Animal magnetism: Thao at the National History Museum LA
Name some dream venues to perform at. There’s no shortage of prestigious stages, large and small in Los Angeles, but maybe none as quirky or one-of-a-kind as the North American Mammal Hall with embalmed buffalo, moose, and sea lions. And very few artists are as appropriately attuned to this environment as Thao Nguyen.
On March 6th, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles hosted the second sold-out First Friday of the year, a monthly series that has the museum open after-hours for exclusive music, science, and cultural programming. This year is the 20th Anniversary season and the grounds were packed with patrons, scientists, and first dates aplenty.
The NHM at night is such a unique and charming experience. An entirely new crowd of people comb through the giant fossils, large scale exhibitions, and glass cases of prehistoric fish with cocktails in hand and ready to dance through the museum floors. Beyond the actual museum exhibits, local food trucks and LA businesses like Amoeba Music and Giant Robot offer the entire city’s hot spots their own slice of history.
From the Intercom’s main mission of the night was to see indie-rock icon Thao Nguyen (known mononymously as Thao) gear up and show off what she’s been working on, and gear up she did. In lieu of a full band, Thao brought enough equipment to supply a full band, but performed as a duo with frequent collaborator Jason Slota on drums and percussion.
Altogether, Thao pulled up with — I shit you not — guitars, an electric mandolin, an electric banjo (that didn’t work), steel guitar, a full drum set, and vibraphone. As much as she could fit in her RAV4 from the Bay Area, she said. There were so many instruments, I kept expecting other band members to start showing up, but the entire night was a performed as a duo. I did wish to hear a fuller, bandier sound in such a wild space, but Thao and Slota held their own.
On deck was a medley of songs from Thao’s last three albums We the Common, A Man Alive, and Temple. Of note was a tongue-in-cheek performance of “Nobody Dies” whilst flanked by taxidermy and likely the most emotional, prescient performance of “Temple” with a prelude denouncing the United States and Israel’s attacks on Iran.
This was also an opportunity to show off a couple songs on the forthcoming album set for September this year. One song about “toxic entanglement” stood out to me from its mantra-like chorus. In addition to the album, we were also informed that an upcoming musical and book by Thao are coming out soon. Not sure how soon, but if it’s all this year, we will be generously spoiled by Thao’s creative discernment.
Major props to Joel Quizon for curating such an excellent show with the museum. Trust, the entire FTI staff is mourning not being able to see Jay Som play next to the be-antlered North American fauna. If you haven’t been to a First Friday yet, tickets are only $30 and it’s well worth the experience. You may just discover your next favorite artist there. We hope to return very soon.
This event took place on March 6, 2026 at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, CA.
