After our Blitzen Trapper update yesterday, our day was too filled with music to get back to the press tent with more coverage, so now after a day of rest and recovery we’re back to round out our festival coverage starting with The Thermals. After starting out their set with a raucous cover of Sonic Youth’s “100%,” the trio launched into a series of tracks from their latest record, Now We Can See (REVIEW HERE), including a Citizen Dick favorite “I Let It Go.” Later in the set, however, the covers took over once again, with the band belting out four of them before their day was done. A flawless rendition of the obscure Nirvana tune “Sappy” appeared about midway through, followed later by The Breeders’ track “Saints” before eventually launching into a crowd pleasing performance of the Green Day classic “Basket Case.” The covers made this one of my favorite sets of the weekend and made for a memorable festival set. It’s refreshing to see a band completely let loose and have some fun on stage rather than mailing in a handful of cuts from their latest record in an attempt to sell a few extra copies. For that I say “Kudos to you, Thermals.” A sentiment that I’m sure the rest of the fans who watched their set would almost unanimously agree with.
