Thursday Band = Friday Memories at The Majestic Theatre

On a dreary, wet, but mild Friday night in Detroit, fans began to slowly pack into The Majestic Theater to experience a 20-year anniversary playthrough of the iconic album ‘War All the Time’ in its entirety (plus a couple extra goodies) on January 26. Joining them to heat up the crowd were alt-rock supergroup Rival Schools, as well as newcomers Many Eyes.

 

MANY EYES

 

 

The night began with Many Eyes taking the stage. Although the band was only recently formed in 2023, their roster of members prove they are no strangers to performing. The band consists of Nick and Charlie Bellmore, who play in Dee Snider of Twisted Sister’s solo band, as well as former Every Time I Die frontman Keith Buckley at the helm.

 

Touring bassist Sean Vallie holds down the groove while blessing the audience with no shortage of rocking hair flips. The nostalgic smooth melodies and chord progressions blend beautifully with a modern aggression on tracks such as “Mystic Cord” worthy of early pit movement and crowd surfing (thanks to a clown-dressed fan pointed out by Buckley).

 

 

RIVAL SCHOOLS

 

 

As the night continued, Rival Schools turned things down a notch to bring a more indie alt-rock sound peppered with post-hardcore and grungey influences to keep the momentum going and the good times rolling. This previously-mentioned supergroup consists of alumni hailing from 80’s and 90’s hardcore bands such as Gorilla Biscuits, CIV, Youth of Today, and Iceburn.

 

Additionally, Thursday member Steve Pedulla provided extra support on guitar which gave the audience a tease at the headlining act to come. With the combination of ambient guitar leads, anthemic choruses, driving percussion, and electric stage presence, vocalist and guitarist Walter Schreifels commanded the crowd and fed off of their energy.

 

 

THURSDAY

 

 

As the headlining act calmly took their places upon the darkened stage illuminated by nothing more than a dim blue backlight, the audience patiently awaited as an ambient noise introduced its presence. As the anticipation grew with the rising volume in its tone, with tension that could almost be cut with a knife, the crushing opening notes of the first track “For the Workforce, Drowning” at last provided a burst of energy that catapulted from the stage to the crowd.

 

It was as if all the energy was collected and condensed, waiting for that exact moment of release that finally provided relief and an emotional rush to all in its vicinity. By the time the opening guitar strums of the following track “Between Rupture and Rapture” came to life, the precedence for the night had been secured as the clock winded backwards all the way to late 2003 to relish in the beloved Thursday anthems of the time. An overwhelming sense of nostalgic excitement permeated from the front barricaded fans screaming every word all the way to the upper balcony.

 

Throughout the remainder of the night, the band took everyone on a musical journey through the album front to back, with the addition of “Jet Black New Year” as well as encore songs “Cross Out the Eyes,” “Beyond the Visible Spectrum,” and closing with fan favorite “Understanding in a Car Crash” to end the night with a euphoric high that could be felt on the drive home.

 

See Thursday’s setlist and relive it here:

 

 

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