After Monday nightap show at the , I’m convinced that the members of are immortal beings that refuse to age. What else explains their uncanny ability to remain constantly relevant, prescient and continuously young in the face of a culture hell-bent on replication of the popular, and often the most vapid?
Of course, we could agree that this group of musicians are intuitive charlatans, well-versed in manipulation of guitar strings, effects, anti-rhythms and atonality, but also steeped in the pop ethos that breeds automatic acceptance or intrinsic danceability.
But then, you’d also have to explain short lives of other bands that sprung from that same NYC, post-post-punk, “no-wave” noise scene that attempted to espouse that same musical ethos. The truth is, Sonic Youth has proven that they’re not only the only surviving band from that movement, but that they’re the most deserving.
Their Monday night show, with a set list that covered more of the last three decades than many recent shows, convinced me and an alternately raucous and reverent crowd that the band was still on top of its game. More than that, they easily proved that their longevity is more than justified, more than simply deserved.
Throughout the 90-minute set (and double encore), husband and wife Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon bounced guitar riffs off of each other and split lead vocals, while noise master Lee Ranaldo filled in with his familiar, irresistible machinations. Meanwhile, long time drummer Steve Shelley pounded out solid, familiar rhythms with bassist Mark Ibold (fresh off of ) through a list of the band’s most important material.
And by important, I mean seminal, influential, irresistible, inspirational — so much so that fans of contemporary bands like Silversun Pickups, or earlier ones like Mudhoney or Nirvana, may not yet realize how deep the Sonic Youth sound is ingrained in their music. The set started with “Bull In the Heather,” and weaved through material from “The Eternal” like “Anti-Orgasm” (dedicated to the current Tea Party phenom), “Sacred Trickster,” “Poison Arrow,” “Massage the History” and “Calming the Snake.” It also included early classics like “Catholic Block,” “Trilogy” and “Schizophrenia,” songs that have seen rare play on stages for a number of years.
When they came back for a second encore with “Shadow of a Doubt” and the mighty “Expressway to Yr Skull,” both from the seminal “EVOL,” I was transported back to a raw time in my musical history, as many in the full Ogden probably were.
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Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s explorations at , and his giglist at .
Michael McGrath is a Denver area photographer. His work is available at . Visit .
