At the opening of the second of four Chapel shows in the Mission, frontman John Dwyer introduced the band to the crowd: “We’re the Osees, we’re from Los Angeles,” launching into the propulsive “Carrion Crawler” with the band’s signature snarling swagger, the assault of garage rock guitars instilled with a devilish playfulness. But for many longtime fans, something wasn’t quite right about that introduction.

In the world of rock music, Osees are a singular force, a battle-worn group of touring road warriors who both put on one of the most exciting shows in rock ’n’ roll and produce a staggering amount of recorded material, with almost 30 albums to their various names (the spelling changes like the weather, from OCS to Thee Oh Sees, and currently Osees). They’re currently based in Los Angeles, but for the first half of their career, the band called San Francisco home.

Dwyer moved to SF from Rhode Island in 1997 with a desire to play with musicians like Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier. His first show in the city was at now-shuttered Edinburgh Castle under the moniker Pink and Brown. In 1999, he told Vice about playing venues like Eagle Tavern and the long-lost El Rincon while working as a cannabis trimmer in Oakland. He also did stints as a house painter, bike messenger and barista at a defunct Lower Haight coffee shop called Bean There, blocks from Rooky Ricardo’s Records, whose recently deceased owner Dick Vivian got a shoutout from Dwyer onstage, thanking him for introducing him to Canned Heat and the Temptations.

Article continues below this ad

Concertgoers mosh at the Osees show at the Chapel in San Francisco, on Aug. 27, 2026.

The Osees perform during their four-night run at the Chapel in San Francisco, on Aug. 27, 2026.

What began as a freak-folk act under the moniker Orinoka Crash Suite evolved into one of the biggest forces in the late aughts and early 2010s garage rock movement, which locally included other bands like the Fresh & Onlys, Ty Segall, Kelley Stoltz and Sonny and the Sunsets. Lofi and DIY in ethos, the........

© SFGate