Two shows will wrap up Thunderpussy’s ‘crazy tornado’ year

Thunderpussy’s New Year’s Eve show is so special, it starts 30 hours before 2017 begins. That’s because the band is playing two New Year’s shows at Neumos, the first being an all-ages gig Friday the 30th, followed by Saturday’s 21-and-over concert.

That’s a good indication of what a draw Thunderpussy has become in Seattle this year. Lead singer Molly Sides says it’s been “a crazy tornado.” The band toured the U.K. and the U.S., and also played the “trifecta” of local music festivals: Sasquatch!, the Capitol Hill Block Party and Bumbershoot.

What’s more impressive is that nearly every review of those festivals cited Thunderpussy’s set as a highlight. The band also recorded its first album this year, though Sides says it’s still not quite done.

“We’re mixing still,” she says. “It will be out next year.”

Since the album’s initial sessions, Thunderpussy has even returned to the studio to cut four songs with Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready producing. McCready has been a big supporter of Thunderpussy. It is also recording the Neumos shows and may do something with those tapes.

“We have so much new material,” Sides says. “We’ll find some way to put it all out.”

With no records out yet, it’s been the band’s live performances earning raves, and building a considerable crowd base.

Sides works as a choreographer in her day job, and she’s a dynamic front woman. Combined with guitarist Whitney Petty, bassist Leah Julius and drummer Ruby Dunphy, you might think for a moment that Led Zeppelin has reformed as an all-female band, but with more artiness.

And Sides says there will be something more than just a regular rock concert happening at Neumos.

“Certainly 2016 was a rough year for a lot of people,” she says. “There’s a universal sensation that people will feel with the wave of energy going forward. We’ve got something planned that has never been seen on a Thunderpussy stage before.”

Thunderpussy formed in 2014. For New Year’s Eve that year, the group opened up for Reignwolf at the Showbox. But the band didn’t play in 2015, and Sides can’t even remember where she was on New Year’s Eve.

“I have no idea what I did, except that we didn’t have a gig,” she laughs.

Perhaps that’s why Thunderpussy has two gigs this New Year’s, to make up for the last.

“This year we are full throttle,” Sides says. “I don’t want to give too much away, but I just hope people are willing to jump in the van with us.”