Ural Thomas and the Pain

A co-worker of mine, who happens to have great musical tastes, told me about Ural Thomas and the Pain about a decade ago. I never made an attempt to catch him around town, as he is Portland based. I kept seeing his name, but just never bothered.

This past weekend we found ourselves at Festival of Dark Arts at Fort George Brewery in Astoria. What has always been known as a Carnival of Stouts and running with a tongue in cheek Satanic theme, this year seemed to bring an arsenal of great live music perhaps a future iconic music and beer festival. I knew they had been stepping up their music game, but we had not been to FODA since 2020.

Ft G posted the musical line up on their website, and sure enough, Ural Thomas and the Pain would be playing in The Ruins, an event center across the street from the Ft G grounds. Sure, Blitzen Trapper was headlining the event later that night, but we wanted to catch Ural at the 1:30 slot. And apparently so did everybody else. The room packed in and Ural took the stage with his full band.

What an experience. Ural and I share the same birthday, but he was born in 1939. You certainly wouldn't think it listening to his silky, soulful voice. He had plenty of energy as he engaged the crowd. There has been an amazing resurgence of classic Soul music the past 10-15 years. Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings has been my favorite of the bunch. I was lucky enough to catch her in a small venue. I have a feeling this show will also be remembered as that moment to see something so special up close.

The Pain consists of six others: guitar, bass, keyboard, drums, percussion, and a saxophone (I'm guessing baritone as that sucker was deep but I don't know my brass). They complimented Ural's voice with some fantastic back up harmonies.

This show brought nothing but joy. When the show ended, the room emptied with a smile on everybody's face. We just got to share something amazing. We caught several other bands throughout the event, some of them also outstanding, but this was the shining moment. Do yourself a favor and go see Ural Thomas and the Pain if you get the chance. I'm so glad I finally did.