[rating=7.00]
Anyone who has ever attended a concert by Thee Oh Sees knows that it is always an energetic and exciting show. Having created the band as an outlet for experimentation in 1997, John Dwyer is the only core member of the band. This is part of what makes seeing one of their shows exciting. Depending on what year you go see them, the make-up of the band is most likely completely different. One year Thee Oh Sees may include bass, drums, keyboards and two guitars, or another time it is just a three piece with Dwyer on guitar and vocals with a bassist and drummer. For 2015’s Mutilator Defeated at Last and the forthcoming A Weird Exits, the band’s current iteration consists of Dwyer on vocals, guitar and keyboards, and Tim Hellman on bass while both Ryan Moutinho and Dan Rincon play drums. Backed by a wall of rhythm, Dwyer decided that this would be the opportune time to capture the energy of their shows by recording a live album. Recorded over three nights at The Chapel in Dwyer home base of San Francisco, the album is suitably titled Live in San Francisco. The album will be released as a double LP and will include a DVD of live performances shot by Brian Lee Hughes.
The energy on the album is palpable and it’s easy to imagine rocking out to songs like “I Come From the Mountain” and “Tunnel Time” from 2013’s gritty Floating Coffin, or nodding along to the psych-based tracks “Web” and “Withered Hand” from last year’s Mutilator Defeated at Last. One of the most fun tracks to listen to is “Tidal Wave”, which was a single included on the soundtrack for the show Breaking Bad. Also included is the B-side track “Man In A Suitcase” from their one-off single “Fortress” that released late last year. But, maybe the most exciting part of the live album is the inclusion of a brand new song “Gelatinous Cube” from the forthcoming A Weird Exits. It is the type of raw rocker that you always want from Thee Oh Sees and one would be hard pressed not to want to jump into the mosh pit, or at least gently nudge someone, when it’s played live.
While the sound and production of the album is crisp and clean, the track list seems a bit sparse in regards to variety. Though Dwyer’s catalogue boasts an impressive sixteen studio albums (ten under the moniker Thee Oh Sees), almost every song is from one of three albums apart from a single, a B-side and new song. Though this ultimately doesn’t take away from the album as a whole, it seems that more variety couldn’t hurt. The crowd is also immensely faint in-between songs, which some prefer but can also take away from wanting to feel like you are immersed in a live concert.
As a whole though, this is an album worth listening to. While it can’t replace the experience of actually sweating in a crowd while watching Dwyer and company serenade you with noisy garage rock, it is the next best thing.
