SHOW REVIEW: Thao With The Get Down Stay Down & The Thermals

Doug Weston’s Troubadour is one of Los Angeles’ more well-regarded venues and takes a very no frills approach to entertainment. If you are opposed to crowds or prefer décor and atmosphere in your concert experience, then the Troubadour might not be for you. The space is small and somewhat cramped, but the low stage makes it convenient for the audience to see the performer regardless of where they may be standing or sitting. The fact that fairly large acts come through the small, understated venue makes it a favorite for the locals.

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, an alternative folk-rock band hailing from Virginia, opened the show on February 11, 2010. Thao Nguyen, in a striped sundress and cowboy boots strutted onto the stage with a coy smile and immediately launched into their first song, ‘When We Swam’. As she sang, she swung her hair around and danced back and forth across the stage, in fact, the entire band had an energy that was nearly palpable and it wasn’t long before they had the entire room dancing and clapping as well. The band’s obvious passion for their craft makes their performance one of my favorites so far this year.

Before last night, I had only listened to The Thermals album once and it hadn’t particularly impressed me at the time, sounding a bit too similar to what I like to call ‘frat-boy rock’. However, always willing to give a band another chance, I decided that I would stay through their set as well and hope that they would prove me wrong. I spoke with a couple of The Thermals’ fans and while some admitted that the song lyrics were perhaps not as introspective or suggestive as Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, their typical pop-rock sound was what appealed to them. Despite my personal misgivings, the crowd seemed to enjoy their set and the band’s technical skill and energy made up for what the lead singer might have been lacking in vocal strength.