After going on indefinite hiatus in 2011, NJ post-hardcore heroes Thursday announced earlier this year that they'd be reuniting. The reunion began last night (8/13) (well, technically around 2 AM this morning) at an aftershow for Atlanta's ongoing Wrecking Ball festival.

I last saw Thursday at the Starland Ballroom stop of their farewell tour, which was an insanely packed show at a relatively large venue, and it really made the band seem larger than life. In the time since the breakup though, Geoff Rickly has been frequenting much smaller venues with United Nations and No Devotion, so it was pretty appropriate that Thursday made their comeback in a small space: The Masquerade's downstairs room, aka Hell, which holds just a few hundred people. They really treated the show as just old friends getting back together to have some fun, too, rather than some triumphant return. Geoff said on stage that a lot of the songs they were playing were songs that got vetoed from the setlist they'll be playing on the festival's main stage today.

That didn't mean it wasn't loaded with favorites though. We got "Cross Out the Eyes," "Understanding in a Car Crash," "For the Workforce, Drowning," "The Other Side of the Crash/Over and Out (Of Control)," "Jet Black New Year," "Division St," and plenty of other highlights from the band's consistently great career. (Nothing off their latest album, 2011's No Devolución, but hopefully that changes at the festival today.) And with the smaller venue, Geoff really got to perform like the hardcore frontman he's always been. Even though Thursday got big enough for videos on MTV, major label deals, etc, you could always tell Geoff was devoted to the punk scene he came from. Watching him lean over the crowd and constantly involve them in the show wasn't much different from watching Touche Amore, the hardcore band that were definitely inspired by Thursday and opened this show, or Gorilla Biscuits, the hardcore legends who played the festival earlier that day.

It's great to have Thursday back, and let's hope this reunion continues. They play Wrecking Ball's Park North Stage at 7:45 PM today, and their tour includes two shows in their home state at Starland Ballroom in December. You can also check out our pictures and review from the first day of Wrecking Ball.

UPDATE: Day two happened.

UPDATE 2: Feet First Productions uploaded full-set videos for Thursday's aftershow and their festival set. Watch both:

Check out more pics/videos and the setlist from the first reunion show:

Thursday @ The Masquerade - 8/13/16 Setlist

Autobiography of a Nation

I Am the Killer

Beyond the Visible Spectrum

Standing on the Edge of Summer

Cross Out the Eyes

Circuits of Fever

The Other Side of the Crash/Over and Out (Of Control)

Jet Black New Year

This Song Brought to You by a Falling Bomb

Division St.

Sugar in the Sacrament

At This Velocity

Understanding in a Car Crash

Encore:

For the Workforce, Drowning

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More pictures from Thursday's set at day 2 of Wrecking Ball in the gallery: