Kicking around the other night wondering what to listen to, I noticed something in my Apple music catalog. New music by The Thermals! How had this escaped my attention? I love the Thermals. I got into them a little late as these things go, the first record I knew about was Now We Can See, their 2009 follow-up to their seminal record The Body, The Blood, The Machine, which…more below, but man that record still sounds as vital today as it did 20 years ago, which says something about the state of everything.
I also noticed new White Ring, a band I had not thought about in a bit until I reconstituted my 2010 playlists and remembered how much of a banger “Suffocation” is. And of course, they will be here when I’m in Minneapolis. I’m particularly bummed about missing Sweeping Promises. Such is the way of things. In fact a ton of good shows are happening when I’m in Minneapolis, but not nearly as many are happening there. I blame the State Fair. At least I’ll get to see seed art and giant produce and Sugar at First Ave.
And this is to say nothing of the growing list of other new things to check out. I did sit down with Lost Weekend. The new Phoebe is good but you don’t need me to tell you that. I do agree with the quibble (I think in Hearing Things, but maybe Steven Hyden?) that the return to her Punisher production style is occasionally vexing when they did things on the Boygenius record like “have her vocals not shrouded in effects-based mystery”. Listening to “Not Strong Enough” immediately after Lost Weekend really clarifies that imo. But it’s a quibble, she is still a great songwriter, a smart and incisive lyricist, and funny to boot, a rare thing these days.
This weekend I’ve ended up audibling out of one show I had tickets to, passing on another, and will now be at a completely different show Sunday night because that’s my life sometimes. Let’s dive in and see what other complications arise from my rock and roll lifestyle.
Calendar
This is a shareable calendar. You should be able to add it to your calendar here if you use Google calendar
Not ready for that kind of commitment? Just take a peek here. I do not think you can see the colors this way though
✅ means I have tickets to a show
❌ means I can’t make it but I thought it was worth putting on there at some point, I’ve already purchased tickets to another show that night, whatever. You can still benefit!
💸 means it’s sold out (which we all know is a construct)
New Shows
A light stretch. We are in the post-summer shows have all largely been announced, most tours for next year have not lull. Expect a few more local shows / small West Coast tours like this until it’s time to start announcing 2027 stuff in earnest
Highlighted Show - Born At Midnite & Paycheque - 8/23 at Brick & Mortar Music Hall
My schedule, as mentioned, is being rearranged. Since we have tickets now to go to Daisy Chain Fields, seeing the Breeders at The Castro is a bit repetitive, which opens me up to see a band that I’ve been vibing on, Paycheque. As I mentioned a month ago, I’m not really a TOPS person. I’ve seen them and at least at the time they have never really connected for me. Maybe I’d feel differently now. But I am very intrigued by the side projects here, as both of these bands have members. Paycheque is much more of an 80s synth situation, and Born at Midnite, well…sounds like a lot of weird stuff I listened to in the early 2010s, weird drag and drop production (their description, but accurate) that is best listened to on Tumblr no one has ever heard of to be honest.
It should be a fun show now that my Sunday has opened up!
Something Old - The Thermals - The Body, The Blood, The Machine
Look, it’s not my fault this still sounds timely. But the alchemy of Kathy Foster and Hutch Harris writing punk for Bush II still fucking hits. I saw 10th anniversary shows of this record and it sounded vital then, and it will probably sound vital another 10 years. Some records do be like that. Like any good punk record, it’s anthemic, it’s easy to pick up, and it feels like “Here’s Your Future” will be stuck in your head for days after you listen to it.
The Thermals are back with new music and idk…maybe some tour dates soon? Seems likely. You can go see how vital these songs still feel live. Maybe the songs about Christo-fascism hit a little too hard right now? I’m not a big “at least the punk is going to be great” person for these shitty times but I do like that people have cataloged those times with great records because fuck it, we need something to get us through.
If, for some reason you have never heard this record, or even any song by the Thermals, I need you to lock in on this one
Something new - Sweeping Promises - You Say I Romanticize
On their third record, the formula doesn’t change too much but it does change just a lil. I think it was Steven Hyden who said there’s some danger in being reverent of early punk sounds because one of the most interesting things about all those bands is that they did grow and change. Even the Ramones, one of the most formulaic of that first wave, put out songs like “Pet Sematary” eventually.
So a bit of experimentation is necessary, a bit of tweaking the formula, a bit of the post into the punk, all of that jazz (but not actually any jazz). There are a few more instruments and noises and such sneaking in on this record. I’m bummed that I don’t get the chances to see how they live in these songs live, because as good as their records are (I especially found Hunger For A Way Out vital in COVID), this is a band that is meant to be seen live.
Alright, that’s enough for this week! See you at a show soon