This is my first review and it is a shambles. I don’t even know who I have reviewed.The support act (I don’t know their name…the drum kit said “TTT” and they’re from Montreal and that’s all I could understand.) played to the small, early crowd a brand of rock somewhere between electro and punk, like a female-fronted Test Icicles. The front-woman did her best to whip the crowd up a bit, dancing her way through the audience and climbing on the bar, but found little response. The keyboard-synth maestro ingeniously played his instruments with a combination of palm and entire arm rather than boring, conventional fingers. Sadly, this often drowned out the vocals. Two catchy dance floor songs were actually half decent, but not good enough to dedicate time to finding out who they were.
The unknown female singer graced the stage in jeans and a hoody. She paled in comparison to the fabulous, rock and roll beauty that is Karen O. Bursting onto the stage in a white outfit somewhere between a poncho and a kimono like a futuristic, fluorescent Aztec; the crowd went mental. Firing straight into 'Heads Will Roll', Karen O worked the stage and the crowd, start to finish. This being the first time I had seen the Yeah Yeah Yeahs live I was not disappointed by Karen’s fantastic charismatic stage presence that simultaneously created the aura of intrigue and warmth that said she was really happy to be here for us. Karen O, Nicolas Zinner and Brian Chase took us on a whirlwind tour of "It’s Blitz!" and some of the more popular numbers from the old albums;'Shame and Fortune', 'Dull Life', 'Cheating Hearts', 'Soft Shock', 'Turn Into', all complete with foot operated glitter canons and onstage theatrics.'Gold Lion' was a high point in the night, bringing the most energy from the crowd,'Skeletons' was a welcome slow-down for us all to get our breath back, and 'Zero' saw Karen aptly accessorize with a customised leather jacket. Electric guitar was replaced by an acoustic for an incredible, heart-felt rendition of their most famous song,'Maps', prompting a good old fashioned lighters-out and crowd sing-a-long. This is modern rock at its rawest; unpretentious and believable.
Written By Kathryn "O" Palmer
