It was probably sometime in the middle of seeing Thee Oh Sees perform live for the third time during 2011’s South By Southwest, that I decided that despite what record sales, or music awards, or surly, hyperbolic music writers would lead you to believe, rock n’ roll is alive and well and not going anywhere. I would go on to see the band play another four times that year (twice more at SXSW), and my opinion still has not wavered. Not even a smidge. And with every passing year, as I’m able to catch them again and again (they make it to Austin almost every year, God bless them), and with each prolific and subsequent release, they just keep proving me right every time. In my humble opinion, Thee Oh Sees are the best live act on the continent* with a wealth of material to draw from for every show, and yet they still manage to play my favorite song at all of them, the deliriously jumpy and frenetic “The Dream,” from 2011’s Carrion Crawler / The Dream EP**.
A pure burst of adrenaline and bouncy groove, “The Dream” plays like all of the best punk and garage rock you’ve ever heard or ever will hear. A toe-tapping, ass-shaking beat and a guitar riff that moves and bops and threatens to run off the reservation if not for the driving bass and organ effects that keep it in check, all the while main man John Dwyer’s chirpy, high-pitched scream and shout careen out like some kind of barked, hypnotic mantra. It’s amazing. And it certainly gets the hordes dancing and moving in the hot, crowded bars, clubs, and ballrooms whose stages are graced with the band’s presence.
Oh, and your kids will love it.
*I go back and forth between Thee Oh Sees and Fucked Up as to who is the best live band out there.
**The term EP should be used loosely here, as the album clocks in at 40 minutes.
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