PHOTOS, VIDEOS, & SHOW REVIEW: THEE OH SEES, OBN III's, & THE BLIND SHAKE @ THE CROCODILE, SEATTLE 10/14/13

fierce

  [feers] 

adjective, fierc·er, fierc·est.

1.

menacingly wild, savage, or hostile: fierce animals; a fierce look.

2.

violent in force, intensity, etc.: fierce winds.

3.

furiously eager or intense: fierce competition.

4.

Informal. extremely bad or severe: a fierce cold.

I am taking back this fine English word from Tyra Banks and her fashion fold, taking it RIGHT BACK RIGHT NOW because I NEED MEANINGS #1 and #3 to properly describe the deeply kickass show delivered to the fans at The Crocodile last Monday! The triple-bill assault of The Blind Shake, OBN IIIs, and Thee Oh Sees filled the Croc early and kept it slammin' until closing time, and if you weren't there you are a BIG LOSERPANTS! That's OK, don't cry; just catch these guys (and girl) at a venue near you soon! 

First up, The Blind Shake from Minneapolis with a teeth-rattlin', bone-shaking monster punk crunch -- think "Ironman" by Black Sabbath with an infusion of a tanker-truck's-worth of espresso. My pal Kitty (who handled the iPhone video duties) went directly over to their merch table right after their set with a look of blissed-out-by-rock on her face, because she HAD TO HAVE. Fierce! (As always, click on the photos to enlarge, and click on the Flickr links for more!)

The Blind Shake Crocodile Flickr set 10/14/13

The Blind Shake, Crocodile, 10/14/13

New to me as well was Austin's OBN IIIs, an almost-four-year-old garage punk band named for explosive crazyguy/frontman Orville (YES, ORVILLE) Bateman Neeley III. Not only did the entire band COMMIT TO TOTAL ROCKING, but as a photographer I was delighted that Mr. The Third was very well-schooled in "throwing shots" -- that is, giving out lots of outstanding photographic moments. Bless you, sir. The one moment I couldn't photograph was when he jumped down on the floor and sang right up in in mah face, because my camera doesn't focus down to 1/32 of an inch. My Monday night > your Monday night, sorrreeeee. Fierce!

OBN IIIs Crocodile Flickr set 10/14/13

OBN IIIs, "Kick Me Out," The Crocodile, Seattle 10/14/13

I have said it before, but will keep saying it until we are ALL in agreement: Thee Oh Sees are one of the best, if not thee best, live acts playing today. Why is that, you ask? Because an Oh Sees show never lets you down: always great songs, always played with precision, and always performed with super-mega-high energy. I have not once seen nor heard of an Oh Sees show that didn't get the crowd all sweaty and wild, which is fun fun fun. But when you've seen them a few times, you can begin to appreciate how really skilled they are and how well they work together as musicians onstage. It's impressive.

Our moptop pal Pete Capponi (drummer with The Intelligence, The Fancy Lads, Coconut Coolouts, and now, Underworld Scum!) was called up onstage to waggle the tambo, but modestly remained behind Petey Dammit's bass stack. I almost threw my water bottle at him because I was frustrated I couldn't snap the moment for posterity and all, but then thought that would be inelegant. I got one anyway.

Fierce? OH YES. Fierce!

Thee Oh Sees Crocodile Flickr set 10/14/13

Thee Oh Sees, "The Dream," The Crocodile, Seattle 10/14/13



Thank you to Hunter at the Croc, Michelle Cable at Panache Booking, Brady Harvey, Kitty Page, and of course, The Blind Shake, OBN IIIs, and Thee Oh Sees!!!