Tonight in Seattle at Neumos, John Dwyer and his entourage of off-center visionaries, Thee Oh Sees, will emerge on stage in a mist of hushed veneration. As Seattle is one of the cities that gets visits by these guys on a semi-regular basis, it's without hesitation that we strongly state that they sorely need to make a trip through the Midwest, and soon. Because based on the strength of the latest two albums, they have become one of our most anxiously anticipated live shows we have yet to catch. As their new album strays farther away from the hazier material that pinned down their atmospheric Skip Spence/Syd Barrett sound on Sucks Blood, it was always their deeply grooved, energetic songs that stuck out the most, and their current set should be a real earth shaker. As much as their soft-edged, haunting tones caused great elation from most everyone who encountered them, the new LP's cranked-up and painfully infectious new crop of songs are even better, and hopefully signify a more cohesive new direction, where the songs drift around less, and dig into your skull much more.
Tagging along for the first few dates on this current trip are Bay-Area cohorts are The Dodos, who ramble up a jangling folk racket that's got it's own indie rock following, yet works well within the confines of the bill with Thee Oh Sees. With records circulating on the French Kiss label and reserved slots at some of the nation's highest-profile music festivals, they might be the most overexposed of the two bands, yet they sorely pale in comparison to the punch Thee Oh Sees deliver. But if the exposure is what really counts, then by all means pair up the two and let them loose to seduce and destroy, and see who makes the better impression. For this outing, it's likely to see most of the crowd carrying home Oh Sees LPs under their arms than Dodos CDs. Again, since I'm no Nostradamus, I'm sure the silent majority of music fans may go in the other direction, but if you haven't warmed up to Thee Oh Sees last two records, then you have a lot to look forward to, and a whole world of musical excitement to explore. Either way, don't be late tonight, Seattle folks, and get down to Neumos before the sun sets on yet another knockout Oh Sees performance. Pick up a copy of their latest album, The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending A Night In RIGHT HERE, and wonder how you ever lived without it.
check out Thee Oh Sees' performance of "Ghost In The Trees" at SXSW this year, courtesy of whoismichaelryan, right here...
