yep, spot on, I call them 'absorption bars', and although they look poor or potentially weak, they are actually a sign of potential strength masquerading as weakness.
And yes, they are generally "upthrusts in the wrong place" (which is what TOM called them), and the confirmation for them is that there is no downside follow through in response, and instead price will usually go up (or at least only sideways) following them. They are usually seen in an uptrend, and they don't have any serious weakness immediately behind them on the chart.
(remember that in VSA, an upthrust is generally a confirming indicator of previous weakness (selling), and usually sees price fall or breakdown in response)
You can never be 100% sure what they are at the time, however there are many of that type of bar in the background of this chart, which have not seen any serious downside in response, so the expectation would be that there won't be this time either (at least until there is a seriously weak bar preceding it, then it might be different).
This type of bar appears quite common now, where price is strongly bought up initially, and is then left pretty much unsupported (and even sold into a little) for a period which ensures a poor closing daily bar. I believe this type of bar is created for two purposes, firstly to absorb supply that waits above (to help clear the way for a continuing push higher), then secondly, the low close helps to flip out the day and momentum traders,whose selling can cause difficulties during the mark up phase.
