Keytar sighting

As recently as two decades ago, the keytar flourished in the wild. But excessive poaching pushed the instrument to near-extinction. Nowadays, the most likely place to see a keytar is at a nature reserve or preservation society.

Due to their extremely migratory nature, it's hard to determine how many keytars are left in the wild. And when they are seen, they usually hide in the back; so there was excitement in the crowd last night at the Casbah when a keytar appeared front and center.


The keytar used to have no fear of man and would stay in plain view for hours. Now, they usually scurry away after a couple of minutes, like this one did.


The keytar came out for a song during Wet Confetti's opening set last night. Their bottled-up energy made for a good warm-up before the Thermals' complete unleashing of energy.

Thermals concert preview

So here's your future...

After playing an opening slot at a House of Blues show a few months back, The Thermals return to the much more fitting confines of the Casbah tomorrow night. No knock against the band — they fired up a large, focused crowd as the surprise opener for Sleater-Kinney's farewell shows in PDX — but their power pop/punk hybrid sound is just built for bouncing off the walls of a small club.

The Thermals — Returning to the Fold (MP3)
The Thermals — Test Pattern (MP3)

The opener is another Portland band called Wet Confetti. Their debut, "This Is So Illegal, Do It Fast," was lo-fi to a fault, but their latest album, "Laughing Gasping" is a leap forward. A great band for those who are bummed about Pretty Girls Make Graves breaking up or for people who could never get into them in the first place.


Wet Confetti — Sorry Dinosaur (MP3)