Some shows burn slowly. Others hit like a freight train from the first note. Thursday’s sold-out August 8th set at Lark Hall in Albany was a full-blown collision of post-hardcore fury.
The night began in the shadows, with Blood Vulture stalking the stage like a pack of urban predators. A New York City-based vampire/goth sludge rock unit, that oozed atmosphere.
Slow, crushing riffs dripped with distortion as bass lines crawled like fog across the stage. Every note felt like it was soaked in midnight. The crowd, still shaking off the workweek, got pulled deep into the gloom, their heads nodding in slow, heavy unison.
Then the darkness gave way to a jolt of daylight. I Am the Avalanche hit the stage like a sudden blast of summer heat, burning away the haze with high-voltage riffs and shout-along choruses.
Brooklyn’s second-generation post-hardcore/punk torchbearers wasted no time taking control with frontman, Vinnie Caruana grinning like a man who knew the room was already his.
The energy was relentless. Every drum hit like a body blow, every chorus a rally cry. They didn’t just keep the fire burning, they turned it into a uncontrollable wildfire.
Then came the moment the room had been waiting for. The lights dipped, a low hum buzzed through the speakers and Thursday stepped into view.
This wasn’t just another stop on just another tour. It was the night before the New Jersey icons would play the massive MetLife Stadium alongside My Chemical Romance. But here, in a 400-capacity room with floorboards and walls that had soaked in over a century of history, they were within arm’s reach.
For longtime fans, especially those who’ve been there since Thursday’s earliest days, it was a full-on time warp. This photographer has watched them rip through $3 basement shows in New Jersey; years later, that same raw, relentless energy was unleashed right here in our Capitol City.
The set opener, “Signals Over the Air”, hit like a surge of electricity through the crowd. They didn’t waste a second. “White Bikes” came next, spitting grit and urgency into the room. The band moved with the same youthful energy they had in ’97, but there’s a polish now — the kind that comes from years of survival, not compromise.
The Albany faithful roared, but they weren’t alone. Fans had clearly made the trek from Thursday’s home turf in New Jersey, turning the room into a roaring mix of locals and diehards. The love was mutual, visible in Geoff Rickly’s grin between screams and in the way the band leaned into each breakdown.
Mid-set, “War All the Time” landed like an emotional sledgehammer, the kind of song that makes a listener feel every scar they’ve ever earned. “Jet Black New Year” kept the pressure high, locking the audience into one voice, one body, one rhythm.
And then the encore , “Turnpike Divides” — the final detonation. It was the sonic equivalent of fireworks at point-blank range, a release of every ounce of tension the night had built. Thursday left the stage not with a fade-out, but with a blast that kept ringing in the ears long after the house lights came up.
Credit where it’s due, Lark Hall deserves a standing ovation of its own. Securing a show of this caliber will go down in their history books, right alongside the rich legacy of the building itself. If those century-old walls could talk, they would’ve been screaming right along with the crowd.
The fire’s still there. The edge is still sharp. For one night in Albany, Thursday turned back the clock while proving they’ve still got the fuel to burn stadiums down, pre-gaming with Albany’s Lark Hall.
Setlist: Signals Over The Air, White Bikes, Other side Of The Crash, This Song Brought To You By A Falling Bomb, Fast To The End, Understanding In A Car Crash, War All The Time, For The Workforce, Standing On The Edge Of Summertime, Cross Out The Eyes, Application For Release From The Dream, Jet Black New Year, Love song Writer, Turnpike Divides
