DC Reviews, etc...
 

I just got back from the early show. What a fucking amazing experience. They played all of Rather Ripped minus Sleeping Around, Drunken Butterfly, PCH, 100%, and Shaking Hell. The sound was great, the crowd was enthusiastic, and the band was in a playful mood. Thurston was talking about what they all had for breakfast. Someone help me out with that speech. The best part: while I was waiting for my ride, I saw Steve outside the venue by the back door/alley letting in some VIPs. I also got to say hi to Lee and Thurston as they walked from the door to their bus. Both were cordial and signed autographs. Never saw Kim, but I gotta say her voice was ON tonight.

It was everything I hoped it would be. I love this group.

"You guys want violence?" (applause) "Yeah?" (more applause) "Okay, this next thrasher is called Do You Believe in Rapture"

hittin the ale again tonight, are we?

Sounds like a great show. Getting me more and more excited for Monday!
Hope I get to say hi, at least, to the band. An autograph would be pure bliss.

I didn't have anything...so I just shook hands with Lee and T, but they both signed a kid's DDN CD insert. They're definitely willing if you can catch them. Try to find the path between the backdoor and the bus.

Be Your Own Pet completely won me over. One of the best 18 minutes inspired by raw energy and a little bit of underage drinking I've ever seen. PCH was way better than most of the other times I've heard it, live and on record. 100% was incredible. Did Thurston dedicate Shaking Hell to Baltimore? I couldn't quite make it out. Ibold looked like he was having a lot of fun.

Maaaan I was right in front of lee. Talked to him a little, yelled for him to play i love her all the time and he was like "we'll get to it...not this show...gotta relearn it" Shook his hand too. Anyone else hear about steven malkmus in the balcony? And the breakfast story was great. And the band Thurston thought was some local group but no one really knew and he was like "well...heard it here first!" The story about riteaid and the starbucks trip that was a "waste of coin" We got Ibold's attention between songs and told him that we (that being me and a few friends) love pavement. He later threw his towel over to us.

Just got back from the second show. Some thoughts/comments:

1. A lot of people in the crowd sucked. How the hell do you mosh to songs from the new album?

2. I know the band is tired of playing their older songs (I would be too), but it's really not all that interesting to hear ONLY songs off the new record before the final encores. Maybe it's because I don't like Rather Ripped all that much (don't bother flaming - that's already been done and redone, as I've seen), but can't they be bothered to throw in a FEW of their older tracks? Their new set needs some damn ENERGY. I must admit I got borderline bored during certain parts.

3. Where is all the noise and feedback? On the Nurse tour it followed almost every song and tonight it was nowhere to be found, save for a brief bit on Pattern Recognition. That's what I love about Sonic Youth!

4. What was the final song they played tonight (second show)? I recognized it and I know it's an older one but I can't quite put my finger on it.

Overall, I'm glad I got to see one of my favorite groups again, but I can't help but being at least a LITTLE disappointed. I guess it's a useless idea, but I could only wish that they'd throw in some upbeat numbers every now and then to balance out the plodding-along tracks from Rather Ripped. The band seemed to be in good spirits and very appreciative of their fans.

What was the setlist for the 2nd show?

yeah malkmus was definitely there...also saw Bob Nastanovich while I was waiting outstide. pavement crew represent.

but yea, they definitely could have played more older stuff + more noise stuff/feedback, but all in all it was a fun show. alot different from the last time I saw them.

They probably didn't have time to teach Mark a whole lot besides the new album.

About mark: I thought it was really cool how he didn't just play bass when kim was singing, but rather they had two basses going on non-kim songs.

Sounds like a great experience

nastanovich was there but no malkmus

both sets were tight, brother james and eric's trip were great at 2nd show

 

I got Steve's setlist.


The show was really good. The new songs sounded great live.......especially the sonic breakdowns. Out of the new stuff my favorites were The Neutral, Reena, Pink Steam, and Rats. The highlight was definitely SHAKING HELL!!!.........it seems like so far that's the "gem song" of the tour.
Kim looked fucking possessed singing it. Turn around.......TURN AROUND!!!! Mark looked like he was having a blast and he was drenched in sweat....Lee hardly broke a sweat. His hair looked like it was in perfect condition.....ha ha. I did wish they had played some other older songs other than they did (especially 100% and Drunken Butterfly since I've seen them at just about every show it seems like). Be Your Own Pet were fun too. I'm just glad it was an opener with some energy to thrash around to!!! Maybe some more later.......ROCK!!!

GIF I just made from a video I took.

is npr streaming this show too? i would have much preferred to hear eric's trip.

This show was definitely one of the coolest experiences I've had in my life. It was my first Sonic Youth concert. I was up on the balcony and they sounded great from there. Kim's vocals were brilliant as well as Thurston's and Lee's. I really enjoyed Pacific Coast Highway and even though I'm not the biggest fan of What a Waste, they perform that song really well. Jams Run Free was the perfect song to start with and hearing Drunken Butterfly meant a lot to me. I loved every moment of it, and how predictable was the crowd when Thurston sang "The plan is to go to D.C. and hang out." Haha.

I thought it was for Turquoise Boy....I could be wrong!!!

I listened to the webcast and he did. I forget which song, but I'm pretty sure it was Shaking Hell because he switched to bass.