Just the idea of the triple hard-rock bill of Rise Against, Alkaline Trio and Thrice at Saltair this week might seem a bit intimidating.

Music aside, each of the bands has an approachable side. Rise Against, after all, loves chocolate. Thrice is named for an inside joke about "Frogger." And Alkaline Trio was featured in an episode of MTV's "The Hills" earlier this year.

But these bands, along with opener The Gaslight Anthem, play fierce music. This triple-bill is one of the best hard-rock bills of the year -- judging from the strong sales figures of each band -- and interviews with band members of each band revealed why fans of recent shows have called this the concert of the decade.

» Rise Against is the headliner of the tour, in part because its October album, "Appeal to Reason," debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard album chart.

"If it had debuted at No. 199, we'd be happy," said Zach Blair, guitarist for the Chicago quartet with punk influences.

"Appeal to Reason" is a call to arms for political activism, which Blair admits the band "wears on its sleeves." Each band member is a vegetarian, and if not for the dairy in chocolate, each would be vegans, Blair said, with a laugh.

Although Rise Against is headlining, Blair said the other bands give it something to strive for. "We have to be on our game," he said. "We're getting e-mails from fans saying it's the best show they've ever seen."

» Alkaline Trio is touring in support of "Agony & Irony," which debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard album chart earlier this year. The group was "stoked" to be asked by fellow Chicagoans Rise Against to join it on the bill. "No band sounds the same," said Dan Andriano, bassist and co-vocalist for the punk band with ska influences. "It's a really good quadruple bill, a diverse bill."

The North Shore, the northern suburbs of Chicago, have been a good breeding ground for talented bands, thanks to the strength of a strong Midwestern music scene in the 1990s, Andriano said. Andriano used to be the frontman of Illinois punk band Tuesday, but said he joined Alkaline Trio because many of the Tuesday band members were "going to college ... [For Tuesday], getting a career was a wise decision."

» Thrice, from southern California, is touring behind the most ambitious endeavor the band has ever undertaken. They released "The Alchemy Index" set, which has an EP devoted to each of the four elements: fire, water, earth and air. In addition, the final song on each EP is a sonnet in iambic pentameter about the relationship of man with each of the specified elements. (The last volume debuted at No. 17 on the Billboard album chart earlier this year.)

The hard-rock band had the hardest time with an element you wouldn't expect them to have trouble with. "'Fire' was the hardest lyrically, getting stumped at spots," said Dustin Kensrue, singer and rhythm guitarist. "It's harder to mix heavier songs."

That results from the band's current tastes, which are being tempered with age, he said. "We don't listen to a lot of heavy music anymore."

As an example, Kensrue is releasing, of all things, a Christmas album this winter, titled "This Good Night Is Still Everywhere."

OK, maybe you don't have to be too intimidated by Thrice.

David Burger writes about popular music. He can be reached at dburger@sltrib.com or 801-287-8620.