Movie Club See Thee Oh Sees

Jessamyn Violet: I started drumming while living up in SF ten years ago. Thee Oh Sees were breaking ground then and at the time shared a rehearsal space with my drummer friend’s band, Fuckwolf. We would listen to Thee Oh Sees on vinyl at parties, talk about their progress, and I met John briefly at their rehearsal space. I never had caught them live, though.

Vince Cuneo: A friend told me about the legend of John Dwyer and Osees. I remember him saying “they rip” but I hadn’t really listened to their records. One of my favorite things to do is go to a show without any notion of what the music will sound like.

JV: John Dwyer had invited some friends’ bands from SF down to play a show in LA. We got the special invite from my friend, the drummer for one of the opening bands, Fuckwolf. It was already destined to be a memorable show.

VC: The venue was on some shady side street near downtown Los Angeles. The show was first come-first serve and there were at least 100 people waiting outside. The venue was packed inside. I knew something special was about to go down. It was a multi-purpose warehouse space but there was cracked cement everywhere. I already felt like I was at a proper rock show.

JV: We appreciated the fact John Dwyer was still supporting his original friends’ bands. As east coasters, we love when people keep it real.

VC: The opening bands did not disappoint. Both were very psych/noise and had 1970s multicolor projections on them. It made me feel like I was at an underground show where The Doors were playing. Then when it finally came time for Osees to play, the crowd rushed to the stage and we knew it was about to go off. You could barely see the band but it didn’t matter because we were all rocking out together. I hadn’t seen a proper mosh pit at a show in a long time. There was an energy in the room that felt magical, like what every rock show should feel like.

JV: And the double drummer action?! Forget about it. We were in our own punk-rock version of heaven. After the show, we watched the band carry their own gear out, heads down, and marveled again at their keeping-it-realness. It was inspiring in so many ways.

Movie Club See Thee Oh Sees: The “Trap Door” single is out now. The Fangtooth EP is out August 10.