Gig: The Thermals

The Thermals (Shaky Hands)

The Horseshoe. Sunday, May 3, 2009.

Coming down from a Hot Docs screening, I arrived in time to catch only about a song-and-a-half from Point Juncture, WA, so I can't evaluate them fairly. I did what I caught of their classic indie type of sound, but, small smaple size and all, I don't have enough of an impression to say anything other than I wish I'd caught more of 'em.

After a fairly quick turnover, Shaky Hands took the stage. They had a sort of classic rock/slightly boogified undercarriage¹ whose macho-ness was countered by Nicholas Delffs' quavering vox. I commented to J. that they sounded "grunge", in the way, like, TAD were grunge, but he doubted I was correct. So, maybe, "greasy" in the way Kings of Leon are (were?) greasy. After each of the first few songs Delffs would mutter, "We're just getting warmed up," and, indeed, the best of the set came with the rockers in the second half. I wasn't blown away, but they were okay.

And then, The Thermals. Not a band that I've had a long and deep history with, but I enjoyed their previous album ('06's The Body, the Blood, the Machine) — and their good rep as a live act — enough that I wanted to see them on their way through town. Taking the stage to a full house and warm cheers, the band acknowledged the crowd and launched into "Returning To the Fold", a song filled with their frequent themes of faith and worry. The punk-inflected power trio then proceeded to tear though song after song with a minimum of fuss, banter, or embellishment. Bassist Kathy Foster was the most kinetic of the band, bouncing up and down with a sly smile. Guitarist/vocalist Hutch Harris was more workmanlike.²

The songs from the just-out Now We Can See fit effortlessly into the set, and I fell instantly for "I Called Out Your Name".³ For just under an hour, encore included, the band kept up a sweaty momentum, nearly twenty songs deep, all brimming with hooks and energy. A plusgood show.

Listen to a track from this set here.

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¹ The classic rock vibes were also due in part to the rhythm section's man-manes, freak flags flying in the breeze.

² If you were casting someone to play the part of "young Tom Verlaine", you could probably do worse than Harris.

³ A desperate love song, that, like so many classic soul songs, could be directed at either God or a more earthly lover.