Live in San Francisco

Wow, this was energetic! Just another example of how good live albums are when they're good. I knew the band but not this album. As a big fan of classic live albums, I consider this filling a void. Thank you for that

Really exciting and energetic rock. Bringing to mind Hives, Stooges, MC5 and even elements of Joy Division (JD's live cover of Sister Ray notably). (Strange that I was unimpressed with Ty Seagall, but not this). “Tidal Wave” could be their take on “Have Love, Will Travel” - brilliant. Bass and drums locked into the groove on the last extended jam is what garage rock is all about! I don't even mind that the vocal is incomprehensible, yelped and snarled. Thank you for introducing me to this.

Very heavy indeed! The energy just splashes in your face, even though you're not in the live audience! Amazing wall of sound too. Good choice!

This was my add, and a generally poor attempt at covering a blind spot I (personally) found in the original 1001. You’re probably familiar with the work of John Dwyer whether you know it or not – if you’ve played Grand Theft Auto V or watched Breaking Bad, you’ve heard some of his work as part of the soundtrack. The main vehicle for Dwyer’s insanity is Thee Oh Sees, who throughout the years have been known as - Orinoka Crash Suite - Orange County Sound - OCs - The Ohsees - The Oh Sees - Thee Oh Sees (when I came on board and my personal fav) - Oh Sees - Osees With each name change usually highlighting a complete departure from the band’s previous musical focus. Originally just Dwyer recording solo guitar in his bedroom, the project has been through so many notable incarnations and lineups that the past/present members could likely host a whole family reunion on their own. While Dwyer’s focus has pinged anywhere from somber freak folk to crunchy electronica, he has consistently put out some of the best psych-tinged music on Earth running for three decades at this point. There’s an undeniable thread running throughout the 50+ albums in the man’s complete discography (including about 15 side bands and projects), a distinct feeling of being lost somewhere in the Mojave with some esoteric words scrawled on the rocks as lyrics – think Dopesmoker, but crack instead of weed. All of this underscored by some of the loudest, most aggressive guitar work out there, deceptively simple but technically wild. The live LP I’ve thrown up here is an incomplete compilation of the various Oh Sees eras filtered through the lens of their current, rock-heavy lineup (which features two drummers, because why not?). While this LP doesn’t do justice to the true variety of the Osees catalog, it’s the best encapsulation of the raw fucking passion Dwyer brings to each of his projects. This man has put out or contributed to 1-3 albums a year since 2001, all the while observing a tour schedule that would put many other bands in the ground. I’ve seen The Oh Sees about 5 times now, and no other live experience has topped what this band does time and time again like a well-oiled machine. The sonic element is captured pretty well here, and highlights some of the more notable songwriting from Dwyer’s catalogue (even if it is biased heavily toward the heavier garage rock the band was putting out from 2012 - 2015). If you liked what you heard here, I recommend diving into 2011’s ‘Carrion Crawler/The Dream’ EP or 2013’s full-length ‘Floating Coffin.’ These are the most popular entry points into the Dwyer discography by way of OCs, but only the first step into an oeuvre littered with names like Gong Splat, Witch Egg, Damaged Bug, and Coachwhips. It’s a long way down, but an easy journey when Dwyer’s complete devotion to the music shows on every single, EP, project, and live album. This man cares about nothing more in life than music, and I think that’s something worth celebrating here.

Thee Oh Sees are so prolific and consistent sound-wise that it's hard to pick their best album, so a live set serves to represent their discography well. They have some prog/psych/noise tendencies that separate them from more run-of-the-mill garage rock.

I usually am not excited to see a live album here, but this was fantastic. This is Bay Area garage at its finest. The arrangements and performance are tight, and even the improvisational sections are perfectly placed and never overstay their welcome. This band is known for their prolific output and genre breaking music. This album might be considered garage rock, but there are elements of surf rock, and hardcore here that work super well together. I’m really glad this album and this band have been brought to my attention.

This was a unique live album. Probably one of the rawest albums I’ve heard throughout almost the whole list because you really get the vibe that they’re in a sweaty abandoned building going crazy to their like 9 fans. Super hardcore but very bluesy and grungy.

The choice of a live album was the correct one here. Pure, incandescent punk energy of the best kind. I would not have minded if it were shorter, but that's a minor critique. Thanks for sharing this. Fave Songs: The Dream, I Come from the Mountain, Tidal Wave, Toe Cutter Thumb Buster, Web

Nope

This album is not necessary. A live album certainly doesn't improve it in any way. Sometimes the music was alright. The lyrics weren't good. No need to revisit.

