It was Portland Night at the High Noon Saloon Tuesday as Madison played host to three of Portland, Oregon's rising stars of the indie rock scene.
After a very forgettable set by Point Juncture, WA, The Shaky Hands warmed up the crowd with a southern take on northern music. More the Harlem Shakes with a southern singer than Blitzen Trapper, their set slowly but surely swelled to a powerful mass. They were an apt tortilla-and-salsa platter for the rotisserie chicken that followed.
The Thermals took the stage to an eager crowd, starting their set with The Body, the Blood, the Machine standout romper ""Returning to the Fold."" Without a second guitar, the usual punch to the face sounded more like a stinger, but nobody else in attendance seemed to notice.
As desperate for fun as the crowd was, The Thermals didn't do themselves many favors. Just as the buoyant dancing approached all-out mayhem during ""A Pillar of Salt,"" lead singer/guitarist Hutch Harris broke into the reflective ballad ""Test Pattern."" Regardless, the crowded front half of the Saloon would not be denied their fun. After bubbling and popping through a few newer tracks, everything erupted when Hutch started the opening chords to ""Here's Your Future.""
That was the turning point for the evening. Done walking through songs on their newest album, the Daily Cardinal-approved Now We Can See, The Thermals found their stage presence with their older, more ruthless and raw material. The band stopped going through the motions, playing rehearsed hooks and solos, and finally started to enjoy themselves as much as everyone else was. They plowed through powerful cuts like ""It's Trivia"" and ""No Culture Icons"" before eventually closing out their set with the adorably gimmicky ""Everything Thermals.""
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the depth to which the audience members truly appreciated the group. The times when the crowd especially lost itself were the lively cuts from their first two studio albums, More Parts per Million and Fuckin' A.
The Thermals are a study in synergy. Just as their simple lexicon purveys exceedingly complex themes in their lyrics, their basic chord changes embody excessive power. And while some of that force gets lost in translation, there's more than enough residual energy to provide a potent live show.
Nowadays encores are usually expected more than they are necessary, but this encore was very necessary. The Thermals came out and played covers by Nirvana and the Breeders before graciously taking off.
Overall, the mood of the night was satisfied. The Thermals have a way of making people wait on them, whether recording an album or hitting cities on tour, they always take a while to make it around. For fans, opportunities to see or hear the group are few and far between, building up incredible excitement for each chance. Although they might not have bowled everyone over, the energy was high enough not to disappoint. Perhaps Hutch summed it up best in his late-night tweet, ""Madison was dope. Drinking! Moshing! Drinking!""
