Dechristo Posted October 28, 2006 Posted October 28, 2006 why does my wanger turn orange whenever i eat Cheetos? Quote
olyclimber Posted October 28, 2006 Posted October 28, 2006 You always want to believe that your favorite bands are good enough to overcome any obstacles that come their way, including a poor choice of venue for their live show. But this weekend proved that even the almighty Sonic Youth was unable to conquer the unfriendly confines of the Paramount Theatre. Â The Paramount was made for Phantom of the Opera, not the phantoms of feedback. No matter how hard you tried not to notice, there was something very disturbing about politely standing in between rows of seats while Thurston Moore was ripping "Schizophrenia" to shreds. This is why seeing Sonic Youth play a general admission basketball gymnasium in Bellingham the next day was worth the hour-and-a-half car ride it took to get there. Though not always necessary, physical contact with other people in the crowd (not just slamming) can significantly heighten the impact of a band's performance. Â Olympian godmothers of grrrl punk Bikini Kill put on strong though largely unnoticed opening sets both nights, further alienating the seated Friday night crowd by sticking primarily to brand new material. There were some clusters of people dancing as best they could in the aisles, but the authority Bikini Kill displays at places like the backstage of the Capitol Theatre was almost completely diminished by the size of the Paramount. Saturday night was much better for Kathleen Hanna and company, where the people who came to see Bikini Kill were appropriately situated near the front of the stage. The band gave the Bellingham crowd even more reason to jump around by playing "Rebel Girl." Â The Amps' Pacific Northwestern debut found Kim Deal drunk off her ass Friday night, stumbling around the Paramount stage and knocking over pretty much everything she came across (including her beer.) It may have appeared embarrassing to some, but to those of us familiar with the recently released Pacer, drunk seems like the best way to play it. Â Although there are similarities between The Amps and The Breeders (unsurprising since Kim controls both), her new project's rawness makes for a decidedly more rocking show. Her vocals, though a bit harsher on songs like "Full on Idle" and "Empty Glasses," are relatively softer and sweeter than her earlier work. "Bragging Party," "First Revival" and "Breaking the Split Screen Barrier" all find Kim's vocals reverberating into an intoxicating stream of sensuality. Never mind what she's singing about - you can't really tell what she's saying anyway, and the whole approach just seems much more personal. Â Both nights Kim showed off her excellent drumming skills by taking control of the snare during "Hoverin" (an Amps song that originally appeared on the b-side of The Breeders' "Divine Hammer" single). The song is much more abrasive than The Amps' usually poppy songs, which actually worked to the band's advantage on Friday and Saturday by changing the tempo and waking up largely indifferent crowds. A sizable pit formed midway through their Saturday set, which along with better sound (the Paramount soundmen obviously had their heads up their asses) made their performance much more successful. Â Sonic Youth currently enjoys a heaping amount of indie/punk credibility and probably will continue to until their demise, despite the fact that they have rid themselves of most of their indie connections - a majority of their back catalog has been re-issued by Geffen, they headlined Lollapalooza and now put on large-scale arena-sized performances. This is due to a single, immensely important fact when it comes to indie creed: The only rules these guys play by are their own. Â Both nights, the band came out with a nostalgic bang, serving oldies like "Silver Rocket," "Catholic Block (I Got A)" and "Tom Violence." Their sets over the two nights reflected the fact that these shows were part of the Washing Machine tour, including most of the songs from the new album (though they neglected the obvious by omitting the Kim Gordon/Kim Deal duet "Little Trouble Girl.") Â The thing that makes Sonic Youth so enjoyable is that while they are willing to flex their distorted muscles at any given time (which they seemed to do a bit more frequently on Friday), they also know when it's time to bring the structure of the song back into focus. The wall of noise that Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley collectively produce is a treasure cherished by all their fans (and something that must be experienced live to fully enjoy), but it's their knack of adding a pop twist to their famed feedback that keeps us all coming back for more. Â Goo and Dirty were both almost completely ignored (except for "100%," performed on Saturday), yet they made up for it by including both "Teenage Riot" and "Eric's Trip" at the Bellingham show. Saturday night also featured "No Queen Blues," one of the more upbeat numbers from Washing Machine, and was probably the best single performance of both nights. Â It's amazing to hear how accordant the four members of Sonic Youth sound as they scratch and grate their way to feedback heaven, only to notice them all standing considerably apart. Not that anyone was expecting Thurston and Kim to suddenly break into an over-glorified guitar embrace a la Soul Asylum, but they just seemed so cold up there, all equidistantly spread out on those big stages. And with the crowd spread out at the Paramount because of the seats, everything on Friday just didn't seem quite right. Â But on Saturday, an open floor and a roaring pit counterbalanced the distance between the band members. With more of a rock show feel, there was a collective energy in the crowd that seemed to put everyone in the right state of mind. And with the music of Sonic Youth as the soundtrack to the night, nobody could have asked for more. Quote
olyclimber Posted October 28, 2006 Posted October 28, 2006 i don't remember the show, but i was there. Quote
olyclimber Posted October 28, 2006 Posted October 28, 2006 can never forget you - the way you rock the girls They move a world and love you - a blast in the underworld I stick a knife in my head - thinking bout your eyes But now that you been shot dead - Ive got a new surprise Quote
Dechristo Posted October 28, 2006 Posted October 28, 2006 that's because they put Jedi Mind Tricks in subliminally Quote
olyclimber Posted October 28, 2006 Posted October 28, 2006 I been waitin for you just to say Hes off to check his mind But all I know is you got no money But thats got nothing to do with a good time Quote
olyclimber Posted October 28, 2006 Posted October 28, 2006 Can you forgive the boy who - shot you in the head Or should you get a gun and - go and get revenge? A 100% of my love - up to you true star Its hard to believe you took off - I always thought you Quote
olyclimber Posted October 28, 2006 Posted October 28, 2006 But Ive been around the world a million times And all you men are slime Its the gun to my head, goodbye I am dead Wastewood rockers is time for cryin, hey! Quote
olyclimber Posted October 28, 2006 Posted October 28, 2006 I'm just here for dictation - I don't wanna be a sensation Bein' on Sixty Minutes - was it worth your fifteen minutes? Quote
olyclimber Posted October 28, 2006 Posted October 28, 2006 'm just here for dictation - and not your summer vacation You really like to shmooze - well now you're on the news Quote
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