Karen O. pranced, pogoed, and howled, while Nick Zinner and Brian Chase provided an explosive backdrop to her antics, as New York City's Yeah Yeah Yeahs crashed through Webster Hall last week, performing in support of their latest release, The Is Is EP. O., dressed in fishnet stockings and little more, draped herself with what appeared to be christmas tree tinsel, and throughout the performance, donned several props, including a bowler hat, and a mask that made her look strikingly similar to one of the "party guests" in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut.
The Yeahs, consummate performers of bare-bones retro-punk, ran through their catalog with splendid detail. Highlights of the evening were "Cheated Hearts" and "Phenomenon," both from the Yeahs last full-length release, the fantastic Show Your Bones, as well as the gems from their breakthrough release Fever to Tell, such as "Tick" and "Black Tongue." The coy sexuality of O., combined with her penchant for jamming the microphone into her mouth and screaming, crept over Chase's snap-from-the-wrist pounding, and Zinner, now certified as the most innovative guitarist in rock today, held command over the melodies along with touring guitarist, Imaad Wasif.
Tiny Masters of Today, the group consisting of pint-sized siblings Ivan and Ada, along with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion drummer Russell Simins, opened the show, and closed their set with a humorous cover of House of Pain's "Jump Around."
Photo by Rebecca Smeyne, courtesy of The Village Voice
The Yeahs, consummate performers of bare-bones retro-punk, ran through their catalog with splendid detail. Highlights of the evening were "Cheated Hearts" and "Phenomenon," both from the Yeahs last full-length release, the fantastic Show Your Bones, as well as the gems from their breakthrough release Fever to Tell, such as "Tick" and "Black Tongue." The coy sexuality of O., combined with her penchant for jamming the microphone into her mouth and screaming, crept over Chase's snap-from-the-wrist pounding, and Zinner, now certified as the most innovative guitarist in rock today, held command over the melodies along with touring guitarist, Imaad Wasif.
Tiny Masters of Today, the group consisting of pint-sized siblings Ivan and Ada, along with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion drummer Russell Simins, opened the show, and closed their set with a humorous cover of House of Pain's "Jump Around."
Photo by Rebecca Smeyne, courtesy of The Village Voice
