Last night NJ’s THURSDAY threw an “invitation only for friends and family” show at NYC’s Rebel. Since the band had previously cancelled almost all of their tour dates for the summer, we thought this was a can’t miss show. For it might be the only time we get to see them live in 2007. So we were there with bells on.

Upon getting into the venue it became apparant that we knew everyone in the room. It was definitely what it was billed to be, friends and family. The band took the stage about 9:20 and said hello to the crowd. Lead singer Geoff Rickly set the tone of the night by letting us know since we didn’t pay to get into the show we were going to hear what the band wanted to play and not what we wanted to hear. So we were in store for a “Thursday picks their own setlist” kinda night.

They launched right into, “The Other Side Of The Crash” the first track off their latest album A City By The Light Divided. Being able to work my way to the front of the crowd and not worry about the usual congestion of a Thursday audience I was able to get right up by the stage and snap some great pics as the band tore through songs from their last 3 studio albums.

About 4 songs into the set, the band dedicated “Paris In Flames” to their longtime manager (and partner of The Syndicate) Rev Dave Ciancio. “We don’t play this one much anymore and it’s one of his favorites” we were told by Rickly. The evening overall had a sense of fun with a party atmosphere, Thursday were the first to admit that they would not be the first choice as party band but they were happy to be there.

Near the end of the night we soon realized whey everyone had come together for the “friends and family” evening. Thursday had just wrapped up, “Into The Blinding Light” and they called their manager Rev Dave Ciancio to the stage to say a few things. The Rev made his way to the stage and gave a bit of a speech about how much Thursday meant to him and how much the community they were a part of meant to him. He then called his longtime girlfriend Cara Shultz on stage to explain how the two of them met through Thursday (Cara was trying to book them for an event at the magazine she worked at about 5 years ago).

The Rev then did something no one expected, (and apparantly only the band and the moms knew about) he asked Cara to marry him! Amid some cheers and shocked looks, The Rev (after the crowd and Tom from the band kept telling him to do so) got on one knee and produced a ring. Through a lot of, hugs, kisses, and cheers she said “yes”. The Rev hugged his mates in the band and the newly engaged couple walked off stage to applause.

“That’s really why we are here tonight” stated Rickly. The entire show was put on by The Rev and Thursday specifically for him to propose. A memorable event for sure. “We just learned this one today,” Rickely then stated as they went into a cover song of The Buzzcock’s “Ever Fallen In Love? (With Someone You Shouldn’t Have Fallen In Love With?)” a song the band wonderfully covered for a video game soundtrack a few years ago.

The band ended the night with, “The Lovesong Writer” and made their way off stage. We all walked around talking to each other and congratulating the couple and enjoying the event. As someone who’s known and worked with The Rev for the last 7 years or so, it comes to no surprise he was able to pull off an event like this and surprise everyone. In fact I could not imagine him doing it any other way.

Big props go out to the guys in Thursday who mean what they do every time and never cease to amaze me in their ability to be an amazing band and even better human beings. Also here’s a a hearty congratulations to Dave and Cara. Best of luck.

Yeahman!

Thursday’s Setlist.
The Other Side Of The Crash
Sugar In The Sacrament
Signals Over The Air
Paris In Flames
This Song Has Been Brought To You By Falling Bomb
Running From The Rain
Into The Blinding Light

**The Rev Proposes**

Ever Fallen In Love? (With Someone You Shouldn’t Have Fallen In Love With?)
The Lovesong Writer

Tags: Thursday

This entry was posted on Friday, May 4th, 2007 at 11:03 am and is filed under Music, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.