Our first show was Thrice on Sunday night at the Roseland downtown, which was followed by a "secret" acoustic set played on the streets in Portland for the fairly small group of us who were tipped off to the event.
We got to the Roseland pretty late, so the first opening band was just finishing up when we walked in. I have to say, I think that out of all of the concerts I have gone to, this one was the oldest crowd I have seen, so the 21+ balcony area was packed. We had to wait in line just to get up there, but did score a pretty solid spot in the corner with a decent view of the stage minus that center bar you will see in all of the pictures. By the time Thrice was coming on I was super pumped to see what they were going to play, especially since there was that whole online poll thing for song selection. Overall it was a decent show, though not quite what I was expecting. It was pretty mellow... and they did end up playing mostly newer stuff, which caught me a bit by surprise. I assumed that most people would have wanted to hear some of their older, more heavier songs, but the polls were not in my favor. They did get a couple in, including Silhouette, which is one of my favorites and one that I got to see back in 2003 at Warped Tour, so I was pretty pumped about that. Though we never did end up making our way to the floor, and I know Pat was sad that they didn't play a few things he wanted to hear. (Here is the setlist if you are curious).
[[ pat, tony, and me ready for the show! ]] |
[[ pictures from the show in the roseland. ]] |
After the show we were outside talking and heard rumor about a "secret show" to be played acoustically by lead singer Dustin Kensrue. We were told to walk over to the tour buses where someone came out and told us to make our way to the park up the street, so we obliged. We were soon moved to a new location, a parking lot across the street, because the cops broke up the park gathering. We were asked to sit on the ground and be quiet and on our best behavior so that it wouldn't be broken up again. About half an hour later Dustin was standing a few rows in front of us singing some of his solo songs. This was pretty sweet and I got some good video with Pat's phone. After the short set he offered to meet with people for autographs and pictures, which was also badass. I didn't bother with an autograph since I have one of the whole band from back in the day, but we definitely capitalized on a handshake and new picture. I think it was really cool that he actually took the time to meet with everyone who was waiting before turning in for the night.
[[ the acoustic set. us with dustin. ]] |
Here is a little preview of the acoustic set via YouTube (posted by nathanosu). This is from the show we were at just a few feet to the left of where we were sitting. You probably can't tell from the video, but everyone was singing along softly, it was a pretty crazy feeling to be so close to it all.