Yeasayer + Smith Westerns – Club Soda – 08.06.11
An extremely skinny, heavily bearded man took the stage and presented himself as HUSH HUSH. He opened up the show with what turned out to be one of the most entertaining sets I have seen in a while. Over cheesy 80′s synth or gangster beats he sang his overly sexual lyrics that weren’t insulting or degrading, but rather ridiculous and hysterical. For the entire set, he danced and grooved around without stopping for a second, and made sure that when he left he did so with the least amount of clothes that he could get away with. His blazer had been stripped off, his shirt unbuttoned which was then removed and he was left there standing shirtless in ripped up shorts with his little chicken legs and hairy chest. He joked around about the couple of front row audience members’ reactions to his performance and made fun of himself frequently, and the supposed (un)success of his performance. Although HUSH HUSH might have been more of a performer than a musician, his enthusiasm was impressive and his set definitely entertained the crowd and started off their night fantastically.
Smith Westerns are up next and of course, there was a herd of excited and giggling girls up front just as there were last time they came around. They serenaded the crowd with their innocent and cute love songs. You could see that people were starting to show signs of fatigue after the continuous dancing and sweating on top of today’s humidity. I can think of nothing better for those hazy and hot summer days than some surf punk; with its upbeat and energetic side, accompanied by Smith Westerns’ signature guitar. As always, it was a perfect set from the young Smith Westerns that paved the way for the night’s headliners: Yeasayer.
After minutes of anticipating them in the darkness, a smoke machine began filling up the stage and a thunderous entrance marked the beginning of Yeasayer’s set. They began with “I Remember” and every song they played was spiced up with a new intro. They had a theme of starting off each song by using a remixed sample of the song that would slowly build until the song would start; drum beats becoming more and more intense along the way. Every song was new again and nothing sounded exactly like the album, which is what made the show so great. They played a couple new unreleased songs, and while the instrumentals are pushing further and further away from All Hours Cymbals and even Odd Blood, their singing style remains the same as they have kept subtle hints of their tribal influences and chanting scattered in their new stuff. It is leaning more towards electro than before, and I honestly thought I was at an electro show for a second as every single person all the way to the end of the room was dancing and having a blast. The crowd was incredibly enthusiastic, and reacted perfectly when the singers left open spots for the dedicated fans to sing along (which seemed to be everyone). All in all it was a fun and entertaining show from wild start to amazing finish.
Yeasayer
Smith Westerns
HUSH HUSH
Photography by Eli Larin
