Catch Thee Oh Sees Tonight

It was always going to be a special evening. The minute the door was tentatively opened a line had formed; t-shirts were sold out before a note was heard and records were snapped up and stuffed deep into bags or clutched to the chest. It was going to be a long, hot night and you didn’t want to forget your records.

Boomgates received a warm welcome from an already growing crowd. Made up of members of Dick Diver, Trial Kennedy, Teen Archer, Eddy Current Suppression Ring and The Twerps they individually brought what they do so well in the other outfits together perfectly. It was jangly, poppy, the perfect road trip soundtrack and definitely feet moving. The biggest revelation was seeing Steph Hughes out from behind her drum kit. Her voice rang out through the venue, pitch perfect, understated, and chiming perfectly with Brendan’s more spoken delivery, it felt like we were privy to a private conversation.

Looking like a bunch of young punks, or bratty younger siblings, The UV Race started tentatively and were flying by the end. Enigmatic front man, Marcus Rechsteiner jerked and squirmed, punched and screamed through a set littered with his thoughts and musings, about possibly being a pig, losing your train of thought in front of pretty girls and other complexities of life. It was rough, but not as rough as it has been previously. Theirs is punk music at its most honest and endearing, with some killer saxophone thrown in.

The stage was set perfectly by the support bands. The heat was near unbearable, the sweat was trickling down backs, we pushed forward nonetheless. Packing tight together on stage Thee Oh Sees quickly tore through their set comprising of songs from Sucks Blood, Masters Bedroom and, most recent, Warm Slime. Mike (drums) was dripping wet by the second song, but he didn’t break beat once. Brigid’s (vox, keys) gorgeous harmonies complimented John’s (vox, guitar) reverb-laden barks and screams. He seemed to be wrestling with his guitar one minute and lovingly cradling it the next while sonic delay echoes snaked through songs played at breakneck pace. The set ended with the frantic ‘Block of Ice’, a perfect example garage rock at its finest.

Outside there were sweaty grins as t-shirts were wrung out, plans were made and cabs were booked. The warm night soon became the cool morning, a little unsympathetically and ears were still ringing. Now, what did I do with those records?

Thee Oh Sees play their farewell show with Beaches and Twerps tonight at The Worker’s Club
51 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
Doors open 7pm
Ticket $20 at the door.