Thermal Energy (The Thermals-Black Cat-3/2/07)

I will start out by saying that I was pretty hyped up for this show so my opinions may be somewaht biased. It was good to have RC at full strength as it had been sometime since all 4 members were present for a show. Good work by Potsy for getting the tickets in advance as the show was sold out by Friday evening. I had the luxury of a designated driver, so after a short, yet productive visit to Potsys apartment (sorry CO-OP) we all headed over to the BC. My apologies to our friends in Statehood, but I was downstairs during their set, still taking advantage of my designated driver situation. Jumbo went up for a few songs and proclaimed that "they sounded good" and "seemed to be getting better with each show". I will trust his opinion seeing how he has seen every Statehood show to date.

The rest of RC ventured upstairs to see the next opening band, The Big Sleep. This 3-piece out of Brooklyn plays an interesting blend of guitar rock. Definitely better without the vocals. They rocked the house and the capacity crowd enjoyed their musical stylings. At one point I thought they sounded a bit like prog-rock veterans Rush, with the Lifeson/Lee sonic assault in full effect. The only thing that dampered my experience was the two alternative lifestyle dudes dancing next to me. Guys, this isnt Tracks, lets simmer down a bit.

The Thermals took the stage and proceeded to rock the house. It was a nice change of pace from the other shows we had been to lately (I am talking to you Midlake). Quick, uptempo anthems really got the crowd into it. The lead singer (I dont know his name and am too lazy to look it up...) seemed almost surprised by the enthusiasm of the crowd. Does DC have a repuation for lame crowds? This was not the case on Friday night as the crowd was worked into a frenzy with "Pillar of Salt", a single off their latest album. They played for about an hour and concluded with an encore of a few songs.

I think one reason I enjoyed this show so much was not only the quality of the music and excitement of the crowd, but the length of the songs. There is something to be said about songs that run 2:30-3:00 minutes in length. There is no chance to get bored and you know the next tune is right around the corner. I believe Rock Club needs to attend more shows like this, as opposed to the Midlakes/Gob Irons of the rock world. That type of music is fine on CD whilst making sweet love to your wife (sorry Potsy) or as background music when working. So far, it appears that the RC shows that have gotten the highest ratings are the ones with energy and noise. It was good to have the R back in Rock Club. Rating 7.9.

Note: I would have given the show an 8.1 or 8.2 but Jimbromski set the numerical bar kind of low with his review of Sleatter-Kinney (and you all know how I feel about that show).