concert review

MCCARREN POOL, BROOKLYN, NY — AUGUST 30, 2008 The demise of McCarren Pool has created an outcry of sound and fury, and who could be better to give it a sendoff than Sonic Youth? They were in top form last Saturday night, so if our aging rocker hearts were breaking, at least the heartbreak was expressed in pure punk style.

It’s kind of hard writing a concert review from notes taken while you were drunk, except if it’s for Sonic Youth, where the whole show was just a beautiful blur of noise. True to their sheer bloody-mindedness, they started the show with two new songs that don’t have names or lyrics yet, and turned them into extended jams.

Next up was “Burning Spear,” where Thurston Moore used drum sticks as guitar picks and Lee Renaldo created inimitable feedback by placing his guitar right up against the amp. Kim Gordon was her usual kinetic genius self. Mention her name to anyone and they either want to lay her or be her, and the response often crosses gender lines.

“Cross the Breeze,” the highlight of the show for me, came next, and was loud, impossibly fast, and somehow managed to both sound like it was in the wrong key and yet also absolutely meant-to-be. “Silver Rocket” was explosive, and after that I gave up on putting the pieces back together and just let the music wash over me.

My husband was amused when he asked me how I enjoyed it at the end and I started crying, saying it was brilliant, the purest show I’d ever seen, except it was far too short. Sonic Youth clocked in at exactly an hour and a half, with two encores of only one song each. I would have liked it to be at least a half an hour longer.

Rest in peace McCarren Pool. You will exist forevermore in my mind as a memory palace. Afterwards, we went to Enid’s, the coolest bar I’ve seen in years, to hang out, and I was befriended by Erin Fitzgerald, who told me that her friends Elinor Comley and Bill Sprouse, had just gotten engaged at the Sonic Youth show, and bought us a round of drinks. I’m sorry, Erin, the pic didn’t come out, it was just too dark, but here’s your shoutout, as promised, and I’ll e-mail you the next time I’m going to be at Enid’s. It’s our turn to buy the drinks.

SETLIST:
Untitled New Song (vocals by Thurston)
Untitled New Song (vocals by Kim)
Burning Spear
The Sprawl
Cross the Breeze
Hey Joni
Silver Rocket
The Wonder
Hyperstation
Mote
Jams Run Free
Pink Steam
ENCORE #1
Making the Nature Scene / Brother James
ENCORE #2
Expressway to Yr. Skull

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