02.22.2007 The Thermals / Romance @ The Media Club

Usually I don't go to shows on week days, mostly because I have to wake up the next morning. The Thermals/Romance show, however made it all worth it. The Thermals from Portland, OR are definitely a band with lots of media buzz. Combined this with the fact that there last album scored a 9.0 on pitchfork, I was ready for a good show. I got a great show.



The show started with the band Romance. They short of had a emo/indie/weezer sort of vibe to them. I think one of the guitarists and the keyboard player were brothers, possibly twins. By and large, the played some decent tunes. Their keyboard parts are what impressed me the most about them. This was despite the fact that it seemed like he was sloppy at times and for one song seemed to be playing an entirely different song from the rest of the group. Apparently one of their guitarists wasn't able to make it to the show so its hard to fault them too much. I'll give them credit, they were still a decent opener.



After a short break, the Thermals hit the stage with great anticipation from the almost sold out Media club crowd. They did not disappoint. For touring purposes, it looks as if they've even added a 2nd guitarist, which I suppose lightens some of singer Hutch Harris' duties, plus allows him to really throw himself into the songs. Long setlist, (20+ songs), almost gave me a heart attack thinking they would be playing way over midnight. Alas it clocked in respectably a bit over an hour (their songs are a 2-3 min long). Pretty good mix of songs throughout their 3 records. The crowd was mostly into it and then really into in about 40 minutes in when they started moshing it up to my chagrin. Basslines were tight and vocals were pretty much spot on during the night. I don't think they'll be playing at the media club the next time they're here.



$25 / $15