The collective energy of the Portland-based band The Thermals was greater than the sum of its three parts when they took the stage last night at Salem’s Grand Theatre.
And if you haven’t heard it yet, this is the real secret about the Cherry City Music Festival, which is happening right now, which has brought 140 bands to Salem this weekend:
The festival is one more sign to me of the power of comparative study.
It shows how good we have it.
Think about it. Doesn’t your life always seem a little awesome when you compare yourselves to others in the ways that matter?
When I was living in Munich, I would frequently see gigs like Pavement and Ani DiFranco in intimate venues — places that would have been sold out in minutes in the states. I always knew how good I had it at those shows when I was standing about three feet from Ani’s frets and staring at her gnarly, righteous hands.
And The Thermals last night in Salem — they didn’t quite pack the place, but they gave off some inklings of what Oregonian writer Luciana Lopez talked about in the paper’s A & E section this weekend. She expects The Thermals to have a huge year.
One other sign:
My friend Insa, who is visiting from D.C. this Easter weekend, has tried three times to see The Thermals in our nation’s capital.
They always sell out their gigs at the Black Cat.
Lucky us.
We saw them last night in Salem, and had a parking spot right in front of the theater.
Sounds awesome!! I will have to look them up. Haven’t heard of them, but I know there are many great indie bands I haven’t heard of yet.
There’s a couple of good articles about them that came out this week to coincide with the latest album release.
The whole KRS line-up was terrific! Did you get to see other bands, either at the Grand or elsewhere. (I suppose you must have since you wrote about Mecca Normal…)
Horse Feathers played lovely old-timey chamber pop that showed like a brilliant diamond in the Grand. They were a perfect match for venue and music style. They’re going to be on Livewire tonight. Exploding into Colors and Panther had everybody dancing, and The Thermals played a really intimate set. Because of the risers on the front apron of the stage, there was little separation between the audience and the band. It’s true, in Portland you don’t get to see shows quite like this! For readers who don’t already have a wristband, there’s still one more night of shows. Check out the full schedule here.
Yeah, saw the three before them, but had company for the rest of the weekend, so we had to give her the best of tour…
The risers in the front were REALLY annoying. I had no interest in competing with teenagers to see the band, so I sat near the back — you could just get a view of them that way. Still, only about half as annoying as the same thing happening at the airport baggage terminal. Imagine how much greater life would be if people just took two steps back…
I didn’t get to see Mecca Normal
But I wanted to preview it for other people who could!