Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ First Avenue

Heads indeed rolled Saturday night at First Avenue, as Yeah Yeah Yeahs wowed the sold-out club with both their sound and their style, steam-rolling their way through an hour and 15 minute set that drew equally from their excellent new record It’s Blitz! and their older favorites. It was a high-energy set (with Karen O onstage, how could it not be) that found the band connecting well with their adoring audience. And, with the addition of multi-instrumentalist David Pajo of Slint for this tour, the band really fleshed out their fuller, keyboard-heavy new sound. But at their heart, Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a three-piece beast, and guitarist Nick Zinner certainly proved that the death of his guitar sound was greatly exaggerated, while drummer Brian Chase made it look easy at times keeping the beat for the chaos unfolding in front of him. But the dynamo that is Karen O easily kept everyone captivated during the band’s stirring set that left both the band and audience breathless by the nights end.

Taking the stage with an eerie neon mask on, Karen and the band tore into the new track “Heads Will Roll,” and it didn’t take too long for the teeming main floor to begin to writhe in time with the beat. It took a while before the band really locked into their sound on this track, but the finish was pure energy, and carried well into an exhilarating version of “Phenomena” that found Karen losing her mask and the crowd losing their collective cool while thrashing about wildly. From that point on, the band remained in high gear all night long, setting off confetti cannons to punctuate the potency of their songs and add to the party atmosphere of their performance. It was a lethal one-two punch that proved the band still has a fierce and turbulent live show that rivals any band going these days.

“Dull Life” was up next, and it was anything but boring, as Karen really breathed fire on the lines “Well, all hail the Prison Queen/I am bars, I am hard.” It was a real slow-burner that completely boiled over in the chorus, and was definitely one of the better new tracks played during the set. The familiar drum kick of Chase introduced the infectious “Gold Lion” which again had the floor awash with flailing bodies, and Karen prowling about the stage, posing for effect and adding drama to her lyrics by holding the microphone above her head like a torch on fire. She really owns the stage while she’s up there, balancing her broad smiles with an intensity that is completely spellbinding.

The club really blew up on a turbulent “Rich” that started out a bit stripped down, with Karen delivering her lyrics nearly a cappella while Zinner strummed out a subtle, abrasive melody, before Chase kicked in the drums and the song really caught fire. It was incendiary, and far and away the highlight of the set for me, despite all the hits that were to come. That track was quickly followed by the highly charged “Miles Away,” from the band’s debut self-titled EP that was feisty and ferocious. Again, another staggering one-two punch that left the crowd breathless. The band was digging deep into their back catalog at this point and I certainly wasn’t complaining, but I was interested in the different sound and style of It’s Blitz!, and hearing how the new material translated in a live setting.

I got my wish, as the enormous eye (like the cover of the Zero single) that was hanging over Chase’s drum kit was spun around and a full moon was projected on the ball, casting a tranquil mood over the club before Karen led the band through an absolutely gorgeous version of “Skeletons,” whose fragile beauty and understated elegance was mesmerizing. It was another highlight in a show that was filled with them. The band picked things up a bit with the thudding beat of “Soft Shock,” that perhaps startled the crowd out of the daze that “Skeletons” put them under. And by the time the band played “Pin,” the energy level was back on full-throttle as the crowd responded to Karen’s unbridled energy, trying to keep up with her incessant pogo-ing throughout the stormy song.

When Karen left the stage for a second, I had the sense that she was getting her leather on, and indeed, the electronic blast of “Zero” was next up, and Karen was appropriately decked out in her leather jacket adorned with “KO” studs on the back, despite the ever rising temperature of the club. The song took on an extra bit of avidity in the live setting, sounding full and fleshed out by the four-piece setup, and segued nicely into the all-out fury of “Y Control” that turned First Avenue into a swirling mass of bodies, and again proved that the band hasn’t really lost a step and were as potent a live act as ever. It was a fantastic end to the main set, and thankfully the band gave us a few minutes to let us all catch our breath a bit before their encore.

Karen added a blue and pink streaked kimono on top of the Christian Joy designed dress that she wore during the main set, but that didn’t slow her down in the least as the band tore into a spirited version of “Cheated Hearts.” The song got the encore off to a lively start, and showcased the stellar work of Zinner, who remained shrouded in the shadows all night, but still propelled the set forward with his explosive guitar parts. When Karen introduced the next track by saying “This is the Yeah Yeah Yeahs love song… this is for all the lovers in Minneapolis,” you knew that “Maps” was up next, and no matter how many times you’ve heard it, either live or on your stereo, the track still slays, and is simply a beautifully revealing, intensely emotional song. Saturday night was no exception, as the band delivered the song with an extra swagger and sentiment that lifted the song to its poignant peak.

After the band gathered themselves a bit while the crowd showered the band with applause, Karen exclaimed “We’re having a good time in Minneapolis tonight! Yeah Yeah Yeah’s have a good history with Minneapolis. I spent my 24th birthday right here on this stage. It’s great to be back.” And you couldn’t help but believe her, especially after the band tore into a blazing “Date With The Night” that really roused the tumultuous crowd into pandemonium. It left the audience and the band breathless, and Karen could barely collect herself to deliver a tender version of the “Baby I’m afraid of a lot of things, but I’m not afraid of love” coda to “Modern Romance” that was a touching thank you to a crowd that had shown the band a lot of love all night long.

Spent and exhausted, the band sauntered off the stage to the screams of an enraptured audience. The band added yet another stellar show to a growing list of memorable performances in Minneapolis, and despite the slight change in direction on their new record, the band hasn’t lost a bit of their ferocious and animated live show. They have now added an edgy electronic element to the mix that shows the band isn’t about to get bogged down by repeating themselves and their sound. Yeah Yeah Yeahs are too innovative for us to know what’s next for them, but hopefully they will bring their volatile live show back soon to a city that obviously loves them. And after such an impassioned performance as their show on Saturday night, it’s clear the feeling is mutual.

[Review by Erik Thompson, photos by Jon Behm, videos by Chris DeLine.]

Setlist:

Heads Will Roll
Phenomena
Black Tongue
Dull Life
Gold Lion
Rich
Miles Away
Skeletons
Soft Shock
Pin
Zero
Y Control
Cheated Hearts (encore)
Maps (encore)
Date With The Night (encore)
Modern Romance (coda) (encore)

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Also: Yeah Yeah Yeahs “It’s Blitz!” Review