Thursday / the Number Twelve Looks Like You

Thursday / the Number Twelve Looks Like You: live in Eugenelive in Eugene (2006)
Island Records

Reviewer Rating: 3

Contributed by: colincolin
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on April 4th 2006An open letter to Geoff Rickly of Thursday: Dear Geoff; I'm sorry you're sick. Again. I've seen your band now over half a dozen times over the years and I think there have been two shows where you've been healthy. Perhaps it's the same flu that made the drummer of We're.All.Broken to sit out t.

An open letter to Geoff Rickly of Thursday:

Dear Geoff;

I'm sorry you're sick. Again. I've seen your band now over half a dozen times over the years and I think there have been two shows where you've been healthy. Perhaps it's the same flu that made the drummer of We're.All.Broken to sit out the set. Don't worry, though, Tucker did an amazing job for filling in.

I guess I'll start with them. Tucker was probably the highlight of their set, and he learned the drums to their show in two hours. They weren't bad per se, just really lopsided. One minute they reminded me of Sunny Day Real Estate. The next minute they reminded me of the late `90s nü-metal wave that was shitting all over the radio. They had a great stage presence, don't get me wrong. But I tend to tune out a band that uses three guitars and still feels the need for pre-programmed sounds. For a band with such energy, it's a shame their music didn't really back it up. Also, you might want to talk to them about their name...I think it's We're.All.Broken, but when they announced themselves to the crowd, they said, "We're All Broken from New Jersey." Shouldn't it be, "We're We're.All.Broken from New Jersey?" It's just really confusing.

When I had heard you were bringing out the Number 12 Looks Like You on tour, I got pretty excited. On record they might be a tad generic as far as grindcore and excessive breakdowns are concerned, but sometimes it's nice to have a little bit of that to mix up a set. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that this band had two singers. See, I sort of alluded to the fact earlier that I don't like it when bands have too many of something... Three guitars seems like too much with another computerized soundtrack in the background. Two vocalists alternating the same tone scream and headbanging doesn't seem logical. There was absolutely no need to have two guys on stage, except so one could scream while the other was headbanging. I will say that the main guitarist was absolutely amazing and breathtaking to watch; his skills are far beyond that of what you might expect from a band such as this. Some of the crowd seemed to be in to it, specifically the kid next to me screaming along. For being 15 he pulled off that "I'm trying to sound like a bitter old grandma" scream really well.

Minus the Bear wasn't on this date, and that's a drag. What is even more of a drag is that the time allotted wasn't made up for -- you guys only played for an hour total, including the short break before the encore. It was nice to hear half the set taken from Full Collapse, but every song you played I've seen before. Why not mix it up, and play "I Am the Killer" or "Wind Up?" Instead of the obvious choices from War All the Time, why not "M. Shepard" or "Tomorrow I'll Be You?"

I guess this is the pitfalls of being a bigger band now. The band gets bigger and the fans get younger. I felt incredibly out of place being 23. Maybe it's just because you booked a show in a college town during Spring Break.

Don't get me wrong -- none of this reflects poorly on the band actually playing. In fact, this is the tightest I've ever seen Thursday play. You're at the top of your game. The drumming was outstanding. The guitars were perfectly in sync. Even your vocals were top notch, hitting every note right on. The new songs -- "The Other Side of the Crash" and "Counting 5-4-3-2-1" -- really tore shit up and made me excited for the new record.

Maybe I caught this tour on an off night. There seemed to be plenty of illness and the fact that half the crowd would have been 12 when Full Collapse came out caught me off guard. This is just what happens with bands. I still enjoyed myself, and was glad to give some money towards a tour with such a good cause, but I don't think I'll be making the nearly two-hour trek to Eugene again. To drive that far to hear the eleven-song set list and see two mediocre opening acts just isn't worth what they're charging for gas these days. I'd heard rumors of 18 or 19-song sets with 4 or 5 new songs, songs I've been waiting quite a long time to hear. Again, maybe it's just because you're sick, but it's pretty weak to have this nice small setting and not be exposed to many new or exciting things.

