Those hoping that Sonic Youth -- singer/guitarist Thurston Moore, his wife singer/bassist Kim Gordon, guitarist/vocalist Lee Ranaldo, drummer Steve Shelley and bassist Mark Ibold (the former Pavement member whose stepped in for the departed Jim O' Rourke) -- would take a trip down memory lane with long tributes to older albums like Daydream Nation and Goo might have been disappointed.I was one of those fans looking for older stuff. Dirty is one of my favorite albums of all time. Guess that is too commercial for SY to play at this point. At least Kool Thing got in there, Goo is my next favorite album from the band.For others who appreciate a band of forty/fiftysomethings still interested in the creation of new soundscapes and intent on sharing them like a moment-in-time journal entry... well, they went home gliding on air.
Sonic Youth didn't leave the nostalgists completely unfulfilled, though. The relatively hook-laden Kool Thing (a song that originally featured Public Enemy's Chuck D. as a guest rapper 16 years ago) was still velvet coming from Gordon. Layers of guitars dueled beneath her voice as if trying to win her affection.
My wife couldn't believe how appropriate the band's name was when it concerns Thurston Moore. He said on stage that he was 47, but he still looks like a young guy. Guess hair in his face and low lighting on stage didn't hurt his youthful appearance.
But what about Warehouse Live? A friend of mine saw Echo and the Bunnymen in Austin and said the sound was terrific. He saw them next in Houston at Warehouse and said the sound sucked. I'm still on the fence about this issue. Since Sonic Youth was my first show it's hard to gauge. How can you determine sound quality with a band that takes drum sticks and beats them against the guitar?
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