Concert in your area for Rock, Indie & Alt, Folk & Blues, and Pop.
It’s genuinely difficult to get a handle on Thee Oh Sees, primarily because they’ve never quite done anything like a real band; what we can say for sure is that they’ve always been centered around John Dwyer, who has used the name as a vehicle to release a wide range of material, from conventional studio records to experimental demo mixtapes. The current live lineup of the band features Nick Murray on drums and Timothy Hellman on bass; both only joined the group in 2014 after Dwyer confusingly hinted at a hiatus, then confirmed a new album for 2014, ‘Drop’. It seems possible that the current trio is only a temporary arrangements whilst the pre-hiatus lineup turn their attentions to other projects.
Dwyer has recorded under the name ‘Orinoka Crash Suite’ since 1997 and changed the name of the band several times, from OCS to Orange County Sound and then The Ohsees in 2006. This latter incarnation has been the most stable, and the slew of albums they’ve released since then have met with critical acclaim, especially 2013’s ‘Floating Coffin’. They have enjoyed mainstream exposure when their 2011 track ‘The Dream’ was featured on the soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto V.
They don't call them "the best live band in the Bay Area" for nothing.
The first time I saw Thee Oh Sees was at Eagle Tavern, which they transformed into a surging sea of people rocking the @#$! out. Personal space was dissolved as, crushed together in the small space, we became one giant writhing mass, arms and hair flung to the jock-strap-covered rafters, pulsing to the beat of guitar and drum.
What on the album is a short, simple song becomes a drawn-out jam in the best possible way - more dance party than hippie noodling. The band's energy is electric, every muscle strained as if the songs are being held back, only to burst forth joyous and free. It's the closest I've ever come to communion with the spirit in every being. Afterwards, the people share a camaraderie, almost as if we had shared something intimate and private. And it's like this every time.
celeste-christie
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