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Moshe · 10.09.2007, 07:57 AM

Fountain http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...2.4275581.htmlof Sonic Youth

ROCK REVIEW: Group's sparkle stays bright

12:00 AM CDT on Monday, October 8, 2007

By MIKE DANIEL / The Dallas Morning News
mdaniel@dallasnews.com

Name change proposal: "Sonic Youth" should heretofore be known as "Sonic Fountain of Youth."
OK, maybe not. For one, it'd blow the advantage of name recognition for one of rock's most enduring and consistently inventive alternative acts. But there's something invigorating and restorative about Sonic Youth's noise rock – something that, at the very least, has kept its members nearly as exciting to watch and hear live as they were more than 20 years ago.
The artsy Big Apple outfit played Dallas' House of Blues on Sunday night. It scored the reunited Meat Puppets as an opener, which only sweetened the lure for the approximately 750 folks who attended.
Sonic Youth bookended a special gig on Saturday in distant Marfa, Texas, in connection with the Chinati Foundation's Open House 2007 – one of the state's coolest see-and-be-seen modern-art shindigs – with dates in Austin and Dallas that had no ties to any tour. In fact, Sonic Youth singer/guitarist Thurston Moore will commence a trek in support of his fresh solo CD, Trees Across the Academy, in two weeks. His tourshould last well into 2008.
That the Dallas concert was likely Sonic Youth's last for quite a while definitely seemed to energize the proceedings. But even if Mr. Moore, 49, hadn't clutched his mic and yelped like a brazen metal-band frontman during "100%," and even if bassist-singer Kim Gordon, 54, hadn't flailed about in a fashionable silk blouse and black leggings like a postmodern neo-punk scenester vet during "What a Waste," the show would have been phenomenal.
The 85-minute set's songs were heavily sourced from two discs – last year's Rather Ripped and 1988's definitive Daydream Nation. Choices that deviated from those CDs ("100%," "Skip Tracer," "Schizophrenia") tended to showcase for Mr. Moore and guitarist Lee Ranaldo.
Incidentally, the vocals were the least memorable part of the gig; Ms. Gordon and Mr. Ranaldo sounded too matter-of-fact on "The Sprawl" and "Hey Joni," respectively.
But they redeemed themselves later, with choices ranging from the chilling harmonic- and pick -slide-propelled proto-ballad "Do You Believe in Rapture?" to the majestic, proggy hop, skip and leap of "The Trilogy."
That kids barely born when Sonic Youth put out Bad Moon Rising in 1985 were banging their heads during "What a Waste" says volumes about how invigorating the concert was. The members of Sonic Youth don't appear to be aging much, but when they eventually do, they can rest knowing that the band's music will never get old.

10.09.2007, 07:57 AM	#40
Moshe Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 5,863	Fountain http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...2.4275581.htmlof Sonic Youth ROCK REVIEW: Group's sparkle stays bright 12:00 AM CDT on Monday, October 8, 2007 By MIKE DANIEL / The Dallas Morning News mdaniel@dallasnews.com Name change proposal: "Sonic Youth" should heretofore be known as "Sonic Fountain of Youth." OK, maybe not. For one, it'd blow the advantage of name recognition for one of rock's most enduring and consistently inventive alternative acts. But there's something invigorating and restorative about Sonic Youth's noise rock – something that, at the very least, has kept its members nearly as exciting to watch and hear live as they were more than 20 years ago. The artsy Big Apple outfit played Dallas' House of Blues on Sunday night. It scored the reunited Meat Puppets as an opener, which only sweetened the lure for the approximately 750 folks who attended. Sonic Youth bookended a special gig on Saturday in distant Marfa, Texas, in connection with the Chinati Foundation's Open House 2007 – one of the state's coolest see-and-be-seen modern-art shindigs – with dates in Austin and Dallas that had no ties to any tour. In fact, Sonic Youth singer/guitarist Thurston Moore will commence a trek in support of his fresh solo CD, Trees Across the Academy, in two weeks. His tourshould last well into 2008. That the Dallas concert was likely Sonic Youth's last for quite a while definitely seemed to energize the proceedings. But even if Mr. Moore, 49, hadn't clutched his mic and yelped like a brazen metal-band frontman during "100%," and even if bassist-singer Kim Gordon, 54, hadn't flailed about in a fashionable silk blouse and black leggings like a postmodern neo-punk scenester vet during "What a Waste," the show would have been phenomenal. The 85-minute set's songs were heavily sourced from two discs – last year's Rather Ripped and 1988's definitive Daydream Nation. Choices that deviated from those CDs ("100%," "Skip Tracer," "Schizophrenia") tended to showcase for Mr. Moore and guitarist Lee Ranaldo. Incidentally, the vocals were the least memorable part of the gig; Ms. Gordon and Mr. Ranaldo sounded too matter-of-fact on "The Sprawl" and "Hey Joni," respectively. But they redeemed themselves later, with choices ranging from the chilling harmonic- and pick -slide-propelled proto-ballad "Do You Believe in Rapture?" to the majestic, proggy hop, skip and leap of "The Trilogy." That kids barely born when Sonic Youth put out Bad Moon Rising in 1985 were banging their heads during "What a Waste" says volumes about how invigorating the concert was. The members of Sonic Youth don't appear to be aging much, but when they eventually do, they can rest knowing that the band's music will never get old.
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