It Takes Balls to be a 3-Piece

There has always been something daring about the rock trio, about three people with enough guts to stand up on stage and shout their yawp to the world. You can’t hide if you’re in a 3-piece; you have to really mean it. And maybe because of this, some of the best rock ‘n roll has come from trios, from Buddy Holly and the Crickets to Johnny Burnette’s group, Cream, the Jam, Husker Du, Nirvana. If you had to choose one group as a distillate of the rock ‘n roll spirit, you couldn’t do better than any of those bands.

Last week, I saw the Thermals play the Bottom Lounge, a cool new club against the Lake Street El just outside the Loop, and I might have to add them to the list. The Thermals are a 3-piece from Portland who play stripped-down punk rock in the melodic, West Coast style. They remind me of a cross between the Avengers and the Wipers, with a bit of Buzzcocks chorus-guitar work and a dollop of anarchist sloganeering thrown in to the mix.

As a one-time bass player, I appreciate a solid, heavy bass groove. I think it is an underrated component of a great band. The simple, repetitive groove that is a lodestone of almost all great rock ‘n roll finds its essence in the bass line. One of the secret strengths of the 3-piece is that it allows enough sonic space for the bass to come to the fore. Take the bassists in some of the great trios mentioned above: Cream’s Jack Bruce, the Jam’s Bruce Foxton, Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic, and the Huskers’ Greg Norton. None of these bands would be the same without them.

In general, many of my favorite bands feature charismatic bassists who form a fundament of their sound: X, The Pixies, Joy Division, Cheap Trick, Thin Lizzy. And I might just have to add the Thermals to that list, because their bassist, Kathy Foster, really rocks. Their songs are like a primer on how to utilize a catchy bass line as the foundation for a song, everything else hanging off it like ornaments on a Christmas tree. And live, this is even more the case, as Hutch Harris’ voice and guitar parts are just a little too thin and reedy to carry the day without the ballast of Foster’s bass. Together, in combination with new member Westin Glass’s solid drumming, the results are awesome.

I was beginning to think that I was too old to appreciate really great live punk rock. Thanks to the Thermals, I stand corrected.

Here is a link to their myspace site. Check them out for yourselves: http://www.myspace.com/thethermals.