The Thermals heat up the El Rey

Creators of the local indie/punk music festival FYF Fest (along with Goldenvoice and L.A. Record) brought Portland trio The Thermals to the El Rey for a performance on Tuesday night.

FYF Fest is known for its assortment of loud, fast punk bands, calmer indie bands and then those that span the ambiguous border between the two loosely defined genres.

This year’s line up featured bands such as ’80s hardcore heroes 7Seconds and slower indie band Local Natives. The bands that played at the El Rey on Tuesday night would have no problem fitting on any FYF bill.

The show began with local quartet Lovely Bad Things, whose raw and fast yet poppy and polite style was definitely more lovely than bad. The quartet fit on the indie side of the spectrum, with their songs made up of in-tune vocal melodies and a mostly calm and reserved stage presence.

The next band, White Fang, represented the opposite end of the FYF spectrum.  Although their predecessors were polite and reserved, White Fang was flat out punk. The singer jumped, kicked, punched, cart wheeled, somersaulted, did jumping jacks and performed uninhibited dance moves to songs with titles such as “**** Up a Fascist (I’m Down),” “Portland Sucks” and “Grateful to Shred.”

When he wasn’t flailing around, the singer spent most of his time eccentrically facing sideways as if something interesting was happening on the side of the stage.  Things did get interesting in that area when someone backstage began good-naturedly throwing carrots and ice at the band, adding an extra touch of chaos to the already unruly performance.

The band’s energy did not slow down throughout their short, 25 minute set.  Mid-way through the set, the drummer ripped off a mask and wig he’d been wearing and threw it into the crowd.

The singer jumped on the shoulders of the guitarist from the first band (who was in the crowd watching), and sang the lyrics to his “song about drinking.”  The set ended with the singer tackling the guitarist to the ground and then frantically slapping the neck of the guitar and randomly twisting knobs on the connected pedals.

What White Fang lacked in complex musical and lyrical competence (sample lyric: Oh no it’s raining outside and I can’t skate / I guess I’ll stay inside and get real high), they made up with unabashed, entertaining energy.

Although Lovely Bad Things leaned towards the calmer indie side of the musical spectrum and White Fang leaned strongly toward the crazier punk side, The Thermals were the nearly perfect blend of both.  Their music was occasionally slow and at times poppy, but still inspired a mosh pit throughout much of the show.

The Thermals opened with “I Don’t Believe You,” the first single off of the recently released album Personal Life. Fellow Portland band White Fang’s energetic set was a tough act to follow, but the much larger, cheering crowd made it clear that the fans were there to see The Thermals, who are veterans of the Portland scene.

The band’s relative calmness was disappointing, especially because their songs are so high-energy and they are known for raucous live shows, but they made up for that with their classic songs and a strongly positive reaction from the crowd.

“I’m losing my voice.  But if you came to see anyone sing well, it wasn’t me,” said singer Hutch Harris from the stage in between songs.

It’s true that Harris might not be a classically trained or technical singer, but he does have a unique and intriguing voice.  In fact, his style of partly speaking, partly yelling is one of the band’s strongest assets.

That voice lasted throughout the band’s hour long set, which consisted of a mix of both new songs from Personal Life and older popular hits such as “Here’s Your Future,” “Now We Can See” and “We Were Sick.”

Kathy Foster’s loud, distorted bass and carefully controlled feedback complemented Harris’s singing, and drummer Westin Glass occasionally stood up to point at the crowd and sing along with them.  Older songs such as “No Culture Icons,” the band’s first single, sparked the strongest reactions from the crowd, but the fans seemed to enjoy the newer songs as well.

Members from the opening bands watched from the side of the stage throughout the entire show and, during the last song of the regular set, “Pillar,” jumped into the audience to dance with the crowd. Even if they’ve lost some of the energy that propelled them to fame, The Thermals still know how to put on a fun, entertaining live show

For the last song of the encore the band covered Weezer’s “My Name is Jonas,” providing an unexpected and entertaining end to the night that undoubtedly pleased fans both young and old.