Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Bowery Ballroom 2/24/06
[EDITOR'S NOTE: You know the drill. Below is our man Amrit's third concert review for Stereogum. Next time, he'll need no introduction. Last night our intrepid reporter was blown away by Karen O's stage prowess and the band's new Bones. He also snapped some sweet photos before getting kicked out by security! If you're going tonight, take a tiny camera. -Scott]
"Hi, we're Yeah Yeah Yeahs and we're back in New York!" Anyone hearing the leaked Show Your Bones tracks and fearing the Gwen Stefanization of Karen O, take heed: Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back, true to form, with a set long on new material and guaranteed to drop your jaw. Friday night's sold out show saw the band showcase these stellar songs to an awed, if unexpectedly subdued, Bowery Ballroom. Crowd aside, if this performance was indication, Yeah Yeah Yeahs are in for a massive year.
Guitarist Nick Zinner was first to the stage, rakishly thin and Anime-cool in appearance. Brian Chase soon followed, sitting behind the drum kit and beginning his ceaseless rhythmic sway, a metronomic dance that would anchor the others' erratic (yet calculated) thrusts and movements. Once the mood was set and expectations heightened, Karen made her diva like appearance, replete with beatific smile, to a throng of adoring cheers.
Her birthday-celebrating mother being in attendance would prove no inhibition. Karen 2.O was every bit the beer-swilling, theatrical vixen we last knew and loved: fanning two oversized feathers and stretching into Kabuki-styled poses; convulsing on her back before jumping up to a shoulder high kick; interrupting tortured moments mid-song with a rapture inducing smile; mixing displays of hyperbolic confidence with shoe staring, endearing reticence. A&R folks, put away your pads, this is no formula. This is Karen O, a singular artist, and one of our generation's truly iconic rock stars.
The band, joined occasionally on guitars and keys by Imaad Wasif (of alaska!), presented its new material with well placed confidence and enthusiasm. While only a few songs felt as immediately undeniable as the standouts from Fever To Tell, YYYs' set obliterated any fears of a sophomore slump.
- "Honey Bear" is an electrified, art-rock jig, all upbeat accents and three-note melody.
- "Down Boy" is a sexy stomp of a showcase for Chase's ingenuity: his propulsive, down beat, open hi-hat dominates the proceedings, creating momentum that Karen and Nick ride with haunting melodies and powerful guitars.
- "Phenomena" arrives with similarly slinky groove and melody, here carried by Zinner's darkly appealing riffage and distorted six-stringed assault.
- "Turn Into," with its radio ready tune and rudimentary chord progression, was the set's only song that resembled the restrained-pop direction suggested by the leaked Gold Lion tracks -- a great, driving composition and a strong pre-encore set closer.
The evening's older songs (of which there were at least two too few, perhaps feeding the crowd's malaise) included the heavy exhalations of "Miles Away" (from their eponymous EP), as well as Fever To Tell standouts "Black Tongue," "Maps," and "Modern Romance." Of course, there was the newly electrified jangle pop of "Gold Lion" - not technically old, but it sure feels that way, doesn't it? (And yes -- it kills live.)
"So this is a love song," Karen said after returning for the encore, giggling over the looped guitar trill intro of "Maps." After dedicating the song to each of her band members' lovers, Ms. O's personal dedication was offered for "all of you motherfuckers in the audience tonight -- my love, my love, my love!" Somehow, much like each beat of her stage act, this consecration averted cliché and lodged itself in our chests. Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back. You have been warned.
SETLIST:
Cheated Hearts
Way Out
Black Tongue
Honey Bear
Mysteries
Down Boy
Gold Lion
[Happy Birthday to Karen's Mom]
Phenomena
Miles Away
Warrior
Turn Into
Encore:
Maps
Our Time
Modern Romance
RECENTLY IN YYYS:
Posted at 1:30 PM in Concert
Tags: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
amazing, great to hear their no different and i can't wait to see them when they come to milwaukee
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I seriously wish the crowd had been more into it, but I completely agree-the new songs sound amazing and Karen O is a star!
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the crowd was hurting, but the songs are amazing. can't wait for show your bones.
