The Thermals played in a basement in Amsterdam and if you think that it sounds underground and rough, you're right. The crowd went mental for the Thermals, 60% of the crowd was the moshpit and the Thermals themselves played a pretty tight set as well. With a stage so low and so so close to the audience, I stood eye to eye with bassist Kathy Foster, it was a very intimate setting. Despite the Thermals playing really good, I can't help but feel that I wished I saw someone else instead, in the same setting, with the same reaction from the crowd. I love the Thermals, but there's bands I love more who I would grant this venue and a crowd mental like that too. The only crowd I saw more mental than this is a Cribs crowd, you can't top that. All gigs should be like this one though. The highlight of that night, for me, were the Coathangers. Before the Thermals took them on tour I never heard of them and as some kind of research I went looking on the net for them. The first picture I saw of them, all four girls drinking, didn't exactly appeal to me but reading more about them I got curious. I got their album 'Scramble' and it's a fantastic piece of punk rock. Short vicious songs. Sometimes catchy, sometimes a lot of screaming. I saw the appeal and after seeing them live even more so.
These four friends, you can see they're friends, loving playing together. They switch instruments, lead vocals, position. Their drummer is the wildest out of the bunch who went into the crowd with two microphones raging the lyrics of her song, no idea what she sang but it sounded amazing and gave such a vibe. I was pretty much taken by their bassist who is quite cute which lead me to thank her afterwards for an incredible show. She thanked me for liking her incredible show. What a girl! What a band! Just let the Coathangers do their job and let it come over you. It might not all sound clear, it might not all have rhythm, it might sometimes be a bunch of noise, it's fun and you feel that. So, great show by the Thermals, new band added to the 'great bands to keep seeing' collection. And wishing that the Cribs and Wild Flag will ever come to play at Trouw at some point. Oh, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks too, while we're making demands. Why not? Apparently the Thermals are big in the Netherlands and they played there too.
pictures taken by me
