Beginning their reign of lo-fi, power-pop glory in the early 2000s, The Thermals have easily become Portland’s hometown sweethearts. The trio of close friends returned to Eugene for the first time in two years last night at HiFi Music Hall to play an energetic and well-welcomed set.
The band is touring in support of its seventh studio album We Disappear, which came out on March 25 through Saddle Creek Records. The LP serves as a polished return to form: a tightly-sealed power-pop package glued together with the same existential angst, thoughts of death and questioning of authority that the band has carried with them since their origin, but this time with a little more underlying seriousness.
With the 10 year anniversary of their critically acclaimed album, The Body, the Blood, the Machine, coming up in August, it’s clear to see just how far The Thermals have come since their small, pacific northwest start.
On the way back down from the high of a national tour and opening up for Bernie Sanders at his rally in the Moda Center, The Thermals still brought same amount of modesty they have had with them from the start, with drummer Westin Glass even snapping a few photos of local band Snow White during their opening set.
Though playing to a relatively small crowd, Snow White started the night off strongly with their signature dreamy, psych-rock styling, complete with the band’s intense stage presence with frontwoman Lauren Hay biting into a rose and letting the blood red juice drip down her mouth.
Along with Snow White, fellow Portlanders Summer Cannibals also opened the show. With more audience members slowly trickling in, Summer Cannibals appeased the crowd with their straightforward, hard and fast rock n’ roll before The Thermals took the stage.
In addition to The Thermals’ regular trio (drummer Westin Glass, bassist Kathy Foster and lead singer/guitarist Hutch Harris) Summer Cannibals’ lead singer/guitarist Jessica Boudreaux also joined the band for the night. Boudreaux played lead guitar and added in splashes of guitar solos, creating a fuller sound than that of Thermals guitarist Harris playing both lead and rhythm guitar parts by himself, as is normally done in live shows.
In tow with Thermals’ setlist classics like “Now We Can See” and “Here’s Your Future,” the band also played a hefty mix of new songs from We Disappear like “My Heart Went Cold,” “Hey You” and “Always Never Be.”
The band ended its set with an encore of audience favorites like “No Culture Icons” and “A Pillar of Salt,” lending to a moderately-sized mosh pit in the middle of the music hall.
Regardless of the band’s travels, album sales and accomplishments, The Thermals have continuously shown that they’re not ones to let fame go to their heads, and it’s clear that their fans in Eugene adore them for that.
Listen to The Thermals’ “Hey You” from We Disappear below:
