Posted: 02/28/07

Indie stalwarts Sonic Youth at Higher Ground on Feb. 18. (Mike Morris, photo)

The sold out Sonic Youth show at Higher Ground on Sunday the 18th brought out an all ages, all scenes (and non-scene) crowd. There were hipsters as stereotypical as can be, young teenaged Vermonters knowing they like the music while still trying to figure out how to be “hip”, and older people, past any stage of fitting in, except for being Sonic Youth fans. The two people in front of me were a 50-year-old, large, bald man, in a tie-dyed shirt, and a late 20 something woman dragging her boyfriend around. When Thurston Moore brought his rock to the edge of the stage, her reaction was in line with what one might expect from a Justin Timberlake fan, and his was to headbang as much as a bald man can. All in all, the crowd itself was a refreshing sight.

Lead guitarist and vocalist Thurston Moore "brings his rock" to the edge of the stage. (Mike Morris, photo)

Thurston Moore opened with an at least slightly ironic introduction of themselves, and continued to awkwardly, humorously banter as they tuned their guitars. Then the first song was quickly introduced, and the show didn’t bother with lots of talking after that, though enough was sprinkled in to work on some sort of relation to the crowd. Even though the time was taken to introduce their first song, it was one chosen for its easy recognition, “Candle”, one of two songs they would play off of their mainstream hit, Daydream Nation.

Immediately after, Kim Gordon took over the vocals for “Reena” from their release late last year, “Rather Ripped”. And here, their age became an issue, however not in the usual way. With many aging bands, years become an excuse for slippage, for not playing or writing songs half as good as they used to, or songs that don’t fit with their old at all. When talking about the age of Sonic Youth, it becomes nothing besides a way to compliment them. Throughout the set, they would interchange older songs with new, without any sort of disjointedness. The majority of the songs were indeed off this newest album. Though the newer songs were received well, many in the ground were disappointed that they dominated the set and that the older songs played were the more well known tracks.

If a band released their first album over twenty years ago, it is bound to have some affect on the live show. They develop chemistry, and they pick up habits, a routine, and a way of working that can be a real benefit. However, this often then turns into a sad, repetitive, and just plain old feeling trap. The band becomes predictable, and the live show lacks any of the energy that makes a show worth seeing. Sonic Youth managed to find the middle ground in an impressive way. They put on one of the tightest shows I have seen. There was no lagging, no mistakes, no one seemed lost or just not that important in the song. Everyone was on the same page, at the exact same time, coming in when needed, stepping back when not. What made this even more surprising is that nothing was lost on the energy level. It was intense and high end, solos and fooling around. By the end, I was no longer a Red Hot Chili Peppers apologist.(And I never was a Metallica one, Thurston never cut his hair)

Sonic Youth goes to show that if you are good enough, maybe you don’t have to mature. With his shaggy hair, and general excessive tallness, Thurston Moore looks, and acts like an awkward high schooler. His introduction to the song “Incinerate” being, “Alright, cool down, cool down…Incinerate!”, did not inspire any thinking on how he has matured over the years. Kim Gordon dressed like a young woman out to prove she was unique and different, and still sexy. Impressively, she proves that absurd amounts of plastic surgery is not necessary to keep one sexy into their fifties. All that is required is maybe large amounts of talent. Many a young man in the room likely recognized her as the oldest woman they would have sex with. Her dancing style of “drunk girl in the corner at the end of the party who no one really knows well enough to ask to leave” again, did nothing to mature the band. In the end, Sonic Youth is essentially the Best Band of Fifty-year-old High School Kids in the World.(Plus the cool guidance counselor on guitar)

The very nature of Sonic Youth songs leave little demand for loyalty to track cuts, and the band took advantage of that in most of the songs. When the song was slower, and more calm, someone was sure to include some major distortion, to make sure everyone was on their toes. The pacing of the songs varied, some slower than the album version, some faster, and things got very fast. It would seem that Thurston and company never were told, or didn’t believe, that speed kills.

It also became clear that all stereotypes about Sonic Youth are true, they like noise, and distortion is fun. Lots of guitars were used, by multiple people. Three different people sang. Beer was applied to music in the most literal way as Thurston Moore ran a half full bottle of beer up and down his guitar. Everyone patiently waited as he indulged himself by playing a recording of “Bad to the Bone”. And yes, they are a married couple, as became clear when Kim Gordon sought to end Thurston’s aimless talking by introducing the next song, which he promptly talked over, only to be scolded and stared into apologizing.

The show ended with the well-known “Teenage Riot” and their more well-known noise. After an excellent version of the song, the next five minutes were filled with distortions, feedback, and the whole band getting as much out of their guitars and bass without actually resorting to playing them. As they moved the instruments about, rubbed them against the amps, it was a time for all in the crowd to watch and enjoy sonic experimentation at an expert level. Each departed at their own pace, on by one, until Thurston Moore finally meandered into and out of the crowd and off the stage. After a few customary minutes, they returned for the customary encore which ended with a louder, harder take on the noise.

The band takes the stage for an encore. (Mike Morris, photo)