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I was there as well and all I have to say is "YUCK". The music was ookkaaay-- the band was kind of unsure of themselves and it showed. And the crowd...gag me with a spoon...does everybody have to be over thirty and dress like an old navy commercial? That was the most vile and lame group of indie yuppie blogwhoretics I have ever witnessed. It was really pathetic. Karen O: great job getting drunk in front of your Mom and a bunch of failed bloggy single white bougie princes and princesses. The drummer kept throwing his arms in the air as he played as if to say I'm not actually playing to a click track...he was. But you wouldn't care would you, indie yuppies are excited about anything with a little spectacle.
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Sounds like she rocked it. Anyone know where I can get that dress? ;)
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this article is a fine piece of rock and roll journalism. the bullet point descriptions of songs are breath-taking.
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nyc crowd was snoresville
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hahahaha diss... old navy clothes!!
http://www.pondracket.com
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Oh Karen O! I have a feeling this album is going to be nuts. Phenomena was ill.
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Er, sorry "rollingstonemagazinewillwrite..." I am on my way to the YYY concert tonight and am the poster boy for Old Navy. Well, Banana Republic actually, but what's the difference anyway. I'm 35 btw. I guess I'm just not cool enough to shop at American Apparel.
Sorry to be a part of those who ruin your time at these shows. On the behalf of all of us 30 somethings, please forgive our rude intrusion into your super-cool universe.
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You know you're in trouble when 95% of a concert review is about the crowd. And 90% of that 95% is about what the crowd was wearing. Rollingstonemagazineprobably... needs to get on Project Runway STAT.
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i'm glad to have read this--great recap. i'm seeing them in chi in a few days and would've been cranky about such little old material. the new stuff sounds really interesting, i'm excited!
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The spouse and I only go to a few rock shows a year (but lots of jazz and classical). Basically, if we go, it also means that
1) every blog I read will report on it afterwards
2) at least one will piss and moan about the crowd ruining the show
See you at Death Cab/Franz Ferdinand! Mwah.
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My friend recorded some videos
http://enfadado.typepad.com/
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god i have to stop reading reviews of this show or i'm going to throw myself in traffic since the LA shows are sold out and i don't have eleventy billion dollars to pay ebay scalpers.
*sigh*
it's good to know they're back in full force though. i was worried after hearing gold lion.
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ya know, i'm glad they are staying true to "fever to tell" but i also did like the two singles i've heard so far. there's something about her voice. and besides it still didn't sound like top 40 and i never worried about her doing a stefani. i am however concerned about the killers 2nd album not being as good as their first.
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YYY's are back? I never knew they left. :)
Good to hear they continue to rawwwwwwk.
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Considering the number of talented writers in New York, this is who you chose to write your reviews? Wow, what a total waste. Maybe the B&T traffic your site gets will be into it, but somehow I doubt they care about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Does anyone know if there's a second wave of blogs on the horizon? Gotta refresh this sort of thing every year or two...
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Considering the number of talented writers in New York, this is who you chose to write your reviews? Wow, what a total waste. This reads like it was written by a first year NYU student... majoring in communications. Maybe the B&T traffic this site gets will be into it, but somehow I doubt they care about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Does anyone know if there's a second wave of blogs on the horizon? Gotta refresh this sort of thing every year or two...
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Someone needs to remind them this stuff is supposed to be FUN.
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hey look, i revised! (albeit withou trying to submit the first) that's how you know i write a lot... unlike _____________
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huh. the writing is actually top notch, the only thing you could disagree with here is the critique, and i was there friday night and have to say it's dead on. the crowd was lacking energy-nothing to do with their attire or age, really, just tired or something-but the band sounded "phenomena(l)." the album should be great.
in other news, wtf was with the "art staaar" requester? and karen was wearing a CRAZY ass dress. i love her.
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um. the bowl cut is extreme.
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i was thinking that too! like maybe for a day it'd be funny, but then i'd want non bowl hair pretty soon after probs. i see alotta hipster girls these days with the severe bowl cut from when we were like 7, i'm just not getting it at all.
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All the same though... hearing them play "Art Star" would be pretty sweet
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Saw the show at Bowery on 2/25... not so into it.
From what I could tell, the new songs were ok.. some definite standouts and some stuff I dinna like as much. Not quite the instant on, fun, kick in the butt reaction I had to songs I hadn't heard the first couple a times I saw 'em, though. Could easily be because everything about YYY's was new to me then. I did pre-buy SYB there, and I am lookin' forward to spending time with it when it ships (ok, like most of you lot, I'll probably d/l it as soon as it leaks).
