San Francisco’s Thee Oh Sees swung through Seattle last night, with a rousing show at The Crocodile. Thee Oh Sees, led by John Dwyer, are concluding a tour for the release of their second album of 2011, Carrion Crawler/The Dream (dates below). If you haven’t yet listened to that album, you most definitely should. The title track is embedded below.

Three Oh Sees – Carrion Crawler

Following openers Grave Babies and Total Control, Thee Oh Sees greeted a packed Crocodile with an instantly-energetic set. An oft-cited metric of Seattle shows is whether an act can get weather-affected Seattlietes to dance. Following that metric, Thee Oh Sees were an utter success within the first 30 seconds. By the conclusion of their second song, half the people around me were sweating. While Dwyer & Co have a diverse catalogue rooted in psych-folk and pop, their set last night catered to the upbeat, galloping material of  Carrion Crawler and similar older material.

Monday night’s show proved that Thee Oh Sees rest in that category of post-punk, garage bands whose recorded material simply does not do justice to the raw energy of their live set. Indicative of the show’s contagious energy, the video below of “Tidal Wave” includes my shaky camera work and a few collisions with the avid dancers next to me.

11/30 – Doug Fir (All Ages) – Portland, OR
12/01 – Doug Fir (21+) – Portland, OR
12/04 – Verdi Club – San Francisco, CA