In the Jungle with Yeasayer

Finding words to describe the Yeasayer concert at the Trocadero on Friday night is kind of difficult. I wasn’t even able to stay for the whole thing, but the portion of the set that I did get to experience has gelatinized my entire head.

I’m a dork, so I was both there early and there alone. But that just meant I could devote more attention to the stage setup in the hour between doors and the first opening act. That might sound stupid but Yeasayer have a fantastic stage setup. The first thing I noticed was a potted plant sitting in front of me on the edge of the stage – how cute and homey, I thought. But then I stopped being a moron and looked around the rest of the stage, and noticed they had plants everywhere. Add to that some top-notch lighting, a smoke machine, and an eyeball-patterned piece of fabric draped over Chris Keating’s equipment table and cut to look like an animal hide, and you’ve got yourself a musical jungle.

The first opening act was Berlin-based musician Hush Hush, who was, to put it bluntly, fucking spectacular. And I mean that – his set was a spectacle in the best possible way. He came onstage wearing a blazer, white-collar shirt with tie, and cutoff jorts. Over the course of his set, this wardrobe changed. He switched blazers, wearing both of them, each one on a different arm, for one song. Then the blazers came off. Then the tie came off. Then the shirt became progressively more unbuttoned, and was finally discarded. For his final number he donned about eight pairs of sunglasses and a velvet cape. And all of this was very much in keeping with his music, which – how can I describe it? My buddy Aaron uses the phrase “sexual chocolate” a lot, which seems fitting. Each number was raunchy, goofy, and funky, all of which was highlighted by some outrageous and energetic dancing from the lanky bearded fellow. My personal favorites from the set were “Sex Party” and “Don’t Wanna See You Lonely”, but every number had me dancing and grinning like an idiot. This is getting awfully verbose but basically what I’m saying is he was a perfect opening act. His small talk was like stand-up comedy, his music had me dancing and laughing at the same time, and by the time his set was over I was pumped up and ready to keep the groove going with Yeasayer.

Hush Hush – Don’t Ever Wanna See You Lonely

Which is why it was a little weird to have The Smith Westerns come out next. Don’t get me wrong, they’re damn good. Tight musician ship, catchy tunes and a solid live performance. But anything other than the main act after Hush Hush seemed absolutely anti-climactic, and through the course of their set I found myself losing the excitement I’d had before. It just didn’t feel right. Even their style of music didn’t quite jibe with the other two bands on the bill; theirs was less funk and psychedelic and more guitar-pop. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I was mystified as to why they were opening for a band like Yeasayer.

But any energy I’d lost was immediately brought back just by the first part of “The Children” blasting over the PA and the band parading out onstage. By that point, the room was muggy, the crowd was sweaty, and the sonic landscape was as dense as an actual rainforest. Chris Keating applies affects to his voice that make his yelps and hoots sound like noises made by some unknown animal in the wilderness. Everything about their music is so lush and just strange and exotic enough that it’s perfectly in keeping with the jungle stage setup.

I’ve been looking forward to hearing this band live for a while. I was a little worried that they might not quite live up to my expectations. I was wrong to worry about that. “Madder Red” was even more big and dramatic live than it is on the record, and I don’t think I’ve ever danced harder to “O.N.E.” in my life (which is saying something because I’ve danced pretty hard to that song before). In fact, after that particular number was over, Anand Wilder commented that if we kept giving them that much energy, it would make them play better. I can’t say for sure if we kept up our end of the deal, since I had to cut out just after “Wait for the Summer”, but they certainly kept theirs up for as long as I was there. The new songs they played, “Henrietta” and “The Devil and the Deed”, were tantalizing samples of a hopefully-forthcoming album. Their between-song banter was impeccable too – bassist/backup vocalist Ira Wolf Tuton is a Philadelphia native, and he and Chris Keating momentarily rhapsodized on the glory of Tastycakes.

Yeasayer – Madder Red

Leaving this concert early was pretty damn hard to do. And I’m sitting here writing this and listening to Tightrope and doing the timeline in my head of how long it will be before they’re touring the US again, hopefully this time with a whole new album worth of material. I guess that’s about all I ask for in a gig – the feeling of “when can this happen again?” I can’t wait to get back to the jungle.