PHOTOS BY MICHELLE SMITH

With bangs dangling in their eyes and hoodies pulled over their heads, rockers from across Philly braved the cold and made a pilgrimage to the Electric Factory last night (Dec. 6) to experience a holy trinity of post-hardcore madness. Hometown heroes mewithoutYou opened for the sold-out crowd, cramming its five members onstage alongside a few additional musical helpers. Wielding an assortment of stringed instruments, tribal drums, and strange keyboards, the band created a melodic power drone to back up the madman ravings lead singer Aaron Weiss.

Later, Brand New ended the night by bringing out the hits. While not as adventurous as the two preceding bands, their big choruses evoked the populist vibe in the room. But in between the two was Thrice, clearly the big thrill of the evening, which earned their name by playing three distinctly different types of songs. The Irvine, CA-based stalwarts ripped into their set with catchy, sweetheart punk filled with soaring harmonies, but soon transformed into a metal beast with huge, chunky riffs and razor sharp soloing. The highlight of their set was the aptly named "Digital Sea," off of their new album, The Alchemy Index Volume I & II. Digital drums, distorted vocals, and lullaby pianos swirled together to exemplify the band's third sound. They ended their set with the unreleased and mostly acoustic track "Come All Ye Weary," a preview from the forthcoming Alchemy Index volumes, and further evidence of Thrice's diverse musical prowess. 

We asked: Thrice's new album, The Alchemy Index, Vols. I & II: Fire & Water, is named after an ancient practice best known for its attempts to change coal into gold by subtracting a molecule. If you could change coal into anything else in this universe, what would it be?

Name: Ashley Mohring
Age: 18
Hometown: West Deptford, NJ
Occupation: Student
"I'd make it money."

Name: Jessica Saunders
Age: 20
Hometown: Wilmington, DE
Occupation: Customer service
"I'd turn coal into a boy!"

Name: Amber Salyers
Age: 20
Hometown: Wilmington, DE
Occupation: Receptionist
"I'd turn it into a car that runs."

Name: Brad Camarote
Age: 22
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Occupation: Production manager
"Food!"

Name: Megan Agnew
Age: 17
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Occupation: Student
"I'd transform it into some new instruments for me."

Name: Devin Peppler
Age: 21
Hometown: Neptune, NJ
Occupation: Student/Freelance photographer
"I'd turn coal into millions of dollars so I could travel."

Name: Matt Trocell
Age: 19
Hometown: West Deptford, NJ
Occupation: Photographer
"I'd make coal into Rod Stewart CDs."

Name: Matt Santo
Age: 18
Hometown: Woodbury, NJ
Occupation: Grocer
"Cake! Unicycles!"

Bassist Ed Breckenridge / Photo by Michelle Smith

Kensrue offers some electric riffage at the Electric Factory / Photo by Michelle Smith

Drummer Riley Breckenridge / Photo by Michelle Smith

Guitarist Teppei Teranishi / Photo by Michelle Smith

mewithoutYou / Photo by Michelle Smith