This past Wednesday, Nick, Derrick, and I made the treacherous, hurricane infested trek up to Pontiac, Michigan (which I'm pretty sure is basically Detroit???) in hopes of landing in the path of one of the droplets of beer that Karen O would undoubtedly project from her mouth. Even though it was a life-threatening drive, it was no big deal considering our unconditional love for Karen O.
Did I say unconditional? I think I meant unconditional...until that night.
This guy who sounded like he was doing Bright Eyes covers bored the crowd for about 20 minutes on a beautiful guitar and got the loudest applause when he finally left the stage. I'm pretty sure he was Karen O's little cousin who had the power of being able to "tell Uncle Johnny if you don't let me tour with you guys!" on his side.
Grand Ole Party was next. I had heard of them but never heard any of their music. They were...cute. I don't say that with any type of disdain. I just can't think of any other word to describe them. It was two guys--one on bass, the other on guitar--and a girl on vocals/drums. It was an interesting set up, considering I had never seen a drummer stand for their entire set before. The girl's mic needed to be turned up so I couldn't understand what she was singing (although, she did have a beautiful voice and a fabulous hair piece), and she drummed very daintily, as if she were a lady riding side-saddle.
After listening to these two under agers next to us Negative Nancy it up throughout Grand Ole Party's entire set and in the time between their set and the next, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs finally came out. Brian Chase sat at the drum set and began turning the giant orb that had been mysteriously protruding from the back of the stage until a giant eyeball faced the audience.
Even though the effects were pretty sick (and my, was that burning, Lord Of The Rings-esque eyeball burning a hole into my soul the entire show delightful!), I was a bit disappointed. I had held the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on this pedestal ever since seeing them in Cleveland at the Agora Ballroom for the Show Your Bones tour a few years ago. They were ridicoulsly good that time. The energy was insane and that has gone down in history as one of the best shows I have ever been to ever. So even though I didn't like It's Blitz! nearly enough to pay the amount of money that I paid to see the show, I liked the band and the last show I went to enough to pay and drive 3 hours.
It wasn't worth it.
Oh, it wasn't that they weren't good. They were good. But that's just it. They were good. They were just good. Not amazing. Not mindblowing. Not wild. Just good. And in my book, especially since I have a standard to compare to, good just isn't good enough. In addition to that, their set wasn't very long. Oh, sure, they played Gold Lion and Date With The Night and Honeybear and Maps and Y Control and Modern Romance, and Zero and Phenomena, but last time I checked, they had more songs than that. I felt as if the effects were supposed to compensate for the lack of everything else. If that's what upped the price of the show, then I would rather they cut all the effects and play a longer set. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
(idunnowhyhemadethisfacebutilovehimanyway)After the show, we went around back by the tour bus and hung out with Screamer Girl, who insisted on yelling at the security guards every five seconds, "WE DON'T WANT YOU, WE WANT KAREN O! GO GET KAREN O!" To which they just nodded and smiled and made some (un)witty remark every third or fourth time she would scream.
So annoying. Then, we brought our questions about what Karen O actually says in the chorus of Dragon Queen to the attention of everyone else standing around us. The general consensus was that she just makes up words each time. We decided to ask her ourselves.
She confirmed our belief, saying that she doesn't know what she sings and it's kind of a relgious experience for her each new time she sings the song. Kind of like speaking in tongues.I will let you guys decide what to think about my favorite song off of the album:
DOWNLOAD: Dragon Queen
I like the picture of the screaming girl...(is that really her?)
ReplyDeleteNo, but it might as well have been. Close enough.
ReplyDeleteat least you got "phenomena" and "modern romance." columbus did not. nothing off "is is" for you either, though, huh?
ReplyDeleteSpot on about everything! People were paying more attention to Nick and Brian just standing there than to the guy actually playing. I felt so bad for him.
ReplyDeleteriotpoptart = Bri? Ugh, that's so annoying to hear. I don't get what the deal is. I feel like they think they're too good now or something. Actually, no, that's a bad way to put it. It's as if they're like, "Well, the fans love us no matter WHAT we do." They worked their asses off four our love, and now that they have it, they don't have to work. That's such bullshit.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you think of the show overall? I have a friend who went to the C-Bus show and said it was so amazing. That made me really jealous.
*ew, not FOUR our love, but FOR our love
ReplyDeletepandawatch23 - I felt bad for him too, just out of common courtesy. Even if I'm not a fan of the music, I'm not going to be rude. I was TRYING to pay attention and tried to reserve comments for in between songs. But it's hard when everyone else is talking too.
ReplyDeleteOh, and pandawatch, did you see them in Pontiac?
ReplyDeleteCOlumbus was AMAZING! Don't let Michigan ruin your idea of the YYYs.This post makes me a little sad. You should have come with me to see them there.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say that my love for them is ruined. I realized that as I listened to Turn Into that I will always love the YYYs. They're so good. I just had a bad experience at the show.
ReplyDeleteso far it seems the people who i've heard say columbus was amazing are people who've never seen them live before. i wouldn't say it was awful or anything, but it was nothing compared to the agora show we both saw. i really really REALLY wanted to hear "down boy" or SOMETHING from "is is" but apparently they're over that. they also opened with "runaway" while i was expecting a kick in the ass opening song. it kinda set this mood for me the whole time, i think. i hate when bands open with slower songs.
ReplyDeletebut yea, it wasn't completely disappointing. i definitely had a good time. it just wasn't as great as i'd hoped for. hoping bonnaroo will be better (it probably won't be.)
and yes, this is bri haha
Huh. I thought that this comment posted already.
ReplyDeleteI'm ashamed to say this, but I never listened to Is Is. Eeek! Bad fan?
Also, I agree with your sentiment about "the people who i've heard say columbus was amazing are people who've never seen them live before." Derrick, who went to the Agora show with me, agreed with me. And Nick, who has never seen them before, agreed too.