Thousands // The Middle East Upstairs // Cambridge, MA // Jan. 10, 2010

Prog-power trio Thousands pins back its ears and turns it up to 11. Drummer Brandon Philips adds a critical energy to an otherwise staid stage show, but guitarist Omar Kazmi holds the audience's eye. At 6'5", Kazmi is an imposing presence on stage, rarely looking up from under his messy curls. His fingers flit over the guitar's neck, striking so hard it's a wonder the strings don't break. While Thousands' guitar riffs can devolve into sloppiness, they require a degree of technical difficulty that would scare away many other musicians.

At first glance, it's difficult to square the image of Supriya Gunda with the enormous bass notes reverberating in my chest. She's tiny compared to Kazmi and Philips, a delicate-looking girl with a nose ring, nerdy glasses and a tousled ponytail plopped atop her head. But she absolutely dominates her instrument, manhandling a bass that almost seems too large for her. Philips is flawless on the drums, moving in and out of radical tempo changes with aplomb. His sticks splash off the cymbals, attached to long sinewy arms slashing through the air, and his fills show an inventiveness that's tinged with the practical considerations of keeping a prog-rock band on task.

Thousands remains in its embryonic stage; the band's set is EP-length, but the trio hasn't found time to lay down a proper album yet. If you enjoy being able to say “I saw a band when...," check out Thousands at venues around Boston as soon as you can.