Oh, yay! A live album from a no-mark punk band, recorded more than 30 years after the genre ceased to be relevant. What an inspired pick!* A calculated attempt to be exciting and edgy that achieves the polar opposite. Musically, despite the try-hard energy, this just sounds tired and out-of-date. And that's before you even get to the vocals, which are an embarrassing parody of Johnny Rotten. Both annoying and dismally boring all at once (let's call it bornoying), this is an objectively awful record with no redeeming features. An utterly pointless waste of an hour of my life. Rating: 0 Playlist track: Toe Cutter Thumb Buster Date listened: 06/09/24 *By the way, I was being sarcastic.

This rocks hard. I like it. 4 stars.

Fun energetic punky concert. The kind of concert that justifies its existence from the raw energy that is not repeatable in a studio.

Above average garage-y West Coast rock and roll from a band I hadn't listened to before. Though not universally true by any means, I feel like live rock tends to be a blunter instrument, and I may check out how the studio product compares. No complaints anyway, it was a good workout jam.

Woah! That was quite the ride! Great energy and I just love how well the live sound is captured in this recording.

The OC disorder

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Tidal wave, Withered hand, Gelatinous cube

Normally dislike live albums, this captures energy so well though.

Based on the cover, I was reluctant to listen to this on a high anxiety day. But on a high rage day, it was just the ticket. It's got a timeless energy and I quite liked most of it.

I was going to say that this sounds suspiciously similar to Les Rallizes Dénudés, and as it turns out, the lead singer was in a LRD cover band (and like 30 other bands, holy shit). "Sticky Hulks" especially, with its screeching psychedelic guitars, the vocal effects, the intonation. The inspiration is extremely clear. Amazing, loved it. Definitely not what I was expecting from the album cover. Strong 4/5!

An interesting choice, although I'm not sure that is too unique compared to a lot of similar acts on the list and choosing a live album specifically is a weird one.

This is some extremely hard rocking..and as you know..I am here for it. Great length for a live album also

Live, Thee Oh Sees bury Dwyer behind walls; Recording, the same decision is made about banter as for mix. So the record becomes an exhibit of how the band's thinking: A little loose, very much with fingers. They're deep deep deep in the groove, surface weirded a little more than a studio record allows.

This sounds really energetic, but without visuals it is just too chaotic for me. And I really believe if I was in the crowd I would be blown away. So, three stars it is.

Not too bad for noisy indie stuff. Punky and catchy as well. At one point I thought the same song had played twice though, and it hadn't. Not the mark of a GREAT album lol. 3/5.

Sure not the worst live album on here 3

Ok

Garage rock, psychedelic rock, alternative rock, punk rock, experimental rock. Ni fu ni fa.

Pretty good... For a live album

It really rocked sometimes, but overall I got tired of it.

Live albums should not be on this list. I've seen this band live as the OSEES a few years back. It was ok and this album confirms that opinion.

I thought I'd like this more than I did. I don't think it being a live album helped. It's pretty rare that I enjoy a live album. Overall not bad.

Live albums are a really tough one. When I hear a live album I want to hear something that I couldn't hear in a studio. So many of the live albums on the og list were just mediocre studio albums that happened to have a live audience in front of them. A perfect example, in my view, of what live albums should aspire to is Alchemy: Dire Straits live, in particular Sultans of Swing. Knopfler took a 5 minute song and extended it into a 11 minute masterpiece. That's what I love about live albums! This doesn't have that. It felt like a studio album that just happened to be recorded in front of people. Also looking into the band, they sure are prolific. In the end, this didn't do much for me and I never felt they were doing anything creative or unique. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? Nope. Nothing about this really felt special and doubly so with a live album. Maybe something from their catalogue would have been a better choice.

Killer

Not a bad one from The Oh Sees.

There’s already been a bit of overkill on punk albums. And live albums are always divisive so the combination of a punk love album isn’t anything worthwhile. Maybe the person who submitted this was there. Not sure what else would make someone want to choose this since 90% of punk albums have already been on this list. Good energy though but not something I’ll revisit. 4.3/10

I'm not a fan of a live album at the best of times... And here it sounds like the soundman actively hates them. The vocal and drum mixes are an actual hatecrime, and the guitar is more overbearing than some of the parents on my school run. A crying shame, as it sounds like some of the songs will be atmospheric and cool, done properly. I'm giving a low score, but will listen to more of their stuff!

Never encountered this band before, so this was new to me. I don't think a live album was the best introduction for me as the muddiness of the recording was a bit grating. I did get to the song "Web" and did like it, so I sought out the studio recording of the song. The experience was much improved for me and I really liked it. Maybe if I was already a fan this would have connected better with me. I suspect seeing this guys live is a great experience which may be why someone chose a live album from Thee Oh Sees. But a live recording may not have been the best starting point for my first introduction. I definitely would have rated this higher had I started with one of their studio albums. As it was this was just too muddy for me to really get into. It's a no on this album, but I think I will be checking out some of the recordings from this band after my good experience with the one studio recording I checked out.