Sonic Youth so long ago reached that rare point in an artist’s career when they can do exactly whatever they want, whenever they want. a day after they released two incredible tracks on the glowingly-reviewed vinyl-only retrospective box set by the North Carolina imprint Three Lobed Recordings, the band dropped into the radically revamped Williamsburg Waterfront and played a set of older and rarely-played cuts. Albums that have gone almost-untouched on recent tours saw the light of day: “Brave Men Run,” “Ghost Bitch” and (the more-commonly played) “Death Valley ’69” from “Bad Moon Rising” were on the menu. “Dirty” – regarded, rightly or wrongly as the band’s most “commercial” record – wore its age well on an extended “Sugar Kane” and the infectious “Drunken Butterfly,” with Kim spinning round the stage like a madwoman twenty to thirty years her junior. “Starfield Road,” from the relatively unappreciated “Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star”, made the cut, alongside classics like “Kill Yr Idols” and “Cotton Crown” (from Sister). Late-period material similarly seemed at home; “What We Know” sounded just as vital among these gems as it has at recent shows where the band played almost exclusively new material. And, for good measure, the band’s second encore (of three) was the title track to Thurston’s mid-90s solo effort, “Psychic Hearts”. Other than their deep-as-shit discography, Sonic Youth don’t feel like a “classic” band, with energy, enthusiasm and intensity that could put most crews of 22-year-olds to shame. They can carry a show and rule the night anywhere in this city.
The show wrapped with the feral noise squall of “Inhuman,” as Moore howled at the soulless towers of steel and glass and the band’s immense blasts of feedback threatened to shake the junk to its foundations. A lot in this world feels built on a shaky foundations these days. Some artists have the power to remind you that some things still are real, and good, and right. Fifty years from now, those architectural monstrosities will probably be rubble. Sonic Youth will be a monument to their era. Thanks to the New York Taper.
Tracks
01 Brave Men Run, 02 Death Valley ’69, 03 Cotton Crown, 04 Kill Yr Idols, 05 Eric’s Trip, 06 Sacred Trickster, 07 [banter] 08 Calming the Snake, 09 [banter], 10 Starfield Road, 11 I Love Her All the Time, 12 Ghost Bitch, 13 Tom Violence, 14 [banter] 15 What We Know, 16 [banter], 17 Drunken Butterfly, 18 [encore break 1], 19 Flower, 20 Sugar Kane, 21 [encore break 2] 22 Psychic Hearts, 23 [encore break 3], 24 Inhuman.
The Fat Angel Sings 