From the first to the last note they played, The Oh Sees had the crowd moving during their sold-out Cat’s Cradle show on October 23.
After releasing its 17th album Face Stabber, the band hit the road and set out on a 34-date tour through North America and the U.K. to promote the new record.
The Oh Sees were formed in San Francisco in 1997, and, though the band has gone through several different line-ups, as well as names, the one constant has been the dynamic founder, lead singer and guitarist John Dwyer.
Dwyer was joined onstage by bassist Tim Hellman, drummers Dan Rincon and Paul Quattrone and keyboardist Tomas Dolas.
Dwyer and company are known for their energetic live shows, tight performances and atmospheric jams.
Local North Carolina Surf instrumental band No Whammy! started off the show, followed by Prettiest Eyes, a three-piece synth punk band from Los Angeles, who are on tour with Oh Sees for one month.
The Oh Sees faced a few technical difficulties at the beginning of their set, though audiences likely forgot any glitches because of the strength of the show.
The band started the show with one of its most popular and older songs “I Come From the Mountain.” The Oh Sees proceeded to play for over an hour-and-a-half, selecting songs from its expansive and storied discography.
While one of the most exciting parts of an Oh Sees show is seeing how crazy the crowd goes for the band’s cosmic jam rock, watching the interaction between the two drummers, Quattrone and Rincon, is just as entertaining. Some popular bands, such as the Grateful Dead and King Crimson, are known for having two drummers, but not many smaller bands have–or tour with–two drummers.
While the bassist laid down driving riffs and the keyboardist played sparkling parts, Dwyer added fuzzy synth and guitar parts and hollered lyrics.
Towards the first half of the set, the band played “The Daily Heavy” and “Henchlock”–both off of the new album–and later played crowd favorites like “Toe Cutter/Thumb Buster” and “Sticky Hulks.”
The garage psychedelia punk sounds, energetic performances and crowd surfing made for a great show at the Cat’s Cradle.