Bad shows are bound to happen, it's just the way things go. This won't detract me from seeing you again, because if the couple new songs I did hear are any indication, there is plenty good to look forward to.

Hope you're feeling better,
Colin

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

crazytoledo (April 8, 2006)

Not really. Thursday screams from time to time, Atreyu is mainly screaming with a little singing.

But musically I can't find a similarity and it's only inevitable for some tendencies, in their basic forms, to be similar to others, even if the bands aren't.

rkl (April 7, 2006)

ive listened to atreyus first album far more times than i care to admit(lets just say it was a fucked up summer), and the only thursday song i can place is that one about wings of the dove.
i didnt say they were the same band, but stylistically, theyre not all that different.
see: previous post.

crazytoledo (April 7, 2006)

Everything is different.

It's like comparing Britney Spears to Green day or to Killswitch Engage because they all have singing in it.

Listen to 'Creature' or 'Our Sick Story' by Atreyu and then 'Counting 5-4-3-2-1' by Thursday and tell me they're similar.

rkl (April 6, 2006)

what are the major differences, exactly?

thursday and atreyu are about as different as jughead's revenge and the offspring.

crazytoledo (April 6, 2006)

Saying Thursday and Atreyu are similar is worse than any of the opinions on my reviews.

If you think their similar then you sir are an idiot.

rkl (April 6, 2006)

they both have the alternating sing/scream thing.
atreyu may be a bit heavier, but the style of music isnt all that different.

Anonymous (April 6, 2006)

If you think Thursday and Atreyu are in the same boat, you need your head examined.

Either that, or you should try listening to both bands more than 4 seconds.

Anonymous (April 6, 2006)

Colin you give someone shit for giving Atreyu a 9? Them and Thursday are in the same boat of shitty bands that aren't punk rock.

colin (April 6, 2006)

What the fuck?! Is you retarded?

nope.

You should feel like a douchebag for writing a piss-poor review.

Quit hating on people who liked good tunes when they were 12 and kill yourself.

i'm not 'hating on' anyone. i don't expend that much energy on a message board. i'm just defending my points, that's all. as for the part you quoted - while the band played well, the set was incredibly short, hence maybe they didn't play all the songs they play on the rest of the tour because of geoff being sick.

then again, it's kind of hard to defend yourself againt such amazing and original thoughts as "kill yourself." really, do you have any comprehension of life at all? this is the internet. it's a show review. get over yourself.

Anonymous (April 6, 2006)

"...this is the tightest I've ever seen Thursday play. You're at the top of your game. The drumming was outstanding. The guitars were perfectly in sync. Even your vocals were top notch, hitting every note right on.

Maybe I caught this tour on an off night."

What the fuck?! Is you retarded?

"I felt incredibly out of place being 23."

You should feel like a douchebag for writing a piss-poor review.

Quit hating on people who liked good tunes when they were 12 and kill yourself.

-sidewalk- (April 5, 2006)

"i was just saying it's pretty obvious you're eating up what they serve you at this point"

hahahaaaa. classic.

Anonymous (April 5, 2006)

The Number Twelve Sounds Like Poo

crazytoledo (April 5, 2006)

And now I hate Slipknot and Linkin Park.

I like the rest of the bands mentioned.

crazytoledo (April 5, 2006)

one of these days you'll learn how to correctly discern "your" from "you're," and you'll also probably learn how to formulate an arguement.

I typed it fast and typo'd. I do know the difference.

Ironically, my favorite bands when I was 12 were a mixed bag. While I did like Slipknot and Linkin Park at 12, some of my favorite bands were Millencolin, Pennywise, Deviates, Rancid, and Bad Religion.

Anonymous (April 5, 2006)

My favorite bands when I was 17 was At the drive-in, hot water music and propagandhi. I still think that those bands are or were freaking awsome so...

