rumspringa matinee show @ naia 2.26.10

every friday at noon, this student organization on my campus called SUPERB puts on free shows in lower sproul plaza, which is outside, but because it was raining they moved the show into naia, which was this small gelato/café shop. this made for a way better setting to see them. on their myspace page, it has rumspringa listed as a two member band, but there was a third guy who played bass lines on a synth the whole time. overall their sound seemed pretty empty at times, as if they could benefit from having more instruments or more members. maybe it was just the sound in the room though, i’m not sure. i felt like they played for about ten minutes too long, and by the end of the set i had lost all interest in the band. they are very good musicians, but not really for me. however, if this is what you’re into, they have an album coming out this summer and are going to sxsw in a couple of weeks.

thao with the get down stay down/the thermals. u.c. berkeley. 2/12/10

i was able to catch the tail end of thao and the get down stay down. i had never listened to anything by them before their set, but i left a fan. the thermals came on next opening the set with 'returning to the fold'. they played a good proportion of new and old songs. seeing them outside is not the ideal setting for the thermals. however, they played an enjoyable and entertaining set. as it began raining, they appropriately played 'here's your future' and ended their hour long set with 'now we can see'. a great set from a great live band. this is what indie rock should strive for. not to mention their bass player is in the running for my favorite female rock n' roll goddess.