Small Venue Plays Host to The Things’ Large-Scale Performance
I might be known amongst my friends and family for being early to everything, but this was a personal best. Either I had gotten the show time wrong or it was changed and I didn’t realize it (the second option is the story I’m sticking with). Whichever happened, my sister and I showed up an hour before doors even opened, the soundcheck from inside the venue reverberating through the nearly empty street. Looks like we have to go get margarita’s from the bar next door on National Margarita Day, twist my arm why don’t you.
The Thing played in Austin, Texas, at the esteemed Mohawk Indoor on February 22. The venue, known for its intimate indoor and outdoor concert settings, allowed a firsthand look into the tightness of the groups instrumentation and the raspy, harmonious vocals of the band members.
The opener for the Brooklyn-based four piece was Sexpop, a synth-alt-pop group whose electronic riffs and bouncy tunes made the audience feel at ease, like they could be free to dance and openly enjoy the music and not just stand there bouncing to the music in typical general admission fashion. The fact that there were only about 30-40 people in the apartment-sized venue helped provide the floor space for dancing.
Starting their set at 10:16 p.m., the red lighting that remained throughout the show created a sense of stepping into the unknown. Opening with “You’re The One” off their recently released album, The Thing Is, The Thing immediately set the tone. This show was going to be intense and high energy, one song immediately right after the next, not giving the audience a chance to decompress with inbetween song banter.
Rounding out the middle half of the set, “Ana De Armas,” from their debut project Here’s The Thing leaned into the alt-rock sound of the 2000s/2010s that seemingly inspires certain sonic directions. The slightly unpolished vocals and complementing uptempo high-hats and guitar licks transported audience members back to the days when the next big alt-rock band was just a shaggy haircut and cigarette away.
After ending the show with the proud proclamation “We are The Thing, thank you” the show seemed to be over. The audience, who started chanting for encores, had other plans. Whether from the crowd’s demands or from the demands of the predetermined setlist, the quartet nonchalantly moseyed back on stage, trying to play cool, like they didn’t have the audience wrapped around their fingers.
The encore track “Dirt” had a deep groove pocket that was easy to sink into. Although not as upbeat as some of the previous songs, the slight wind down allowed the audience to breathe and relish in whatever “thing” the band has injected into their music that makes them seem almost timeless.
