The Thermals in Seattle

Show: The Thermals
Headliner: The Thermals
Openers: Arthur & Yu, Coconut Coolouts
Location: Neumos in Seattle, WA
Date: Saturday, December 1, 2007
2007 Show #: 8

Finally making it to a show in Seattle. Neumos is a cool venue. Plenty of places to sit, and a well separated drinking/no-drinking section, the space size is just right. Fortunately the weather stayed ok and I was able to make it.

The Coconut Coolouts came on first and played a half hour or so. They're a decent band, with the goal of a party atmosphere. The band has 6 people, and for some reason they arranged themselves in a single line across the stage. They seemed a little crowded. They had two drummers too. Not much to say about this band. They put on a decent show, but how excited can you get about a band with a song "Do the Dolphin." That might have worked 40-50 years ago, but requires a certain tongue in cheek to do well now.

Next came on Arthur & Yu, a 5 piece group that called themselves the soft center in a hard rocking sandwich (as they joked often enough). They played a mostly melodic set. Good stuff, but I didn't feel like I could fully appreciate in the environment. I'll check out some more of their stuff...

Finally the Thermals came on. I've seen them once before, but I don't think I've written about it. Last time wasn't a very good show, with the crowd mostly emptying out by the end. This show was a lot more energetic though. And the crowd was much more into. It made the show a lot better all around. Of course all their songs sound the same, but it was a happy same. The mosh pit was kind of lame. And one jerk kept jumping around and was even kicked out once, but like a bad sock he kept turning up. The show was certainly a better one then last time. I may give the Thermals a second chance after all.

Hopefully I'll be hitting more Seattle shows soon....