Thee Oh Sees
July 2009
Glasslands Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
By Andres Jauregui

I shot this trippy double exposure on the front line of a particularly raucous, incredibly sweaty set that kicked off Thee Oh Sees’ swing through Brooklyn over Independence Day weekend this year. When I look at this photo, I often wonder what it would be like if there were two John Dwyers fronting my most beloved San Francisco band, on two gritty, beat-up Gretsch guitars. And then I realize that one of them would have to play that ghoulish green, vintage Burns 12-string that John whips out at every show. Shortly before Thee Oh Sees played that night, the NYPD rolled up outside the venue and handed out summonses for “blocking the bike lane” on a deserted stretch of road by the East River. It was total bullshit, since most of the “perps” (including myself) were outside smoking cigarettes on the sidewalk, and didn’t even come anywhere near the street until the cops started randomly seizing IDs. Ultimately, it didn’t matter; all the frustration from the incident just made its way onto the floor, which made the show rowdier than usual, and definitely facilitated this, my favorite keepsake from that leg of Thee Oh Sees’ tour.

Reach out to Andres at andres@dutchvowels.com