Tonight must have been a stand-out night for Thrice as fans of all generations and locations came out to celebrate such an incredible career as a band. Among family and friends, Thrice put on one of the best performances (at least that I’ve been to) to a sold-out hometown venue for the last time… At least for now.

The last of a series of both sold-out and added-on shows, the farewell show was billed with Thrice as the only band of the night. No opening acts meant a much longer performance broken up into three sets, including a solo acoustic set by frontman Dustin Kensrue. Starting a bit later than the previous five nights, fans that had packed the venue were anxious, to the say the least. Once the lights on stage blacked out, the energy in the small venue swelled up. After greeting the crowd, Thrice launched into what would be about 3 hours worth of music, again, spanning their entire career as a band.

The set-list as a whole was based on the core of the tour set-list, made up of fan favorites from each album. Given the extra time, of course, Thrice was able to add more songs. One of the best reactions from the audience came courtesy of “Identity Crisis”, a nod to long-time fans in attendance. It was amazing to see the blend of fans who had listened to Thrice from the beginning all the way to those that just recently discovered them. Everyone sang along in unison throughout the night to the 33-song marathon of hits.

As the night began to reach its end, the energy was still high and you could tell that Thrice was still very much invested in the physical challenge of playing more songs than they had ever done in one show. Fans were just as energetic, especially when “Deadbolt” started up. Over the years, the song had obviously become a bit of a burden for the band as fans would relentlessly shout for it (the night before it had boiled up to the point of Kensrue having to ask people to stop). To make a play on this, one of their more aggressive songs, beachballs were thrown into the audience to add a bit more fun into the mix. Another treat for fans came immediately after during “To Awake and Avenge the Dead” as Ray Harkins from Taken came on stage to scream along with Kensrue, a throwback to the days when the two bands regularly performed together.

Thrice finished their set as they had done all throughout their previous five local shows, with the aptly named “Anthology”. With each verse and chorus, hands flew up in the air and voices rang out on both sides of the security barricade lining the stage. Genuine smiles between Thrice and the audience were surely melting hearts, but as the song crept closer and closer to its end you could tell a few were breaking at the same time. With the last few notes of the song, fans let out an uproar of love and appreciation to fully engulf the band. “THANK YOU, THRICE!” chants continued as they had throughout all six local nights, a soundtrack from the fans as Thrice waved and thanked the audience before walking off stage for the last time. Thrice has mentioned time and time again during these past few shows that they would return, but the question remains as to when that time will come. Rest assured, whenever that time comes the fans will be there in full force. This was honestly one of the best Thrice performances I’ve ever been to and I’m so happy to have been a part of the audience, showing my appreciation for a band that has been there for almost half of my life. Thank you, Thrice.

Thanks to Amy for allowing me to shoot this amazing last performance. Hi to everyone I met tonight and those that I’ve known for a while and shed a warrior’s tear with. Most of all, thanks to Thrice for existing.