Yeasayer
The Blur of Motion That Is Sleigh Bells
First Avenue was the most crowded I had ever seen on Tuesday, and the venue change 3 months ago may have lead to an overselling of tickets. Nevertheless, Yeasayer rocked First Avenue with old, beautiful harmonizing and haunting choruses, and new, rocking love-song synth pop.
Almost everyone knows, according to the "cool" music blogs, that buzzed about opening act Sleigh Bells is pretty much gonna be the most awesome shit in the world in about three months. So, as Sleigh Bells walked on stage, you could tell who would be jumping on the bandwagon. About a dozen people were singing every word, bouncing up and down, and moshing obnoxiously during the whole set. I'm sure it was great for them, but it ruined Sleigh Bells for the rest of us. Live, Sleigh Bells' sound is lacking. With only two members, a back up, pre-recorded track is needed in the background, which takes away from the overall experience.
Next up was Yeasayer. From the minute the curtain went up and the stage began flashing green, you knew Yeasayer was a totally new band. When I saw Yeasayer last June, they were still technically touring for 2o07's All Hour Cymbals. The album is way slower paced than the knew one, and personally the show left my unsatisfied. With the new material from Odd Blood, Yeasayer's concerts have been turned into one big middle-eastern tinged party.
The middle of the main set was the concert's strongest point, with highlights such as "Wait for the Summer", "I Remember", "2080", "Tightrope", and "O.N.E" all packed into a space of six songs. The crowd, aside from being giant, was also crazy. Response to Yeasayer was amazing, and even the band themselves seemed bewildered at the response as people found a way to bounce up and down even on slower cuts.
A few of the weaker tracks from Odd Blood, such as "Strange Reunions," and "Love Me Girl" lagged, but overall the set was a huge success. The encore of Grizelda and Sunrise was perfectly blended, but Yeasayer decided to stay on and play one more song. It was easy to tell that this was a spur of the moment decision as "Red Cave" was sloppy and points.
Overall, Yeasayer pulled out the strongest tracks from both of their albums on Tuesday night and pleased a crowd that was ready to dance.
Setlist:
The Children
Strange Reunions
Rome
Wait for the Summer
I Remember
2080
Love Me Girl
Tightrope
O.N.E.
Mondegreen
Madder Red
Ambling Alp
Grizelda
Sunrise
Red Cave
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