Nick was GREAT, as usual. Stalking the stage with a black Strat and that really nice First Act custom guit, he looked cool and sounded better. I really think he's one of the most innovative guitar players out there right now. If he reminds me of anyone, it's a bit of The late Matthew Ashman (from Bow Wow Wow)and/or Steve Severin from Siouxsie/Banshees. And that aloof stage persona is a nice counter point to Karen's antics and Brian's Keith Moon mugging (Brian..dood.. how many times have you watched "The Kids are Alright"?) Brian sounded great, too.. much tighter than the last time I saw him play with "Seconds", but he coulda been drunk then (g).
As for Karen, it's no secret that she's definitely a star, though now it seems to be more in a "Judy Garland/Liza Minelli" kinda way. She performed moves from her soon to be trademarked routine - grins, kicks, bendy-beer spitting, "jazz" hands, etc.. but, to me at least, it came off more as a talented performer giving the punters what they've come to expect than someone actually having fun and being spontanious. Nothing wrong with that, just not what I personally used to like about her.
Maybe it was an off night.. maybe I was in the wrong mood (the fucking L train wasn't running AGAIN).. they did still sound great! I bought tix for the Roseland Show in May, so maybe I'll have more fun then.
Best, Tony
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"ANIME-COOL IN APPEARANCE."
ugh. i agree with josh.
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hey chris or whatever, "anime-cool" is an entirely awesome description. i've got a picture in my mind....and it's hipster x 1000.
keep kickin' it Amrit.
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wish i could have made this show. these guys are really doing something special!
its amazing how you can actually taste the bitterness of certain peoples comments (chris/josh) through the screen!!
keep it rockin' VI.
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The only questionable thing about the article is considering the Yeah Yeah Yeahs 'iconic'. Hardly. Icons in music are a thing of the past, I think. Then again, music is what matters... who cares if it is being put forth by somebody who is or is not an icon.
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"Icons in music are a thing of the past."
Not necessarily, and I think Karen O definitely qualifies as an icon, musical or otherwise. It's simply a visual representation of a concept.
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careful rollingstone, one day you might be over 30, gasp, and want to go to a show. then really gag yourself with a spoon.
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Here's my pics from the YYY's saturday night show (it was awesome!):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fwyb/sets/72057594070540329/
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Was I at this same show?? It was boring, Karen seemed to be doing her usual routine just for the sake of doing it, not into it at all. Way too much focus on new material. I did love the bedazzled unitard though, that was a nice touch.
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To whom it may concern: the new yeah yeah yeahs has apparently leaked
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Since when do people care so much about "hearing the hits??" They're touring in advance of a new album, of course they'd be debuting plenty of new stuff. What, you guys can't handle hearing songs you've never heard before? Maybe that's why people only care about bands that magazines and blogs tell them too.
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Of course, that could explain why the NYC crowd seemed "subdued," "beat," etc. Maybe a lot of them were LISTENING to the new songs. Acting like a stereotypical spazzy rockfan (singing along, hollering at every quiet part, pumping your fist with every hook) is pretty difficult if you haven't already memorized every tune.
The new material, while basically the same deal, seemed a little more subtle than the old hits anyway. In a way, Karen O. has changed her shtick - the songs are less "naughty," no longer blatantly about partying and fucking, and are not necessarily a bunch of hooks strung together. (My favorite of the leaked new songs so far is "Dudley," BTW.)
Coming in from scenes (jazz & classical) where the ultimate form of respect is to sit down and shut up, I remain annoyed that everyone wants to gauge the success of the show by how "wacked" the audience got. Music has more dimensions than that.
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It was a truly awesome show, check out my pics at http://flickr.com/photos/underviewed/ I was pumped and the crowd seemed to be listening to the new stuff, typical artsy nyc response, I think the buzz was generally very good afterwards though.
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I will add one diss about audience behavior, though - too many people taking pictures! (Sorry jinx, nothing against you personally.)
Seriously, how many cameras can you see in this shot?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fwyb/104586785/in/set-72057594070540329/
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man, what's with people bitching about the reviews? it's the guy's 3rd or so review in for this site. let him at least get a few more in before you start ripping him to shreds. the complaining about his work is so typically indie it's almost laughable: you're over before you begin.
still, most people seem to rightly be digging his reviews. keep it up village indian, more appreciate it than don't.
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I LOVE THE YEAH YEAH YEAHS you guys rawk
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no YOU rock
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