Being a member of the Osees (aka Thee Oh Sees, Oh Sees, etc.) must be a little exhausting. That may be particularly true for founding vocalist/guitarist John Dwyer, considering he’s put out an album or two every year since the band’s inception roughly two decades ago. And on top of that, when the Osees are not in the garage/studio bashing out another evolution of their distinctive brand of adrenaline-fueled psych-punk, the band typically spends most of their time on the road, touring the globe and bringing all that “adrenaline-fueled” energy to the masses in emphatic fashion.
Such was the case in Chicago Saturday night, as the Osees played their second consecutive sold-out show at Thalia Hall. No strangers to back-to-back performances (be it in the same city or otherwise), it’s entirely possible the band benefited from their Chicago layover, or at least that’s one potential factor that may have helped fuel their markedly intense performance Saturday night. Granted, the Osees have made a name for themselves over the years thanks in large part to their legendary live shows, so fair to say kicking a severe amount of ass regularly is par for the course for them.
That said, Saturday’s show felt a little more batshit than usual (which is saying something). For anyone that might have had any regrets about missing Friday’s set in Chicago (which was somewhat the case for this writer), John Dwyer quickly helped put any of those (dubious) misgivings to rest: “It’s Saturday night Chicago, the night everyone is always waiting for…Friday night can fuck off”. And with that, he and his band of merry gentlemen proceeded to launch into their opening number, “I Come from the Mountain,” which helped kick things off in rightfully raucous fashion, as evidenced by the frenzied moshpit that promptly ensued (not to mention this reviewer almost losing his shoe in the process).
The intensity only picked up from there as the Osees quickly dished out a couple of viscous selections from perhaps their campiest/heaviest album: A Foul Form. Indeed, the 1-2 punch of “Funeral Solution” and “A Foul Form” hit like a buzzsaw, which frankly felt a little more fun considering we’re in the thick of the season of the witch. In that spirit, the ominous opening bassline of “Withered Hand” also felt a little more “atmospheric” and offered the audience a brief reprieve from the melee before things inevitably revved into high gear again. Speaking of “high gear,” is there a better way to describe the electrifying thrill ride of experiencing “The Dream” performed live? Dwyer amusingly introduced the tune as “a new song that nobody likes” before launching into that classic jam that had most everyone on the floor losing their shit.
Granted, people losing their shit was pretty much the status quo for most of the night. Whether the band was slaying the crowd with the heavy-metal flavored “Animated Violence” (which hit like a sledgehammer) or getting us whipped up with high-energy/danceable old-school cuts like “Warm Slime” or “Chem-Farmer”, the intensity of the Osees performance Saturday night rarely let up. And that intensity was spearheaded by none other than John Dwyer, of course, who channeled his electric energy through his instrument(s), screaming into the mic (often with it in his mouth), and even literally bit his guitar at one point, holding the full weight of it with the strength of his teeth in the process. Suffice it to say Dwyer was in fine form, as was the rest of his band, notably the phenomenal drumming duo of Dan Rincon and Paul Quattrone, both of which did a fantastic job of not only keeping up with the frantic pace of things but also drumming synchronously most of the time to boot. Watching those dudes work in lockstep behind the kit is almost worth the price of admission alone!
To celebrate a well-done night, Dwyer cracked open some celebratory bottles of Corona and passed them around to each of his bandmates before their closing number, “Minotaur,” which helped end the night on a decidedly mellow note. Overall, it was an outstanding evening of grade-A psychedelic garage punk delivered resoundingly by the genre’s kings. If it is genuinely exhausting being the Osees, judging from their impressive performance Saturday night at Thalia Hall, it certainly didn’t show. Another day, another slay.
