Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Webster Hall, NYC, 8/7/07by Daniel Michael Alleva

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

Sonic Youth, McCarren Park Pool, Williamsburg BK, 7/28/07 by Daniel Michael Alleva

Aside from the performers, a true champion of Sonic Youth’s show at McCarren Park Pool was the young boy who couldn’t have been more than 8-years-old, ten feet from center stage upon the shoulders of his father, as the band performed in its entirety their landmark 1988 album Daydream Nation. Coming off of the success of their latest release - the critically acclaimed Rather Ripped - one of the greatest bands of my lifetime celebrated what I feel, as do many others, is one of the most important albums of all time. This hometown tribute for the dedicated that have followed Sonic Youth was a dignified toast.


Daydream Nation on record opens up like an invitation, with building anticipation in each turn and fold. And in a live setting, the reaction is the same - only tenfold. Kim Gordon’s breathy introductions to “Teenage Riot,” – coquettish phrases matched with ideological thoughts, possibly; “Face me, don’t displace me” and such – arouse so much tension that by time the song reaches a breakdown, you’re ready to explode. Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo’s guitar work is still the finest in the land, and drummer Steve Shelley remains the anchor for the quartet.


The spirituality of a record like Daydream Nation cannot be ignored, so invigorating is every note. And to be under a Brooklyn moon for its grand unveiling is to be of note. With some certainty, I can say that you won't be able to see "Trilogy" performed in its entirety again for some time. But with great confidence, I know that Sonic Youth will be at either Webster Hall or Irving Plaza within 18 months of now, as they always are, doing what they do so splendidly. To this point, I return to the young man on his father’s shoulders.


While I was slightly too big to rest on anyone’s shoulders the first time I saw the band, I myself was a much younger man then. Through the years, Sonic Youth have remained the truest of all the acts I’ve seen. They never grow tired. They never stop smiling. They never stop rocking. They are personified by the rawest chord available to be played. And so when the circle remains unbroken, and we’ve preserved what is distinctly ours to share, there is no better way to celebrate than with a party for a Library of Congress selected album for the National Recording Registry. Daydream Nation is not so much an album as it is the essence of our expressive existence, available to anyone and everyone.