Results tagged “westinglass”

The first time we ever saw The Thermals was about two years ago at the Gorge among a bunch of big-name acts like Modest Mouse and the Presidents. They played at one of the smaller stages, in the middle of the day with the sun blazing overhead and people aimlessly wandering by the front of the stage, stuffing their faces with elephant ears. Even in that environment, The Thermals brought forth a pure rock energy unmatched by any other band that day.

At this point, who doesn't love The Thermals? Your mom might not like that they play their music so loud and that their second album title featured the f-bomb, but even she'd have to admit that all their songs are pretty dang catchy (her words, not ours). Personally, we have loved them since their debut, the delightfully messy, sneeringly lo-fi More Parts Per Million, born of the fertile womb of Bush administration angst. The Portland post-powerpop-punk three-piece has continued to grow and evolve (and change lineups) over time, such that their last full-length was a concept album about living in a right-wing fascist theocracy. But now here we are at the dawn of a new political era, and The Thermals have a cautiously hopeful album to match. It's about death, of course. We spoke to Valley Girl-voiced singer Hutch Harris in anticipation of the band's show at Neumo's tomorrow night (8pm doors, $15, all ages).

Lo-fi indie pop band Say Hi used to be known as Say Hi to Your Mom. It also used to based in Brooklyn and now it's found in Seattle. Regardless, the man behind the band is Eric Elbogen, who records the songs at home, playing all the instruments, providing most of the vocals (except for the occasional guest artist), and even mixing the tracks his own damn self. His last album (pre-name change), Impeccable Blahs, was mostly about vampires, though Star Trek got a shoutout too. Now the band's in version 2.0 with a truncated moniker and new album The Wishes and the Glitch, which has a decidedly (*cringe*) more mature sound. Say Hi plays Chop Suey this Thursday, along with Battle Hymns and Siberian (9pm, all ages, $8). We spoke to Eric about getting older, living and playing in Seattle, and being on the low rung of the Sasquatch ladder.