*Story by Roland Nimis*
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, Thao Nguyen’s folk-rock-pop band from San Francisco, plays a fun show that is nothing you are dying to tell your friends about. Nguyen took the stage at Caf? Montmartre late Saturday night to a fairly crowded house with an arch-top guitar that was as big as she is. She had no trouble handling it, though, with her uncanny ability to play both lead and rhythm while she wailed away with lyrics that were tricky to discern.
She began the set accompanied by a bassist and drummer. Midway through the set, though, she brought up her friend Mary to add ukulele to the already eccentric, upbeat sound. The drums mutated throughout the night as the percussionist, Willis Thompson, used brushes, maraca, and a tambourine for drum sticks. He also dressed the cymbals with metal beads and what looked like bean bags. The rhythms made the crowd “clap”-happy, and I was unconciously stomping my foot till it hurt.
The reason I will not be pushing Thao’s album to passers-by is that they aren’t anything different. They are inoffensive to a fault, and the boldest part about them is their lengthy name. They are a band that kept my attention but would not get me to pay top dollar.
