Logo
ISSUE #34.04 • MUSIC •
[MUSIC]

The Thermals & YACHT Nov. 30 at Backspace


YACHT and the Thermals prove goofiness and age, respectively, have no bounds.

Share: | Permalink
Email | Print | Rate It! | 0 comments
Recently in "Music"

November 18th, 2009
Clublist Spotlight • A Better ’Stache0 comments

November 18th, 2009
CD Reviews: MarchFourth Marching Band, Curious Hands0 comments

November 18th, 2009
Meth Teeth Sunday, Nov. 22 | Making the best of this bummer called life.0 comments

November 18th, 2009
Primer: Girls0 comments

November 18th, 2009
Sparkle And Fade | The rise and fall of Everclear and The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies.0 comments

November 11th, 2009
CD Review: The Dimes | The King Can Drink the Harbor Dry (Pet Marmoset Records)2 comments

November 11th, 2009
Finn Riggins, Friday, Nov. 13 | Finn Riggins ditched the big yellow bus, but it’s not about to ditch its home state of Idaho.0 comments

November 11th, 2009
Kelly Blair Bauman Monday, Nov. 16 | Kelly Blair Bauman sees Portland burning, and he’s got the midlife-crisis folk to soundtrack the destruction.0 comments

November 11th, 2009
Primer: Saul Williams0 comments

November 11th, 2009
Living The Dream | Portland’s Dirtnap Records just stumbled into its 10th year.2 comments


Madame Butterfly: The Thermals’ Kathy Foster.
IMAGE: justin kent
BY JAY HORTON | 503-243-2122

[December 5th, 2007]

[ELECTRO POP&POP PUNK] This must be a joke, right? A fire code-taunting publicity stunt, some hacker’s Make-A-Wish or a trenchant satire of music industry 2.0? Homegrown pop-punk sensation the Thermals caps its annus mirabilis with a free concert at cafe/gamer haven Backspace? Weirdly, the cutely named, newly expanded Old Town haunt sorta works as a venue—more than Kinko’s, certainly—and a good swath of indie nation turned out. While we’d imagine the evening’s crowd prettier and more, shall we say, coed than trad clientele, this was still alt Portland, and the division ’tween geek and hipster’s not nearly as grand as some of us would like to believe.

Certainly, Jona Bechtolt—YACHT’s burgeoning laptop-rock purveyor—was in his element: delivering pasted-together guitar bits and tweaking self-referential multimedia irrespective of beat. As repetitive and derivative and inevitably shallow—imagine an electro-Har Mar without irony—as Bechtolt first seems, his goofy and vibrantly amateur, irritatingly addictive positivism is infectious. He’s like an anthropomorphized Facebook. By set’s end, the venue’s limitations seemed a triumph—entertainer and entertained blended seamlessly, rapturously. Something so fascist about a proper stage. True prophets needn’t bother with the pulpit.















icon Story continues below

advertisement

advertisement

I’m sure those hearty stalwarts front and center for the Thermals were similarly delighted—God only knows how long they’d queued for the privilege. Most of us strained to glimpse frontman Hutch Harris amid the frenzy. After a string of packed arenas, including sold-out Crystal Ballroom shows, the band wanted the last local show of its breakout year to be free and inclusive. But, according to Harris, they had some problems finding an all-ages locale downtown. “We talked to Ground Kontrol, but it would’ve had to be 21. What’s the point of just playing to the older kids?”

The band certainly made use of the crowd’s bristling, manic energy. Songs were sped up and shortened and flowed into one. Beneath the tailored scruff and designer hoodies and purposeless eyewear, the crowd faded into an amorphous, ageless mass. The beer garden lay deserted, but the dwindling devotees outside had rather better sound and sightlines. I’d never seen the Thermals before and, talking to a friend later, still didn’t really feel I had. He flipped on the computer and guided me through the band’s YouTube channel—y’know, to get the real experience.

SEE IT: Watch the Thermals’ newest video on LocalCut.com.

 

Rate This Story
Be the first to rate this story.

 
read all 0 comments | add your comment
 

RECENT COMMENTS ON “The Thermals & YACHT Nov. 30 at Backspace”

 
 
 





Recently in Willamette Week
December 31st 1969Washington State | The Canada of Oregon has it all—a Stonehenge replica, a longboarder's concrete wet dream and dark, damp underground lava caves. Vive les rocks.
December 31st 1969Oregon's Outer Edges | Crater Lake. Hell's Canyon. Wallowa and Steens mountain ranges. Hell, yeah.
December 31st 1969Central Oregon/High Desert | No rain, plenty of snow, obsidian flows and great local beer. The folks from the real eastside know how to unbend outside.
December 31st 1969Great Cascades/Columbia Gorge | With plenty of room to roam—and hot springs for your weary feet—it's the place to ramble and relax for the weekend.
December 31st 1969Willamette Valley | Monks, tracks, tubing and wine make the fertile strip a virile place to play.
December 31st 1969Stumptown | Tons of public parks, an extinct volcano and nude beach volleyball to keep you jolly. Get out and collect those merit badges, without leaving the city.
December 31st 1969The Coast | The beaches are public. You own them. Go play—hike in the old-growth forests.
December 31st 1969Cycle Tour 101: Your on-bike guide to Highway 101 | To ride the greatest bike route in Oregon, you need to get out of Portland.
December 31st 1969Doggin' It | What happens when a Portland running club jogs with pooches from the pound?
December 31st 1969Over the Edge | Sam Drevo will paddle yr ass.