Why? @ Triple Rock Social Club
[photo courtesy of Leslie Plesser]
After releasing one of my favorite albums of the year, Eskimo Snow, a few weeks back, Oakland band Why? came to town Wednesday night to play what was one of the best shows I have seen this year at the Triple Rock Social Club. Why? is a band that takes a decidedly high brow approach to making some low brow music. Mastermind Yoni Wolf started this project rapping, but has led it in an evolution that has found it becoming one of the more innovative indie rock bands playing right now. They still have elements of hip hop in their music (and Yoni still raps), but they have shied away from that on their last two releases in favor of more Dada-esqe pop music. His surrealist lyrics, which bounce between strikingly confessional and utter nonsense, are delivered with a wink and a smile in the live setting. Wolf, who couldn’t look farther from a stereotypical rock and roll (or rap) frontman, kept things light with his goofy stage presence and easy going demeanor. His introduction upon hitting the stage was “Welcome to the Scared Heart Social Mixer,” and he continued to take himself just about that seriously throughout the band’s excellent 70 minute set.
The set relied heavily on the band’s last two albums, both of which were recorded at the same time a few years ago. The set took off right away with a pulsing version of “Song of the Sad Assassin” from 2008′s Alopecia. The band, which featured Why? staple (and brother of Joni) Josiah on drums, Doug McDiarmid on keyboard and Minneapolis natives Andrew Broder on guitar and Mark Erickson on bass, sounded tight and powerful all night. When “Song of the Sad Assassin” reached its apex and Yoni repeated the doomed mantra that “Billy the Kid did what he did and he died” over and over, the band added a layer of muscle behind him that set the bar high for how great the band would be throughout the show.
Other early set highlights included the somber “Against Me” and “These Hands” from their latest release, Eskimo Snow, and “Vowels Pt. 2″ from Alopecia. The young crowd, filling in a good portion of the Triple Rock for the all ages show, was excited and engaged with Wolf and the band throughout their set. After almost every song their was a plethora of requests and interactions from the crowd, which can be dangerous as many bands don’t quite get what is “funny” and how to interact with an audience. Luckily, the boys in Why? showed their quick wits and loose stage presence with their entertaining banter, which helped to make the show even more entertaining. Their favorite bit of the night was trying to convince the crowd that both Denver and Pitchfork Media hated Minneapolis and that we should start a rivalry with them.
The set was solid start to finish, but the second half of the set was definitely highlight by a few songs that really got the crowd involved. “These Few Presidents” found the crowd screaming along at the end when the song breaks down and Wolf sings that “Yours is the funeral I would fly to from anywhere.” “Gemini Birthday Song” was requested breathlessly throughout the set and was greeted with a strong response as they played it as one of the final songs of the main set.
The band played a short, but amazing, two song encore following their main set. First up was Alopecia standout “The Hollows,” which really brought the house down. The band closed with a staggering take on “21st Century Pop Song,” which was originally written by Hymie’s Basement. Hymie’s Basement was a band that Yoni Wolf and touring guitarist Andrew Broder (known to Minnesota fans for his band Fog) created and performed under earlier in the decade. The song featured Wolf’s slacker rap and Broder singing the chorus and providing the stinging guitar lines. The song reached its pinnacle when they traded vocals at a rapid pace near the end of the song in a manner that had to be seen to be believed. The song was simply amazing and was a great way to end such a strong set.
Why’s music, and especially the latest album, is dark material that could easily be brought to stage in a serious, downtrodden fashion. Seeing the nerdy Wolf on stage, quasi break dancing and shadow boxing seconds after singing about faking his own death, is a sight to be seen. The touring musicians Wolf had behind him were the best I have seen for the band and really breathed new life into the already great songs they were performing. The show was just another affirmation as to the many reasons why I like Yoni Wolf and the gang so much and why the show will fall somewhere near the top of my favorite performances of the 2009 year.
The show was opened by two great, diverse bands. In addition to recording his last two albums here and having 40% of his touring band from the city, Wolf also showed his love for Minneapolis by bringing along local act Dark Dark Dark for the whole first leg of the tour. Dark Dark Dark started out each evening with their spirited gypsy folk music before giving way to the great Portland band AU. The two piece, semi instrumental band played pretty, melodic soundscapes that ranged from serene to boisterous and dynamic. Both groups proved adept at getting the crowd ready for the wide ranging, anything goes sound of the evenings headliners.