Concert Review: The Thing w/ Certain Death, Night Club 101, Manhattan, NY

Rock and roll never died, most people simply stopped looking for it. Thankfully, in the New York music scene, you can find pockets of pretty much any genre under the ethos of artistic love first. You do it for the love of the music, for the love of the community. That’s the exact feeling that washed over me when I found my way into one of Manhattan’s newest club venues, Night Club 101, to catch the third night of The Thing’s residency.

What impressed me the most about The Thing’s performance is how they take these different sectionalities of rock music and combine them to create a sound that feels comfortably familiar yet unique enough to cultivate an identity. The Thing’s sophomore record, The Thing Is, brought out different ideas of 60s worship with nods to heavyweights like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Kinks to strains of indie-rock that found their footing in the early 2000s, and their exploration of these intersections continues in their rollout for their self-titled record out on August 6th. 

Throughout their three night residency, The Thing showcased what it means to not only honor but build upon the history of their surroundings and their musical inspirations. Even with their 11:05 start time, The Thing didn't let up for a second, going headfirst into an incredibly loud set with the energy of a group simply excited to play in front of people. The Thing’s production on their recorded material already sounded well suited for a club, so it felt like a group playing on their home turf. Every song, from the old to the new, felt at home at a packed out Night Club 101.

The Thing recently added another show in the New York area at Baby’s All Right on Friday, August 15th, which you can get tickets to here. Make sure to catch them before their inevitable (and earned!) surge in popularity.

Opening up the show on the final day of the residency was fellow NYC-based rock band Certain Death. The band wrapped up their five day tour at Night Club 101, playing a blistering 40-minute set in celebration of their newest single, “White Clouds,” released the day before. The group had a marvelous energy to them, with frontman Henry Black striking poses left and right and drummer CJ Young roaring through a solo towards the end of their set. Their performance even earned an encore, a rare feat for an opener.

Certain Death was a great way to kick off a night celebrating exemplary rock music from the Big Apple. You can check out the band’s latest single “White Clouds” here.