The Alchemy Index was released in two parts, with the first volume released in the fall of 2007 and debuted at #24 on the Billboard Album Charts. So, there was major anticipation when the second part was released earlier this year and debuted even higher, at #17 on the Billboard Album Charts.

Lead by enigmatic and highly articulate lead singer Dustin Kensrue, Thrice shifted away from the emo style early in their career towards a far more experimental route and delivered on tracks like “The Artist and the Ambulance” and the stellar “Image of the Invisible.” By moving into a much more heady direction, the band was able to avoid the backlash that inevitably took out a lot of their peers and was able to grow and allowed to add some new kinks to the band’s stylings. Thrice has also moved to powerful indie Vagrant Records, where the band has been a bit more breathing room in the recording process, versus the major label releases like Ambulance and Vheissu.

After touring with Circa Survive earlier this year, Thrice plays their highest profile tour of the year, with Chicago’s Rise Against and Alkaline Trio. The tour is just getting underway, and will last through mid-December in Canada. Before then, the bands hit the Fillmore Detroit this Sunday (November 23^rd). This offers to be a triple threat of thought-provoking and topical music that don’t pander to the kiddies and stays sincere and raging all at the same time.

Thrice plays with Rise Against at the Fillmore Detroit this Sunday, November 23^rd. Tickets are $27.50 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional dates can be found at www.thrice.com. Thrice’s “Live From The House of Blues” is now out on Vagrant Records.

Calexico plays with The Acorn tonight (November 20th) at the Crofoot Ballroom. Tickets are $15 and are available at www.ticketweb.com. Additional dates can be found at www.myspace.com/casadecalexico.

Glory Hope Mountain is the follow up to the Tin Fist EP which features cuts like “Spring Thaw,” in which singer Rolf Carlos Klausner brings forth tension filled lyrics and displays them for all to see. Other cuts off Tin Fist include the Bright Eyes-ish “Heirlooms” and the almost electronic sounding “Brokered Heart.”

Consider Glory an expansion on the band’s sound on that EP. Songs like “Crooked Legs” meet with same sort of indie rock with a sprinkling of ambient beats. The album was released just months after Tin Fist and the band has more plans coming up very shortly.

The band is just also releasing a four song EP with the band Ohbijou and then will release a live and rarities album, entitled Heron Act, due out in 2009. As if putting out release after release doesn’t tire them out, the band is out on the road with Calexico and will be on tour through the month. Their Detroit date is Thursday, November 20^th at the Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac. This may be a great chance to check out The Acorn before they release even more music and you will then have to catch up on that.

The Acorn plays with Calexico at the Crofoot Ballroom on November 20^th. Tickets are $13 and are available at www.ticketweb.com. Additional dates can be found at www.myspace.com/theacorn.

The band has toured extensively over the years with just about anyone in the metal scene and has hopped on the Warped Tour a few times as well. The new tour could end up being one of the group’s most high profile gigs (outside of Warped) to date with the always mysterious Dir En Grey. The Human Abstract will be the

But Conquer delivers some major guest spots in the metal world, with Throwdown’s Dave Peters delivering his Cavalera-influenced vocals on “Unleash” and Morbid Angel’s David Vincent on the opening track “Blood Fire War Hate.” The album brings a lot of the frenetic energy of earlier records on tracks like “For Those About to Rot,” among others. Cavalera’s voice sounds as heavy as ever, and guitarist Marc Rizzo proves once again that he may be one of the most underrated guitarists of the genre.

Soulfly is criss-crossing America in the month of November, with the tour finishing in their home state of Arizona on November 29^th. Meanwhile, the band makes an appearance north of Detroit at the always wild Machine Shop in Flint on November 19^th. Bleed the

But now that the single has exposed the group to tons of fans, and Vesely wants you to know there’s more to the group than just one hit single. The group’s sophomore release, A Twist In My Story came out last February and shows off that there’s more sensitive ballads and upbeat numbers where that came from. The album features teenage and young adult approved tracks like “Your Call” and “Goodbye.”

For Secondhand Serenade, the buzz started in 2006, as the band turned themselves into a MySpace darling and had success selling the material strictly through iTunes, before the group signed with Glass Note Music.

Vesely has been touring through 2008 behind the release and has seen him come from playing intimate venues like the Magic Stick in Detroit to the biggest gig he’s had to date here in the Detroit area when Secondhand Serenade co-headlines a show with the oddly titled Cute Is What We Aim For on Sunday, November 16^th at Clutch Cargo’s. This is sure to be a chance to see how far Secondhand Serenade has come in the past year. It will be the last tour as Vesely prepares to work on new material, probably due out in 2009.

Secondhand Serenade plays at Clutch Cargo’s on Sunday, November 16^th. Tickets are $18.50 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional dates can be found at www.myspace.com/secondhandserenade

The band’s first single, “Ready To Roll,” has made some noise on the rock charts, and it encapsulates the band’s sound the best. A charging riff and nowhere near a ballad, JBS would be smart to have some songs like this in the future. They received a decently strong reaction from the crowd, most of whom just wanted to see a couple songs from each of the following bands and go on in their drunken Halloween festivities.With one of their first major tours now in books, I get a feeling this won't be the last time you hear from Jet Black Stare. Keep an eye on them as 2009 progresses.

Check out www.jetblackstare.com for additional dates in the future. Their album, “In This Life” is out now.

The Whigs open for Kings of Leon at the Fillmore Detroit on Saturday, November 8^th. Tickets are $30.50 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional dates can be found at www.thewhigs.com.

Role Models

Most days, I wake up feeling like Danny Donahue (Paul Rudd). Hating his place in life, spouting off some nasty remarks to some unassuming people and treating kids with even more disdain. In the course of the day that sets the pace of this movie, Danny drinks about 20 Minotaur energy drinks, proposes to his girlfriend and gets rejected and then in the midst of getting his truck towed, drives up on a school statue.Instead of serving 30 days in jail, Danny along with womanizing friend Wheeler (Scott) have to serve 150 hours at Sturdy Wings, a Big Brother/Big Sisters type place where the two co-workers have to deal with kids that they normally wouldn’t deal with- or serve the jail time.

Danny has to play mentor to Dungeons and Dragons style disciple Augie (Mintz-Plasse a.k.a.'McLovin' from Superbad), while Wheeler deals with the foul mouthed, breast obsessed Ronnie (Bobb’e Thompson). Both of them have their 150 hours cut out for them, and the guys plow through the time with some cringing, but some hilarious results.