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best sonic youth gig i've been to. i enjoyed the barowlands one a few years back more, but i can have no qualms about their performance on wednesday and accept it for what it was - the best i've seen them. thurston set the mood nicely by coming out wearing his glasses, beer in hand, to introduce the orphan fairytale girl.
i really enjoyed her performance, especially the part where she was layering samples of her wailing. it was like an old hammer horror film or one of those early/mid 90s lovecraft video games (not even sure they had walls of wailing, but i like to remember them that way).
sonic youth were tight, welcoming and, if it were not for steve shelly incestantly drilling for oil only the way he can , it was like being invited to a special performance in their living room - log fire blazing, soft lighting and all.
wish i'd gone to tuesday night, too. would have loved to have seen shaking hell!
i hate abc, it's usually jam packed full of emo, cowlicked snobs and sequin dressed posers jiving to bad disco pop, but the youth obliterated any bad thoughts i had about the brick and mortar of the place.
the tightness of the band was superb. none of the members had anything less than an absolute stormer. the general relaxed atmosphere was fantastic, too. not what i expected at all, especially based off pervious experience. the night was less confrontational and more celebratory. there were a few arseholes elbowing everyone in sight around where we stood, but it did little to spoil the wonderful atmosphere - only dampen it slightly now and then.
steve shelly - words fail me. dave who? shelly is the best drummer i've ever had the pleasure of seeing perform live - wednesday was the best i've seen him.
thurston was, well... thurston. you're never sure if he is getting ready for a cosy night in bed or whether he has just swallowed 200 stardust. great stuff. although i think thurston may actually have aged a little since i last seen him. you've got to keep drinking that secret elixir, man!
kim was a lot more subdued than i've seen her, though she really broke out of her shell for the rather ripped section of the show onwards and was clearly enjoying herself. does anyone know what she had written on the bass she used for most of the second section of the show? my eyes were all blurry from sonic attack.
lee. that's all i need say about him. he was there, he was lee. fantastic. eric's trip was the hightlight of the show for me.
the guy who played bass with them in the second half was outstanding. gave an entirely new dimension to their performance.
loved stopping at harthill service station on the way home and seeing all the kids in their sonic youth t-shirts eating their chicken wraps at the wild bean cafe. the whole night i just felt confortable and amongst friends.
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