Yeasayer at Bowery Ballroom (2/13)

As one of the final shows of their co-headlining tour with MGMT, Yeasayer played a sold-out show at Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday. Since its a co-headlined tour, the bands trade nights as closers. Tonight they played first. Would have liked to have seen their show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday but was at another Music Hall (Radio City) instead seeing Rufus Wainwright (more on that later). Its a blessing and a curse of the city. I think the Bowery show was a little heavy on the MGMT supporters and expect the inverse of the Music Hall show. Whatever the case, Yeasayer was amazing.

It was my first time seeing them and they were much darker than I expected, a little more upset, unsettled, more aggressive. They have been touring pretty gruelingly for a month (not a great feat for more experienced bands but difficult I'm sure as a first time) and they were visibly worn. Lead singer Chris Keating spoke unfavorablly about the experience. "There's a lot of country out there. And it isn't pretty. Some of it's pretty. But a lot of it isn't pretty." This exhaustion, with, perhaps, an excitement to be back on home turf, had a marked influence on the songs.

The beats were meatier, the builds a little more impatient. Keating had to work harder to get the sound out, inviting the veins. He is more interesting when not tied to the keyboard/noise table, convulsing around, bending and contorting, giving the words and notes a body. This was evident during one of the highlights of the show, an amped-up and more urgent version of "Final Path," a demo song not on the album.

The All Hours Cymbals songs were harsher, more urgent, too. They were lacking in the optimism that is a driving force of the album. Were it not for the lyrics, one would think the band feels we're going down a path of sure destruction. Their final song of the set, "Wait For The Wintertime," I was certain couldn't get any heavier than the album has it. Clearly they found more ferocity in the blizzard of that song. As Keating sang,"that's the price you pay for the summertime," it became clear that it may be more difficult to be optimistic than All Hours Cymbals thinks.

Thankfully, for us at least, that difficulty forces them to dig so far into the beats and rhythms of "Sunrise" and "2080" that, if nothing else, we can dance. And the songs were held together taut by Ira Wolf Tuton flowing effortlessly on the fretless bass and Anand Wilder's Middle East-influenced meandering guitar riffs and those massive harmonies. The band may be taking from several sources, but it is never for personal gain. They are exploring, in search of something. And the songs lend themselves to feeling and expression--to growth. That is a refreshing thing, even when its a little scary.


Which leads us to MGMT, who are a pretty unfeeling band. I like Oracular Spectacular okay, buts its not the most honest piece of work I've ever heard. And for as fun as those songs are, their live set was rather stagnant. Violens, who opened the show, had a nice set. Technically sound, to be sure but a little boring and a little derivative. I'd see them again.

And again, that goddamn thing where no one wants to dance...

Ugh.
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