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Posted in music | pictures on April 15, 2006
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC | pics
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's biggest critics always point to the bands unaffectionate live show. I've never been on the side of the haters, but I'll even admit that I witnessed a whole new Alec Ounsworth last night (April 14, 2006) at Bowery Ballroom in NYC. Maybe it was alcohol that loosened up the otherwise shy frontman. Maybe constant touring has him more comfortable on the stage (most of the negative reviews came after the new band was hurled into the spotlight). Whatever it was, I felt like Alec and band were happy to be there, and appreciative of both the crowd and openers. Alec even jokingly introduced the third song as "the third song".
One of my first distinct memories of CYHSY was their show (a WHOLE year ago) at Crash Mansion for Nora's birthday party. The band went on LATE, and the small crowd, who stuck around, was having their own little satan-said-dance party. The band and the crowd were equally into it. A lot of that energy was lost post-Pitchfork. Like all big buzz bands, arms-crossed specators take over the shows for a while. Then the bands with mainstream appeal hit frat-house status, and the rowdier craigslist-ticket-purchasing alcohol-buying, not-so-often-show-going crowd moves in. Hipsters complain, but the crowd reverts to a state closer to the original. The band feels it. People are dancing again. Not all of CYHSY's songs make me want to dance, but last night, at times at least, people were moving.
They didn't start playing until almost midnight. The show ended at 1:00. I'm bad at figuring stuff like that out, but according to Eric, they played every song on the album. The encore was three songs, and it was the encore that I loved the most. First they came out and played "Clap Your Hands" - yeah, that's the carnival barker intro that you start skipping over by the fifth time you've heard the album. It was awesome - I think everyone in the place was smiling. Then came a new song ("Me and You Watson") that has me convinced their next album will be as good, or better, than their first one. They closed with "Heavy Metal". It may have even been the same exact setlist as the March 8th show that's streaming over at NPR.
Previously
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Warsaw, Brooklyn, NY | pics
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ South Street Seaport
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Mercury Lounge | Pics
Posted on April 15, 2006 5:26 PM
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Comments (17)
great show last night... in other news, gogol bordello have announced a show at irving plaza in june
Posted by Anonymous | April 15, 2006 6:50 PM
Anybdy know what time theyre going on tonight?
Posted by Anonymous | April 15, 2006 7:01 PM
11:30 is when they are scheduled to go on, but they came on around 11:50 last night
Posted by Anonymous | April 15, 2006 7:13 PM
Set List (04/14/06)
Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away
In This Home on Ice
Graceful Retreat
Is This Love?
The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth
Details of the War
Gimme Some Salt
Wet Dynamite
Lost and Found
Cigarettes
Satan Said Dance!
Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood
encore:
Clap Your Hands!
Me & You, Watson
Heavy Metal
Posted by Anonymous | April 15, 2006 7:25 PM
me and you watson is an old song they used to play in their early shows at trash and the like. great song. one of my faves.
Posted by Anonymous | April 15, 2006 7:34 PM
he said the third song thing in boston too. so fresh.
Posted by chris | April 15, 2006 8:09 PM
This was my first time seeing the band.
But I am surprised at the description of "unaffectionate live shows" beacause if you have never seen this band before (like me) that is a big shock. The band has a great front man, yes he didn't look 'sober' but he was on with his playing and his singing and he was great! The knock on this band is the vocals if you ask me, but I can easily get by the vocals becaause the guitar rhythms and groove of the sound is a winner!!!!!!!! He would sing them step off the mic and jam out, ala Joe Strummer, really! I think they were great last night had a fun time. The bowery crowd had been strange lately I agree (see YYY comments), but last night the band made them move! This band has the goods musically and energetically, get by the vocals which imho are fine live in a punk way and we had a great show last night!
Posted by rescueblues | April 15, 2006 11:08 PM
"Bands are better when nobody knows about them"
"Pitchfork reviews change the sound of the music I listen to"
Posted by Anonymous | April 15, 2006 11:35 PM
i still think this band is incredibly lame
Posted by still | April 16, 2006 1:46 AM
anonymous pitchfork-bashing is so teh ghey
Posted by chris | April 16, 2006 3:16 AM
I went to Friday and Saturday night and I surprisingly Saturday was a better crowd. I say this because Friday was 18 and over and I usually figure the younger crowd will be more prone to dance. However, last night I think the alcohol factor played a part and people were actually dancing too. I took some photos of Friday night's show.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28278659@N00/
Posted by Bao | April 16, 2006 7:28 AM
When i saw them in ann arbor about a week ago, the crowd was moshing, dancing and crowd surfing. Definetly not what i expected, but I had a great time!
Posted by Holla | April 16, 2006 10:20 AM
if the anonymous commenter above was implying that I was saying that "Bands are better when nobody knows about them", they missed my point, or I didn't make my point. I thought I was saying that CYHSY are better than ever now that they're more popular than ever.
Posted by brooklynvegan | April 16, 2006 12:19 PM
I was there on Friday. Although I've seen them many times before, nothing compared to the way they just knocked the walls down. OMG.
Posted by Squigles | April 16, 2006 12:24 PM
It was my first CYHSY show. It was fan-tas-tic. A new fan here... one more time: Thanks BV.
Posted by Eduardo | April 17, 2006 1:13 AM
video of "Clap Your Hands" from the Denver show.
http://www.merryswankster.com/archives/2006/03/clap_your_hands_3.html
Posted by Merry Swankster | April 17, 2006 5:42 PM
video of "Clap Your Hands" from the Denver show.
http://www.merryswankster.com/archives/2006/03/clap_your_hands_3.html
Posted by Merry Swankster | April 17, 2006 5:44 PM