Emo Conquers COVID: Thursday and Cursive At Irving Plaza

In light of the fact that COVID-19 and its variants are going to be with us for the foreseeable future, bands and concert venues are trying to adapt in order to keep the curtains raised. One particular challenge was on clear display Wednesday night for the Thursday and Cursive show at Irving Plaza, when positive COVID tests amongst three of the four bands on the bill threatened to cancel the show. Instead of making the easier (yet painful) decision to cancel dates on the tour for a second time, the bands came together to put on a truly memorable night at Irving Plaza for the veteran emo bands.

thursday cursive irving plaza
Thursday at Irving Plaza, 1/26/22. Photo by Buscar Photo

The tour was originally announced back in November 2021 and was set to feature Thursday as the headliner with Cursive, Jeremy Enigk and The Appleseed Cast providing the support. Cursive have toured with Thursday on and off since the 00’s; the two bands’ stage presence complement each other quite well and one could find an equal number of Cursive and Thursday T-ees throughout Irving. The first show was scheduled for 1/6 in Virginia but the Omicron surge late in 2021 forced the postponement of the first couple weeks of shows, leading to an opening night on 1/19 in Detroit. As a result, Jeremy Enigk was forced to drop off the bill but was replaced by Nate Bergman (solo) from Lionize.

thursday cursive irving plaza
Tim Kasher of Cursive. Irving Plaza, 1/26/22. Photo by Buscar Photo

Cursive was the only band to be spared from any positive COVID tests and were thus the only band to play a full set with all their members. Bergman performed solo and The Appleseed cast was whittled down to mostly a solo set from frontman Chris Crisci. Chris admitted on one song that he roughly recorded a backing drum track right before the show and was later joined by Bergman on guitar and Cursive frontman Tim Kasher on drums for a noisy jam to end the set. At this point in the show, even though it was clear all aspects were being put together on the fly, the two opening acts had done it so successfully that had you been unfamiliar with the music you would have never known.

Cursive took the stage to an enormously warm welcome from the Irving Plaza crowd. Not many bands from the emo/hardcore heyday of the 2000s are still touring (let’s call the upcoming When We Were Young festival an outlier for the time being) but Cursive have released two solid LPs in recent years and still garner support from fans all over the world. Their blend of horns and strings with emo and hardcore was unique back in the 2000s and remains to be so today. Featuring an electric cello, brass horns, keys, and Tim Kasher’s eclectic vocal delivery all blend together to create an infectious “baroque-emo-core.” Cursive played a career-spanning set featuring Ugly Organ tracks “Art is Hard” and “Gentleman Caller” as well as personal favorite “The Martyr” from 2003’s Domestica.

Right before Thursday kicked off their set, frontman Geoff Rickly came out on stage to let the crowd know what was going on. He explained that guitarist Norman Brannon had tested positive and that instead of cancelling the show they decided to “play a basement hardcore show at Irving Plaza.” Several of the touring guitar techs were tasked with learning as many of the guitar tracks as they could and they filled in throughout the show, including on the opener with War All The Time’s “For The Workforce, Drowning.” Thursday made their name in the NJ/NYC DIY hardcore scene so the band was channeling their roots to come through for the fans who came out.

thursday cursive irving plaza
Thursday at Irving Plaza, 1/26/22. Photo by Buscar Photo

Thursday closed the main set at Irving Plaza with their emo anthem “Understanding In A Car Crash” and while a very recognizable guitar track was missing, the void was filled by a guest vocal appearance from Wax Idols singer, Heather Fortune. This show had every reason and excuse to be cancelled, but the will to make it work created one of the more memorable shows NYSM has seen in quite some time. Nate Bergman showed off his vocal prowess, Chris Crisci stripped down The Appleseed cast to its bare songwriting genius and jammed out with Tim Kasher, Cursive held down the fort with a perfect dose of nostalgia, and Thursday sounded as heavy and emotional as ever even if our ears were tingling with missing guitar notes. The crowd provided all the energy needed to overcome COVID in a very typical 2000’s way.

thursday cursive irving plaza
Thursday at Irving Plaza, 1/26/22. Photo by Buscar Photo

The tour is continuing on as planned with a couple shows in New England before the bands return to New York for a show at The Paramount in Huntington. A big hometown show for Thursday is planned at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ for 2/27. Nate Bergman will continue to open the shows until Jeremy Enigk rejoins the bill in February. Find the full itinerary HERE and check out our full photo gallery below.

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