodo this Saturday April 18th. Although the band Thursday is quite a throwback, this show is diversified and modernized by the artists joining, providing a great balance of old and new.
Thursday formed in New Jersey in 1997, and continued to make music all the way until 2011 when they disbanded. The band’s dedicated fans were shocked and excited at this reunion tour announcement, considering Thursday hasn’t played live together in five years. Somewhat considered “post-hardcore heroes,” Thursday was an incredibly influential band in taking post-hardcore, which used to be more of a limited genre, to the masses. The emotionally raw yet developed songs they wrote became bedroom anthems for so many kids, and they have influenced numerous current artists.
Speaking of the influence Thursday has had, they are joined on this tour by one of the band’s picked up prodigies, Los Angeles band Touche Amore. Touche Amore vocalist Jeremy Bolm actually ran a Thursday fan website when he was younger, which drew attention from Thursday vocalist Geoff Rickly and prompted him to fall in love with Jeremy’s own music. Since then, Thursday has somewhat taken Touche Amore under their wing, making it very special to have them on this tour. Touche Amore is a post-hardcore band as well, but explores a modern interpretation of the genre with somewhat heavier/harsher vocals and arguably a more creative and artful approach. They have gained an impressive amount of popularity, and are now considered leaders in post-hardcore and related genres as well.
Making this lineup even more exciting is British band Basement, who can be considered under multiple genres such as melodic post-hardcore, pop punk, noise rock, etc. Basement formed in 2009 and is one of the most popular modern bands under these titles. After three impressive full-lengths, Basement has made a big decision to sign to Fueled by Ramen, so we can expect big things from them in the near future.
The odd man out on this lineup seems to be Cities Aviv, a solo experimental rapper. Cities Aviv is the stage name for Gavin Mays, who used to be the vocalist in a hardcore band. He is very eclectic in his sound, combining pieces of several different genres and styles. His influences range from soul to post-punk, and his background in hardcore links him to Thursday. If you haven’t heard of this project, I highly recommend you explore it.
Thursday, Touche Amore, Basement, and Cities Aviv will be playing Showbox Sodo on April 15th. The show starts at 8:00 PM and is all ages. Find more info here.
JULIA SCHWAB | Didn’t Use the Word Emo | KXSU Music Reporter