Reviewed on Thursday January 14
Loud, trippy and one hell of a party: Thee Oh Sees’ live show has to be seen to be believed. A fitting support, Straight Arrows cue up a night of ’60s vibes and a garage load of volume. No kidding, they’re freaking loud. Guitars clang at ear-splitting volume and bodies move as if twisting by the pool.
Proud of his swift diagnoses during a minor gear malfunction, centre-stager Owen Penglis apologises and muses on the previous night’s Newcastle show: “A guy told us last night if we cleaned up our sound a bit we would sound like Tame Impala.” Although such comparisons could be made, the similarities are minimal. A surprise harmonica solo mid-set leaves most of the crowd cupping ears and squinting eyes, but despite the excessive volume, the jarring addition brings a breath of fresh air to the band’s guitar-driven songs.
Sporting two drummers, a bassist and John Dwyer himself, the latest incarnation of Thee Oh Sees seems at first glance a little short of hands. It is Dwyer’s effortless manipulation of guitar, onstage vocal effects and miniature keyboard that assures all is under control.
The hypnotic nature of Thee Oh Sees’ music is carried tenfold live. Dwyer’s maniacal mime coupled with his manipulation of gadgets is a spectacle in itself. Banter is kept to a minimum as the band belts through track after track. At the halfway point, when the audience is lulled into a false sense of “It can’t get any better than this,” that Dwyer and co. drops the crowd favourite ‘Toe Cutter – Thumb Buster’. With a live sound that is sonically dense and all-consuming, it is an aural shock when the band takes proceedings to the next level.
It is all too easy to get swept up in the psychedelic to and fro. Drenched in fuzz and doused in echo, Newtown Social Club is packed wall to wall with sweating and diving bodies. Dwyer’s fret board gymnastics and nonchalant demeanour give the impression he is just making it all up as he goes along.
After bidding farewell to a sea of sweaty bodies, Thee Oh Sees bring the festivity to a close with ‘Contraption/Soul Desert’. The dual drummers jam in unison to the bopping track, while Dwyer – making use of his microphone and effects – manipulates the hits of a cymbal.
Dwyer’s contortion of sound as the band jams along brings the show to its climax, ending with a beer salute and a humble wave goodbye. Silence greets a room full of bewildered, smiling faces. Thee Oh Sees are well experienced in chucking one hell of a party, and tonight’s dazed and confused aftermath is proof.
