Sonic Youth - Barrowlands 1/9/4
Interesting precursor to tonight’s gig: six people were stabbed outside the venue a few hours before doors opened. Now if one was devoid of both tact and good taste they could speculate that they were the lucky ones of the evening because for anyone, a hospital bed would be preferable to enduring opening act, Decaer Pinga. But, I’m a nice person so I wouldn’t phrase it quite like that. Falling somewhere between Black Dice, Wolf Eyes and Throbbing Gristle, though never coming close to any of them in quality, Decaer Pinga are challenging though not particularly interesting and - one can safely assume - haven’t made many new fans tonight.
After such a morose opening act everyone appears to desire something with more of a kick - cue Afrirampo stage right. The Japanese two piece come dressed for the occasion; short dresses, no shoes, glitter and, bizarrely, red tinsel. Oh yeah, and a shit load of sassy attitude. Veering from surf pop to avant-garde noise rock (not surprising given their links with The Boredoms and their up and coming support slot for Lightning Bolt), they deliver an exhilarating, fun-filled set which rarely sees the drummer stay seated for long. She dances like a chimp as well. Fantastic.
Following a short break the headliners take the stage.
Fuck sake, it's Sonic Youth! *deep breath* Needless to say I’m excited. While I’m busy trying to contain myself (wetting oneself at a concert is no longer considered fashionable) the band begin with the incredible, Kim Gordon-led ‘I Love You Golden Blue’, the standout track from this year's Sonic Nurse. The following three tracks also come from this album, the third of which, ‘Pattern Recognition’, ends with a five-minute-plus-distortion freak-out that sees both Lee Renaldo’s guitar in the front row and Thurston Moore licking his. While all the new tracks appear to go down very well with the crowd, the few classics that are aired tonight gain the greatest reaction.
Following a brief introduction by Thurston the band launch into a feverish rendition of ‘White Kross’, from 1987’s masterpiece 'Sister', which is utterly stunning. After another slew of tracks from Sonic Nurse the band end with a crowd pleasing ‘Kool Thing’ which sees Kim dancing like only Kim can (relieved of bass duties by Jim O’Rourke, now the official 5th member of the ‘Youth) and the eerie ‘Pacific Coast Highway’. Though unfortunately robbed of the intended set closer, ‘Expressway to Yr Skull’, the band are amazing. Proof, if any more was needed, that this band may be older but certainly not past it, as they play now simply for the love of it.
www.sonicyouth.com Photo copyright of The Daily of Washington University.
Written by The Colossus 
Sonic Youth - Barrowlands, 1/9/4 
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