Thee Oh Sees, An Institution
There are an awful lot of current bands aping about in the intersection between late ‘60s psychedelia and garage rock. However, while many of these bands will come and go after a night or two of Pitchfork’s cold lovin’, Thee Oh Sees have proved much more than just another flash in the pan — they’ve become an institution.
Truth be told, John Dwyer’s brain baby has developed into an archetype of contemporary psych, providing attentive would-be’s with a format and queuing trends in sonic fashion, all while reminding us that a rock ‘n’ roll show should be knock-down, white knuckle experience worthy of a day off from work the following day or at the very least, a stiff bloody mary with breaky.
As Miami’s own psych/garage scene proliferates and enjoys watching native sons, Jacuzzi Boys, take the country and blogsphere by storm, news arrives that Dwyer and his San Franciscan sect of art rockers will be hitting the Magic City at The Stage on November 4 for what will no-doubt be a night of reverb-fueled ass shaking, sweat, and theatrics.
For those just getting turned on to Thee Oh Sees brand of jangle-borne space rock, the band’s massive discography can seem a bit daunting at first. After all, Dwyer and co are a most prolific team, and since the band’s inception as OCS, there have been around 30 releases that can be (arguably) considered a part of Thee Oh Sees’ oeuvre. Though they all bring something appreciable to the table, we say skip the EPs for now and settle into the whir and buzz of the band’s more recent studio full lengths, with special attention paid to Castlemania, Carrion Crawler/The Dream (both released in 2011), as well as the band’s most recent release, Floating Coffin.
Thee Oh Sees will have The Blind Shake and OBN III’s in tow to provide opening fare and we recommend that you don’t sleep on either band. This is a Monday night show and if you’re operating on Miami standard time, you will probably miss the opening sets. Both bands bring a different perspective to the garage/pscyh genre, with the Blind Shake operating in a realm relatively close to Thee Oh Sees, but with a touch more approachability. OBN III’s sound like what might have happened if Creedance Clearwater Revival had decided to drop acid and listen to the Stooges in October of ‘72 instead of breaking up.
Find two free downloads by Thee Oh Sees on previous PureHoney compilations as well as video shot during Bruise Cruise!
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Photo credit Matias Corral.
~David Von Bader
