Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Webster Hall, NYC 8/7/07
With the release of the killer Is Is EP (and its accompanying night vision videos), Yeah Yeah Yeahs are inspiring a lot of folks to discuss the band's legacy, or how they're bound to be the most enduring of the turn-of-the-millennium NYC scene (interesting 'cause, as good as Is Is is, these are songs from the unquestionably edgy and inspired pre-Show Your Bones era), or how Karen O is a true rock star. But our favorites are the ones that mistake them for the MisShapes. Well done, Daily News. (via Gawker)
We won't really go to any of those places (not "legacy," and definitely not MisShapes) mainly 'cause, well, it's been said repeatedly (and articulately) -- and also 'cause as Lolla proved, obviously we're suckers for their style. But that doesn't mean the YYYs' catalogue-spanning show at Webster Monday night wasn't a case study in the band's hipster/critic/casual fan appeal. In fact, it was probably the most fully realized exhibition of the band's tight-rope walk between unfettered expression and theatrical, patterned tics we've seen from 'em yet. But, worth nothing: Although Nick Zinner's no stranger to building buckets of noise, there was something about the stormy, delay-drenched static he was summoning -- and in particular, in the way Karen was mouthing her mic with spread arms/hunched-then-arched back -- that was way too Deerhunter to avoid mentioning. It became the fodder for much post-show 3rd Ave. chatter, and as relatively "new" as the Bradford Cox crew is, and as blasphemous as it may sound to some YYYs diehards to imagine their relative vets taking cues from the young shoegazing Atlanta madmen, remember that Karen's a big fan (via Impose) and has gone on record saying seeing Deerhunter is "like a religious experience." MTV said "rock stars are born, not made," but that don't mean they can't learn from each other along the way.
Great show. Setlist and too many pics of Karen bending into awkward positions/fellating her mic after the jump.
SETLIST
01 "Sealings"
02 (New Song)
03 "Honeybear"
04 "Rockers To Swallow"
05 "Phenomena"
06 "Cheated Hearts"
07 "Gold Lion"
08 "Pin"
09" Kiss Kiss"
10 "Down Boy"
11 "Art Star"
12 "Maps"
13 "Turn Into"
14 "Date With The Night"
----
15 "Y Control"
16 "Black Tongue"
17 "Our Time"
18 "Tick"
Posted at 9:59 AM in Concert
Tags: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
wait, have you guys never seen the yyy's before?
she's been eating/fellating her mic for years - definitely the last times they played at roseland and mccarren pool - aka pre cryptograms.
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agreed tobias, she's been doing that for years. seen 'em many times before, dating way back to the early. point is though, it's taken on a different spin since her kinship with cox. the noise and mic bjs aren't new, given, but they've been informed (or deranged, depending on your angle) compared to recent nights i've seen 'em.
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Maybe Cox and O chat about how to give a good mic bj: swapping stories, giving tips.
Didn't they tour together at one point: Deerhunter opening for YYY?
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Man, seeing the mugs of the MisShapes in the morning is akin to getting getting punched in the face. How come they haven't gone away yet?
As for the YYY's being influenced by a Deerhunter performance, if that may be, don't you think Bradford then took a page from Karen initially since she's been doing that shit for years?
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They played Rockers to Swallow twice?
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I wish I had something more eloquent to contribute, but surely and I am not the only person who laughed out loud at the first picture. KAREN LOEV MICROFON. CHOMP.
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Has she been ripping off Siouxsie Sioux for years as well???
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I wonder if that chunky run in her pantyhose was intentional.
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cher has really gotten her act together and managed to turn back time!wow
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Karen has been fellating the mic for so long that the crew member sound-checking the mic has to do it as well. that was...interesting.
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I'm surprised there hasn't been more MisShapes slams from this post.
C'mon people, it takes a whole hell of a lot of talent to pout and press play on a iPod!
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She definitely is stealing Santa Claus's rock act with all that tinsel going on. He's gotta be pissed.
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I like her... but... Karen really scares me.
DwD
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With all this longtime fellating of the microphone over the years, I'm surprised there's no messy equipment wipe-ups - Karen "O-face" swallows!
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Is anyone else gorwing bored with that costume?
It was fresh at Lolapalooza, diquieting on Letterman,
and now it just seems lazy.
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What did you guys think of Tiny Masters of Today?
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yeah sure yyys fear deerhunter.
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I heart YYY's. That's all. Bye
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Wait, a costume that Karen O broke out four days prior is no longer fresh enough for you?
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