Tuesday March 02, 2004 @ 04:00 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff
Phoenix Concert Theatre
Toronto, ON
February 27, 2004
by Joel McConvey
As such, you might’ve expected something of a face-off when NYC flagbearers the Yeah Yeah Yeahs came to town, trailing Brooklyn buzz band of the moment TV On The Radio in their fishnetted wake.
Karen O’s Yeahs have practically fashioned a career out of repackaging old-school New York streetitude and from her rusty-nail yelp, you’d figure Ms. O would be something of a firebrand.
Turns out, she’s a softie. Maybe it was the early hour, but the straight-banged singer (whose ‘do was replicated on almost every awed nu-punk femme in the joint) was a jovial MC for the night’s proceedings, expressing her gratitude and affection for the packed Toronto crowd on several occasions. She was no slouch on the musical end, either, leading her sentries through a spirited set of spiny punk rave-ups (including "Black Tongue," "Man" and obligatory single "Pin") with spastic glee. The Yeah’s best asset is still probably Nick Zinner’s surfy, waterfall guitar sound (and their biggest sonic flaw is still O’s sometimes grating voice), but Karen’s definitely the one to watch: her constant bouncing and jerking drew from the best traits of rock’s former high-priestesses, recalling Jett, Joplin and The Slits’ Ari Up. (If you were fighting on our side, you might’ve also been reminded of a trashy Leslie Feist).
If the Yeah Yeah Yeahs failed to prove themselves indie champions, it wasn’t just because their best song (the heartbreaking "Maps") came off kind of flat. The Yeahs are indie-rock royalty now, nesting comfortably just a notch or two below The White Stripes in terms of recognition.