The Thermals and more
First, totally unrelated..if you are coming from Pitchfork’s site, thanks for looking. It was a real honor to work for them in helping to cover lolla. I have been doing concert photography for awhile now, though I do not always blog about the shows I see so please feel free to check out my flickr site
Ok now…before Lolla distracted me, I wanted to say how much I enjoyed myself seeing The Thermals. I’m into alot of different old school punk bands like Radio Birdman and the Buzzcocks, for example. One thing that is different about this three piece from Oregon is that the way Kathy Foster presence adds a whole new girls that rock sense to the whole thing. She gives the band’s stage demeanor a certain added spark and the chemistry she has with the lead singer Hutch Harris especially. There’s a great sense of rhythm and youthful energy but that goes without saying. Kathy makes the live show vivid and the whole thing just works. My only regret is that she didn’t sing more although The Thermals are a much different punk band then say, The Avengers, who is fronted by Penelope Houston because you do feel that each bandmate is sharing that sense of leading the songs together.
Listen to the Thermals on myspace
View the complete photo set of The Thermals at Wicker Park street fest on flickr