photo, peterl [flickr]

Thunderbirds Are Now! // Chop Suey // 8 October 2006

Sunday night in Seattle brought a sparse crowd to Chop Suey. Perhaps the depression in turnout was related to the show being two exclamation points short of the promised lineup, with We Say Party! You Say Die! held up at the border and off the tour. Apparently, the folks at Homeland Security have determined that America is not yet ready for Vancouver’s more exclamatory rock acts. Someday, they will ravage us with their synth-infused dancepunk. Until then, we’ll always have the CD and the internet [myspace].

Team Metroblogging arrived in time to catch a few songs from the locals of White Gold [flickr] who donned bandanas, and facepaint along with a healthy dose of spastic and screamy yowling. Early in the set, the crowd was sparse, with a stray popped collar up front and the drinking-age set in the caged in bar. We actually snuck out to grab a bite to eat and missed their frustrated banter at the lack of interactivity from the audience. [seattlest]

Thunderbirds Are Now! lived up to the challenge of being the sole exclamation point on the agenda. Hopped up on some combination of caffeine or the sweet knowledge that their hometown Detroit Tigers had just secured a place in the ALCS after miserable decades at the bottom of the league [ED: this is pure speculative projection on the part of the author], the band brought more than enough energy to condense showgoers from all corners of the club into a huddled mass close to the stage.

The band gave no indication of the relatively small numbers in attendance. However, it’s entirely likely that they weren’t aware of the undersold crowd thanks to the recently acquired new high-tech extra bright LED spotlights at Chop Suey. They wash the stage with blinding bright color and throughout the evening, the lighting tech made maximum use of their quick switching capacity to try to induce seizures among showgoers. A noble, but unnecessary measure to spur crowd movement.

The brothers Allen certainly throw themselves into putting on a great show, with lead guitar & vocalist Ryan taking a massive leap into the crowd. Scott’s enthusiastic keyboard and tambourine playng often achieve full-body proportions. They occasionally pause from the musical assault to provide brief introductions to their songs, pointing out the worst track on their album and one particularly well-suited for doing non-existent homework. Their onstage antics include well-practiced jumps and a finale requiring duct tape, a mic stand, and a keyboard. As a squealing guitar provided exit music, they bring out an oversized cardboard head to give us the goodbye stare. Does this monochrome halftone face accompany them on all their tour stops or did they find it in the dressing room?

With no encore and ringing ears, we didn’t have time to find out.