Anonymous (April 5, 2006)

Not really a burn. I'm 17 now and if it's a crime to be 17 then your an idiot.

it's not a crime to be 17, jackass, but let me spell this out for you:

as you grow older, your taste and appreciation of music grows, too. when i was 17 i was listening to god awful music, too. don't worry, you'll grow out of it. one of these days you'll learn how to correctly discern "your" from "you're," and you'll also probably learn how to formulate an arguement.

listen, i wasn't trying to tell you that you're somehow a criminal, i was just saying it's pretty obvious you're eating up what they serve you at this point, which is okay, you're still young. god knows i've had some regrets with the scores of some of the reviews i've done.

point being, don't try to fuck with me. i'm smarter than you are, and you won't win a debate with me when you can't even figure out what the hell i'm talking about.

-colin at work

crazytoledo (April 5, 2006)

Not really a burn. I'm 17 now and if it's a crime to be 17 then your an idiot.

rkl (April 5, 2006)

defending thursday while shitting on atreyu seems an awfully odd way to go.

Anonymous (April 4, 2006)

Posted by sickboi on 2006-04-04 00:55:44

I really disliked Thursday until War All the Time....great album.

That said, everyone always rants and raves about Thursday and A3 live, but everytime I've seen either, its meh-ville.

I can't vouch for Thursday, but Alkaline Trio is my favorite band and even I think they're kinda "meh" live. I'll still see them every time I can, but I would understand if someone wasn't into them after seeing their show.

-somegirl

ElVaquero (April 4, 2006)

good burn colin, completely dead on

Anonymous (April 4, 2006)

Hahahaha.

I was 12 when it came out.

which doesn't surprise me. you gave atreyu a 9.

-colin at work

crazytoledo (April 4, 2006)

the fact that half the crowd would have been 12 when Full Collapse came out caught me off guard.

Hahahaha.

I was 12 when it came out.

colin (April 4, 2006)

colin. i like you. so i'm not necesarily talking shit. but concept reviews are generally only good when the concept hasn't been used a million times.

also the number twelve are fucking horrible. who enjoys that shit?

sorry to rant.

i know, i generally stay away from reviews like this, but i've been reviewing a lot of stuff lately and i didn't want it to all become the same. whether or not this one was successful, it still at least was different.

so wait, geoff was sick, but the vocals were right on?

yeah, it was weird. i've never seen him stay this on key before. during one of the new songs he hit some really, really impressive notes.

skankin_in_the_pit (April 4, 2006)

Bill is right. Thursday's Negative Approach cover is unbelievably bad. I burned a cd of like 25 N.A. covers before I'd even really listened to the songs and I put it between Madball's horrible version of "Ready To Fight" and Biohazard's awful version "Friend Or Foe." I have to skip over those three tracks immediately every time they come up, but the Thursday song is by far the worst.

Anonymous (April 4, 2006)

so wait, geoff was sick, but the vocals were right on? i can't wait for the boston show...minus the bearrrrrrrrrrrr

Anonymous (April 4, 2006)

thursday sucks

TheOneTrueBill (April 4, 2006)

the_other_scott (April 4, 2006)

TheOneTrueBill (April 4, 2006)

Anyone else ever hear Thursday covering the Negative Approach song "Evacuate?" It's one of the most god awful things I've ever heard in my life.

Anonymous (April 4, 2006)

full collapse > war all the time

sickboi (April 4, 2006)

I really disliked Thursday until War All the Time....great album.

That said, everyone always rants and raves about Thursday and A3 live, but everytime I've seen either, its meh-ville.

sickboi (April 4, 2006)

I really disliked Thursday until

Anonymous (April 4, 2006)

this band puts on one of the tightest live shows i've ever seen.

cannot wait for sonar in may. small venue, amazing live show.

oh, and you guys definetely got the weak end of the openers.

we get minus the bear and me without you.

neener neener neener.

Anonymous (April 4, 2006)

The one time I saw Thursday live was a treat.

The only band I ever really enjoyed that had the "Thursday" sound, but man I used to enjoy the hell out of Full Collapse and the other CD on Eyeball that I never remember the name of since I never had a real copy, just a burn.

etwiels88 (April 4, 2006)

I don't understand the appeal of Thursday. I mean..they're ok.