Thao & the Get Down Stay Down- 3/30/13- Turner Hall

Thao Nguyen and her San Francisco band "Thao and the Get Down Stay Down" has been on my radar of acts to see for some time now.  After getting the "ok" from the Mrs. I headed down to Turner Hall for a fun evening of music.

I would sum up the set with one word, "charming."  Thao is a true charmer on stage, and her friendly banter reminded me of an early Ani DiFranco (who I had the pleasure of seeing several times as a relatively young artist during my time at UW-Madison in the mid-late 1990's).  Similar to DiFranco, Thao is an incredibly talented and versatile musician, who, aside from tackling the lead vocal duties, proved that she was more than proficient jamming on guitars, banjos and even a lap guitar.  Much of Thao's set came from her latest release, "We The Common," which has become a go-to album this year for me.  Tracks like "We Don't Call," and "Holy Roller," had a tight instrumentation that allowed their quirky nuances to be appreciated in the intimate setting of Turner Hall.  Moreover, the raw energy of tracks like "City" was also palpable.

The highlight of the show was the 3/4 full hall singing along and swaying with the title track, "We The Common," a song written about an inmate (Valerie Bolden) who Thao happened to meet at a correctional facility in California while performing service-work.

There was noting inherantly flashy about Thao and the Get Down Stay Down's stage show, but the raw emotion and fresh energy from the band endeared the audience to leave Turner Hall smiling.


Grade: B+