The Eternal (Sonic) Youth

Yet for all that, there was something a little sluggish about their set. Most of the Eternal material, good as it was, seemed somehow stuck in a mid-tempo sameness from one song to the next. It wasn’t bad by any means, it just wasn’t as dynamic as I’d expected SY to be. Although, the feedback from the crowd probably wasn’t especially inspiring to the band. At one point, my daughter, who attended the show with me, looked at me and asked what the hell was wrong with all the people just sort of standing there. The crowd was certainly respectful of the band, but maybe a little too reverent and not energetic enough. We were hoping for a full-on explosion of noisy vitriol and screeching, feedbacky fun, and it just didn’t quite work out that way.

Overall, Sonic Youth was pretty amazing even if they did seem somewhat restrained. There was more singing from Lee Ranaldo than I’d expected, which was a pleasant surprise, as was the amount of Kim Gordon playing guitar and Lee, Kim, and Thurston singing some pretty gorgeous harmonies. There were a couple of songs that both Kim and Mark Ibold played bass on, which was gut-wrenching and awesome. For a band that is well past their youth and had been on the road for some time before their stop in Kansas City, they all looked amazing.

They were all radiant, particularly Kim Gordon and Steve Shelley. Even if their set was not quite as ferocious as it might have been, and even thought they didn’t play many of the songs that had been so game changing for me in my youth, it was radiant, too. If you haven’t seen Sonic Youth before, do so as soon as possible. If they are this good on a relatively “off” night in front of a subdued crowd, I can only imagine how amazing they are when the band and audience are really connecting. . .

Photo © 2009 J Howell

Setlist: Tom Violence, No Way, Sacred Trickster, Calming the Snake, Silver Rocket, Walkin Blue, Anti-Orgasm, Malibu Gas Station, Leaky Lifeboat, Antenna, Poison Arrow, Massage the History, White Cross, Theresa’s Sound World (just can’t remember when this was played)

Encore: The Wonder/Hyperstation, What We Know, Pacific Coast Highway

Sonic Youth will be touring through January 2010. Their next stop is in Berlin on October 21. For tour dates and other news, please check the band’s Official Site or MySpace page.

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