The Thermals, the Shaky Hands & Point Juncture @ Triple Rock Social Club

(The Shaky Hands)

After leaving the low key and polished Neko Case show at the State Theatre Sunday night, I headed over to see the Thermals at the Triple Rock. The show proved just as good as the Neko gig and provided a little more spunk and energy that I needed after the mellower early show.

(The Shaky Hands)

After missing the first opener, I got there just in time for the Portland-based, pop-rock band the Shaky Hands. The four piece band (two guitars, bass and drums) played a propulsive brand of Brit influenced pop that mixed some pretty straightforward indie-centric influences and were quite a bit more mellow than the headliners that followed. The group was playing supporting their 2008 release Lunglight and showed some really great potential that makes me interested in checking out more of their work.

(The Shaky Hands)

(The Shaky Hands)

(The Thermals)

(The Thermals)

The Thermals played a solid 60 minute set that had the band showing off their tightly wound indie punk rock to a boisterous Triple Rock crowd (at least boisterous for a Sunday night). The three piece, which consists of lead singer/guitar player Hutch Harris, Bassist Kathy Foster and drummer Westin Glass, played their lean rock and roll that was consistently engaging and showed why the band has gained so much attention over the last few years. While Harris snarled out his literate punk music, never venturing far from some standard power chords, the band barreled along with near reckless abandon. Both Foster and Glass added interesting dimensions to the sound and all three showed how far you can go using a pretty simple formula. The band jumped on stage near midnight in front of a crowd that was clearly excited to see the young band. The instant the band began to play, the crowd near the front of the stage, which ranged from young looking under-21s to the grizzled punk vets, began jumping around wildly.

(The Thermals)

(The Thermals)

(The Thermals)

The first big highlight of the set came about halfway into the show when the band tore through an energetic take on their great song “Pillar of Salt” from their 2006 album The Body, The Blood, The Machine. While the crowd danced, sang and pumped their fist throughout the set, the next big surge in energy came the back to back barrage of “Here’s Your Future” and from the same album and the title track, “Now We Can See,” from their latest disc. The band ended the main set with a stirring version of “No Culture Icon” from their 2003 release More Parts Per Million that left the cheering crowd wanting more.

(The Thermals)

(The Thermals)

(The Thermals)

The band left for a short break, but returned to treat the crowd to a quick but exciting two song encore. As they have done at other points of the tour, the band dusted off their cover of the Breeders “Saints” before playing a blistering version of their song “Everything Thermals,” with the amusing lyrics, “The Thermals go right to your head, the Thermals have sex in your bed.” While I am sure it was joking bravado, after the great show they put on Sunday night, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Thermals unbelievably catchy songs were in fact in the heads of the fans in attendance Sunday night for days following the show.

(The Thermals)

(The Thermals)

(Point Juncture)

(Point Juncture)

(Point Juncture)

(Point Juncture)

(Point Juncture)

[Review by Josh Keller, photos by Adam Bubolz.]

The Thermals: Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia
The Shaky Hands: Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia
Point Juncture: Official | MySpace

Also: The Thermals @ Pitchfork Music Festival 2009