Concert Review: Thursday, Cursive, The Appleseed Cast & Nate Bergman

Irving Plaza – 26 Jan 2021

“All those nights in the basement, the kids are still screaming”

This had all the makings of an epic disappointment once Omicron came along and tried to fuck things up.  A few weeks before the show, the first leg of the tour was canceled over justified COVID concerns.  Then one of the openers, Sunny Day Real Estate‘s Jeremy Enigk dropped off the majority of the tour.  And then to further shake things up, 3/4s of one of the remaining openers and a key member of the headliners were forced off the show with positive tests.  Things could have gone completely off the rails and resulted in a canceled performance, but after the last few years, the show didn’t just go on, it went OFF.

The day tickets went on sale, I was so stoked to grab them and see The Appleseed Cast, Cursive and Thursday share Manhattan’s Irving Plaza stage. I’ve been a big fan of Thursday since I first watched them open a Boy Sets Fire show at the Wayne Firehouse in Passaic County NJ.  You may also say I’m a bit of a fan of all things Tim Kasher, to the obsessive excess of naming our youngest after a Cursive track.

The projection screen blocking the stage was retracted at 745. Watching the screen rise, my first thought was “Holy shit! Danny McBride is MC tonight.” Then Mr McBride started belting out a completely unaccompanied acapella tune which of course led to me thinking “hot damn, Danny McBride has the voice of an angel. It’s as if he was a combination of Pavarotti and Joe Cocker.” Then the realization hit me hard, “this must be Nate Bergman… and my glasses are filthy.”

Bergman took Enigk’s spot on the bill, and, no disrespect to Enigk, but I think those of us in attendance got the better deal with Bergman there. Not only did the man show off an amazing vocal range, the guy was a charismatic lecter.  His 20 minute slice of Americana and Sun Records influenced twang was broken up with interstitial humor, stories of sleeping in the trailer because he hasn’t sold enough records to get onto the bus with The Appleseed Cast and Cursive and introducing himself with “if you like what you hear, I’m Nate Bergman, if not I’m Jeremy Enigk.”  Normally, I’d complain about the 20 minute set not being long enough, but this wasn’t a normal night, and this wasn’t the last we’d see of Nate Bergman, but first Chris Crisci of The Appleseed Cast was on the stage and setting up.

For those of you who know The Appleseed Cast, you know they are a quartet, but I only mentioned Crisci for a reason.  Turns out the other three members tested positive and could not perform, but Crisci didn’t let it ruin the set.  Things could have gotten a little thorny and problematic with 75% of the band absent, luckily Crisci’s repeatedly told the audience it was going to get awkward, which made things significantly less awkward.  After two beautiful, stripped down songs consisting of just Crisci, his voice and his guitar, he programmed his bandmates parts and with an assortment of pedals and program boards for the rest of the set (kinda). He put on an extremely impressive show.  

Personally, I wouldn’t know an Appleseed Cast song from a pair of apple bottom jeans, but I didn’t hear anything that made me think Crisci wasn’t completely up to task, nailing every note. The one thing I do know is that TAC are well-known for their mastery of effects and noise, which appeared to be off the table without the full band.  But as we all know, looks can be deceiving. For the finale of the set, Crisci began as he had the rest of the performance with just the guitar and microphone, but shortly into the performance he was joined on stage, by Cursive frontman Tim Kasher on drums and Nate Bergman on guitar.  The understudies to The Appleseed Cast closed out the show with an extended performance loaded with distortion, noise and a delicious indie-jam rock out.  

Next to take the stage was Cursive.  Cursive seemed to have escaped the tour’s COVID breakout, and the relief and gratitude shined through in their performance.   As has been the case everytime I’ve seen Omaha’s post-hardcore heroes, Kasher and crew owned the stage as they have consistently in their 25 plus years.

A cacophony of horns and strings, Cursive breezed through a diverse mix of their history, dipping into fan favorites from Burst and Bloom and Get Fixed without forgetting their early 00’s opuses Domestica, Ugly Organ and Happy Hollow. Cursive continued their track record as being one of the best live bands I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing.

After an uncomfortably long set up period, due to technical difficulties Thursday took to the stage and showed a united front stood center stage as Geoff Rickly announced Norman Bannon was unable to perform due to COVID, and that cancellation was certainly on the table.  Instead the band enlisted its crew and friends to fill in to make sure the show continued.  Rickly announced that this wasn’t going to be a standard Thursday concert, instead this would be a “Basement show at Irving Plaza.”  And god dammit they did it.  The energy was through the roof, regardless of who played the part of fifth man.  Based on who was able to learn the part in the short hours, Bannon’s parts were taken by Joe Saucedo of Set Your Goals, Evan Nestor of Frank Iero and the Future Violents, Justin Buschardt of Brooklyn’s Swimmershark and Nate Bergman, and they were played with perfection. 

The band’s emotions and ecstasy carried through the show as the band blazed through “For the Workforce, Drowning,” “The Other Side of the Crash/Over and Out (Of Control),” “Cross Out the Eyes,” and “Signals Over the Air,” before they hit a poignant note “Jet Black New Year.”

Following the last two years, being able to shout along to lines like “How long can we take this chance not to celebrate,” felt like so much more than your average heartfelt sing along.  It was a release, a signal that this is what we need, a collection of kids in their 30s and 40s remembering why they loved this scene so hard and how the experience filled a void that had been growing exponentially.  A switch hit as we collectively felt topped off.  It was such a moment that Tim Kasher, and Cursive cellist Megan Seibe found themselves seated on an amp off stage glued to the show nobody would have expected the band could put on under the circumstances.

The band continued to show off their biggest and best songs with “This Song Brought to You by a Falling Bomb,” “Autobiography of a Nation,” “Division St.” and “War All the Time” before bringing out the big guns with “Understanding in a Car Crash.”

The energy was already way up for the crowd, before Rickly explained they didn’t have a second guitarist to play what has been their show closer for the better part of 20 years.  Instead, the band was joined by Wax Idols’ Heather Fortune and sweet baby Jesus, did she add an amazing level to the performance. With a crowd full of sweat and solidarity and the existential fulfillment that can only be found in the energy of a live performance, the band returned for a three-song encore, highlighted by Rickly’s reminder of the importance of a safe and healthy communal experience.  

That was really the greatest part of the entire evening, as we all were able to achieve catharsis; the release of angst, uncertainty, fear and anger that has grown inside each and every one of us throughout the entire shit storm of 2020 and 2021.  Thank you to all the performers, techs and strangers around me.  You all have made 2022 feel like a positive change is coming and humanity may have a chance at redemption.