One of my favorite shows ever had the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on the bill. It was at Coachella one year, and Tool was headlining that night. I love me some Tool, but their stage presence does nothing to excite me. What excited me about this night was a live performance by Massive Attack, who would play just before Tool. They would perform with a full band alongside many of the vocalists they’d collaborated with up to that time, and I was so excited to be there for that.
And then the Yeah Yeah Yeahs showed up big.
A friend and I had scored VIP tickets and opted to hang out in the VIP area closest to the main stage for most of the day. But as the afternoon deepened, we moved into the growing crowd, hoping to claim and hold a good spot to watch Massive Attack and Tool. At this point, the crowd was still very light, so it was fairly easy to pick a spot where we would spend the rest of the day, food trips and bathroom breaks aside. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were setting up as we moved in, and started their set shortly after we settled down.
And it was all shenanigans for the whole fucking set.
At first, I was distracted by the drummer. Poor dude was having audio issues. Between drum fills and in moments of pause, he was signaling to the sound techs to raise the volume on his monitors. Having played numerous shows in my early years, I felt for the guy, but was also fairly impressed—he was doing a damn good job carrying the band under less than ideal audio conditions.
The techs couldn’t figure out the problem and ended up bringing a pair of wired headphones for the drummer to use. The band was mid-song when they clamped the headphones on the drummer’s head. And once they were on, his whole demeanor changed. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone smile so big. Dude immediately lost himself in the music.
It was a lot of fun to watch. From the troubleshooting to the solution, and all the while, he’s holding it down, not letting the sound issue disrupt the performance. I’ve got mad respect for that dude.
Once there was nothing left to see in the troubleshooting saga, I turned my attention to what was going on with the rest of the band. Karen O was shoving the mic in her mouth and screaming. The guitar player was all over the place. I don’t know if there was any lead up to any of that, as I had been too engrossed with the unfolding story of the drummer and the sound techs, but damn was there a lot of energy.
And damn, it was just one hell of a show.
I’ve been to a fuck ton of concerts, raves, and festivals. And while I generally enjoy myself,, there are few artists I’ve seen who throw down a show. Most just play. And they play well, and it’s fun. I’ve come to deeply appreciate the wild ones though. They’re few and far between.
I once saw a band called Slunt open for Marilyn Manson at the Wiltern in Los Angeles. Never heard of them. I got into the venue right as they were getting started. They were crude, irreverent, wild, and I was totally into it. I purchased their EP from the merch booth after the show that night, and it’s still one of my favorites to listen to.
A good live set can confirm for me that the artist is good. I’ve even come around on some artists that I didn’t care for at first, but then saw them live. A good set will do that. Likewise, I’ll remove an artist’s music from my library if I see them live and they put on a shit performance.
Don’t do me dirty if I’m paying money to see you.
The big kick for me, though, is being pleasantly surprised. I love it when I go to see some live music and I’m treated to a fucking show. Blow my mind with a stellar performance and I’m a fan for life.
