Thursday @ Concord Music Hall, Chicago, USA, January 30, 2024

Thursday, Rival Schools, Many Eyes

Thursday @ Concord Music Hall, Chicago, USA, January 30, 2024,

February 05, 2024
By Candace McDuffie
Photo: Devan Gallagher
Web Exclusive

of Thursday War all the time was released in 2003 and talked about the instability of the first games. The project served as the band's third studio album and was a powerful statement from the emotionally charged side. Frontman Geoff Rickley has previously stated that the album title came before the record. Additionally, it was Thursday's first album away from Victory Records.

“I just wanted to write a record that we could play live that was really aggressive and progressive,” Rickley said. “I wanted it to be new and have all these boundary-pushing ideas and I wanted it to be heavier than [Thursday’s second studio album] Complete collapse.” In honor of its 20 years, the group embarked on a tour in which War all the time run from start to finish.

One of their first pit stops was Chicago's Concord Music Hall on January 30 (it wraps up later this month at New York's Irving Plaza). “People traveled from many states, cities and countries to join us and kept asking us the same question – please come to (insert city name here) with War all the timeThursday previously said of the tour lineup in a statement.

“If we were going to do it, we knew it had to be special, so we thought 2001 when we were touring with Rival Schools, and then we thought 2012 when we were touring with Keith Buckley, and then we thought 2024.” Every Time I Die singer Keith Buckley and his new band, Many Eyes, were one of two to open the night. As with his previous hardcore group, the singer managed to balance more heavy metal sounds with surprisingly melodic beats.

Although Many Eyes' debut album is yet to be released (their first single “Revelation” was released in October), they thanked fans for their unwavering support and promised that it will be available soon. Next up was Rival Schools, a New York show featuring members of Quicksand, Gorilla Biscuits and CIV.

The group also celebrated its 20th anniversary reissue United By Fate and were warmly received by the fans. Audience members eagerly awaited Thursday to take the stage and immediately felt invigorated by the exhilarating energy Rickley always had on stage.

War All The Time's The opening track, “For The Workforce, Drowning” remains a frenzied masterpiece two decades after its release. Rickley had previously called it “the best opener we've ever had live” and that “it's just going to crush and blow people away with how nimble, aggressive and angular our band was. It was like a really heavy Fugazi or something, it was really charged.”

That description remains apt, with other tracks like “Division St.” and “Signals Over The Air” continue to be huge crowd pleasers. Rickley dropped to his knees to deliver a soulful rendition of “This Song Brought To You By A Falling Bomb” followed by “Steps Ascending” and the album's title track.

In 2003, MTV decided to ban war-related videos and songs due to the conflict in Iraq. “War All Of Time” was one of the videos on that list, though Rickley said the network censored it because it contained “oblique references to suicide.” However, considering the Israel-Hamas conflict and the genocide of tens of thousands of Palestinians over the past 5 months, the message is still relevant.

After Thursday wrapped up the classic album in its entirety, they treated viewers to even more gems like “Jet Black New Year,” “Cross Out The Eyes” and “Understanding In A Car Crash.” For a few hours, a piece of vibrant art transported music lovers back to 2003 – and nobody would change a thing about it.