One day, I broke down and bought the Thrills debut album, So Much For the City, solely because it was $7.99. I didn't know much about them, but it was obvious they were both a "the" band and an "-ills" band, which guaranteed awesomeness.* The record was good, but I wasn't completely blown away. Still, I listened to it two or three times before I went to the show.

When the band took the stage at the Bowery, the members were all teeming with excitement. It was easy to see that it was going to be an evening free of pretentiousness. I can't remember what they opened with, but I knew I was singing along. Then, when they played "Big Sur," I was bouncing around and shouting the words to everyone around me. To make the evening complete, they left the stage without much fanfare and came back for a quick, two-song encore, just the way I like it.

Over the last three days pretty much every song that has been stuck in my head has been by the Thrills. To me, that means it was a damn good show. Check out their record if you can't get to one of their shows.

*Note: Sarcasm.