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Sometimes bands build up their audience’s energy over the course of a set, but The Thermals had no interest in easing anyone in on Wednesday night at the Black Cat. After a jovial hello from singer/guitarist Hutch Harris, the Portland trio began their hour long set with 2006 standout “Return to the Fold” inspiring a loud, audience-wide sing-a-long. The rest of the show followed suit as Harris, bassist Kathy Foster and drummer Westin Glass gave a filler-free jaunt through their catalog, while the audience did their best to mirror the band's energy and enthusiasm.
And The Thermals were nothing if not enthusiastic. While they've never been short on ardor, Harris has previously lunged at the microphone with the sort of righteous fury and fist shaking usually reserved for evangelists. But on this year's Now We Can See, Harris spun his incendiary lyrical content in a different direction, focusing his energy on (slightly) more feel good songs, like the title track and "I Called Out Your Name." The backup vocals of bouncy bassist Kathy Foster added an additional dimension to the power pop gems.
The audience seemed equally receptive to both the newer and older tunes. Songs like "When I Was Afraid" and "Now We Can See" prompted the same joyous jumping and loud singing from the audience as older staples like "A Pillar of Salt" and "Here's Your Future." "Here's Your Future" actually jump started the first mosh pit of the night, although it was a newer song, "We Were Sick", that brought the only weird, overzealous fan moment of the night, as one girl started dancing onstage (before the Black Cat staff promptly removed her.)
Probably the best addition to The Thermals' set, however, wasn't the new material, but the new drummer. Westin Glass is drummer number four, actually added after the completion of the recording for Now We Can See, and he clearly intends to enjoy every minute of being a Thermal. He stood up and started some of the clap alongs, pointed at audience members and kept a smile on his face for the entirety of the show. He even gave the front row high fives at the end of the first set and stuck around after the encore to chat up the happy clientele in the front row. Yes, Foster looked like she was doing jumping jacks with her bass and Harris was sweating buckets, but with his magnetic ebullience, Glass stole the show.
As a whole, The Thermals have been able to evolve in their songwriting without forgetting what drew in fans in the first place. Their 22-song set lasted just over an hour, but the songs always felt complete. They didn't stop to talk (except to thank the audience), barely stopped to tune and only slowed down the set in the middle when they played the downtempo "Test Pattern". Despite a very Now We Can See heavy set, it seemed appropriate that they ended both their first set and their encore with staples from their first album, the fantastic More Parts Per Million. Songs like "It's Only Trivia" and "Goddamn the Light" really served as a reminder that even as The Thermals grow, they'll never give us more than exactly what we need.
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They just crush it. Every time.
Great write up Valerie.