One Sweaty Show: Yeah Yeah Yeahs with Grand Ole Party

By J Howell

Beaumont Club, Kansas City MO
June 3, 2009

Ah, summer. Some things go hand in hand with the onset of summer: sunny days, lemonade, box-office blockbusters, and rock shows. OK, maybe summer isn’t really all that much more conducive to rock shows than any other particular season, but in any event, summer is conducive to being out and about and enjoying live music.

Grand Ole Party and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were a bit like a typical summer movie—a thrilling, if not quite profound, way to spend a couple of hours on a gorgeous evening.

Photo © Nick Davis/Popwreckoning

The June 3rd show at the Beaumont Club was sold out, which was apparent from blocks away. After a quick drink in the outdoor patio area (hey, Summer was just a couple of weeks old), we made our way inside to find the unfortunately-named Grand Ole Party (from San Diego) already on stage. Thankfully, their music was in no way uptight or particularly conservative. Especially impressive was frontwoman Kristin’s ability to pound a stand-up Cocktail drumkit while doing a better job of singing than many who play no instruments at all. Guitarist John Paul and bassist Mike locked in tightly with Kristin’s drumming, delivering a set that was energetic, somewhat angular, and slinky at the same time. Their songs have some similarity to Reagan-era New Wave, but their take on that influence is fresh enough to stand out among the droves of Brooklynites and the like mining that territory lately. Listening to the handful of songs on their MySpace page really doesn’t do this band justice; enjoyable as the songs posted there are, this is definitely a band to get out and see.

After a quick set change, Yeah Yeah Yeahs built some anticipation with the typical rock show staples of lighting effects and dry-ice fog, but added some unexpected fun with explosions of foil confetti “Y”s that immediately stuck to by-now-sweaty bodies. The already full room seemed much, much more crowded as fans packed in tight to the front of the stage. YYYs built more anticipation as the first song, “Heads Will Roll,” started with extended synth, the drums and guitar slowly joining in for what seemed like forever before Karen O took the stage in a neon, spiral-glow-stick illuminated luchadore-style mask and properly kicked off their set .

Photo © Nick Davis/Popwreckoning

Yeah Yeah Yeahs maintained that high energy level for most of the show, keeping the crowd dancing, jumping around, and generally spazzing out with a good mix of material from all of their recordings. Karen O knows how to work the crowd, with a dynamic, energetic, and commanding stage presence, and she seemed to sincerely enjoy the performance, beaming almost the entire set. Yeah Yeah Yeahs were a promising, pleasant surprise when they opened for Girls Against Boys here in Kansas City almost a decade ago, and they’ve since grown into confident performers adored by their audience. At one point Karen O threw her towel into the crowd, nearly causing a fight among fans in a feeding frenzy for a piece of extremely sweaty memorabilia.

Some particular high points of the set included their newest single “Zero” (complete with Bedazzled leather jacket), “Hysteria,” which provided a pleasant short break from the full-on energy of other songs like “Y Control” and “Gold Lion,” and encores “Tick” and “Date With The Night,” the two songs the audience clamored for most, and which ended the set on a satisfying note, the crowd pleased but spent afterwards.

There weren’t exactly any soul-baring moments of intimate communication with the audience, or anything that came close to bringing a tear to the eye (though when they played “Maps” as an encore, Karen O sweetly dedicated the song to her grandfather), but this is Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and it wasn’t that kind of show, nor was it expected to be. Yeah Yeah Yeahs put on a summer blockbuster kind of show: sweaty, intense, and fun.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are still touring, but you’d better get tickets soon: many of their upcoming shows are already sold out. For more details, go to the band’s Official Site or MySpace page.