The line at first looked like a homogeneous mixture of music fiends, hoping the show hadn’t yet sold out. Upon closer inspection, however, the mass of figures was a kaleidoscope of mid twenties hipsters, teenagers, and middle aged music lovers who were all there for the same band: Sonic Youth.
For a band that is 26 years old, the fact that half the crowd was under 26 is a testament to the longevity and uniqueness of Sonic Youth’s music. Sure, some of the older folks were around for their inception in the indie world in the 80’s, but most people only heard of Sonic Youth when they had a few hit songs in the 90’s.
For most bands, one hit wonder status would have wiped them out of memory, but Sonic Youth kept making incredible, original, inimitable sounds, fostering legions of fans. Sure, those fans might not have been born when the band formed, but upon hearing one Sonic Youth record, they sought out others, keeping the band always under the line of mainstream, but never too far for sales.
After nineteen albums, and ten years after a Connecticut gig, Sonic Youth showed up at Toad’s Place February 15th looking vibrant, youthful, and energetic, thrashing around onstage. Their music, both old and new, sounded as if it had been released today
Sonic Youth formed in New York City in 1981. As of 2006, the group consists of Thurston Moore (guitars and vocals) Lee Ranaldo (guitars, vocals and organ) Kim Gordon (bass guitar, guitar, and vocals) and Steve Shelley (drums). While all looked far younger than their respective years, many men in the crowd were definitely swooning over Gordon. Actually, for some odd reason 80 percent of the crowd was guys. Chicks, look up their music.
When some bands play, people only pay attention to the songs they know, but with this concert, everyone was captivated by every single song in the set, no matter how obscure. Even the bars were frozen, as no one ventured to leave the inch wide spot they had managed to secure between elbows and backs of strangers.
For over an hour I was crammed between three very tall men I knew far too much about physically as I had never met them before. However, I was completely nonchalant about guy one’s beer occasionally spilling on my shoe. Between the more mainstream hits from the mid nineties to songs from 2006’s “Rather Ripped,” all songs were performed with skill and energy, sapping everyone’s attention to the spectacle onstage.
As one completely satisfied customer was overheard saying, “they rocked New Haven’s scrotum in to next Thursday!”
Leave a Reply