Movin’ Up: Thao & the Get Down Stay Down @ the Casbah 11/19

Thao & the Get Down Stay Down visited the Casbah last night with openers the Portland Cello Project. Thao and bandmates Adam & Willis Thompson are touring for the release of their Know Better Learn Faster album released in October on Kill Rock Stars. The folk pop indie rockers  were joined by PCP and David Shultz for their drop-in to San Diego before heading to the Glass House in Pomona tonight.

Opener Portland Cello Project consisted of an ensemble of several classically trained celloists putting on an impressive instrumental show. Their frontman–labeled so as he took the mic between songs–was one of the most crowd-charming performers I have seen in a while. Credit needs to be given to him for how well he kept the crowd engaged and enjoying the show. PCP featured a “Hey Ya” cover with David And Willis on stage, which worked well with the crowd. The group also played their rendition of an unreleased Eliot Smith song, which they received from their producer. The groups’ passionate performance and immaculate instrumentation is a definite see if they’re in your area. And again, their “frontman” did an amazing job handling the Casbah concert-goers.

Thao and the gang took nearly an hour to begin their set after PCP. This thinned the crowd quite drastically and left a number of those who stayed chanting “It’s a Thursday night”. Their set didn’t begin until nearly midnight, which was unfortunate as it was an excellent set that suffered from a smaller crowd than they could’ve played for. Thao’s energy was simply amazing, with her small small frame rocking itself silly with every song. She certainly proved why there is an “&” between her name and the backing band. They featured a number of songs from their last album We Brave Bee Stings and All, including “Geography” and “Bag of Hammers”. Her vocals were poignant and steady, though they would’ve benefited from being turned up. The new material off of KBLF showed off a matured, deeper sound and a good diversion from the faster, rapid-strumming melodies of their former album. Thao did well with this range, demonstrating diversity in both song-writing and performance abilities.

“Know Better Learn Faster”
04 Know Better Learn Faster

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Thao & The Get Down Stay Down’s MySpace