I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: July 22, 2017] Thurston Moore Group

I’ve loved Sonic Youth since the late 1980s.  And yet in all of those years I never saw them live.  Never!  So to make up for that, I quickly snatched up tickets for Thurston Moore’s show at Underground Arts (such a great intimate venue).  Inexplicably, I don’t  think the show sold out.

For this show his band consisted of Thurston on guitar and vocals, Steve Shelley on drums (1/2 of Sonic Youth right there), My Bloody Valentine bassist Debbie Googe (!) and maniac guitarist James Sedwards.

I had the impression that they would play most if not all of their new (fantastic) album Rock n Roll Consciousness.  And that was fine with me.  They did play the whole album, but not in order.

I was talking to the fans around me and we marveled at the lo-tech way their gear was set up–the bass was propped on the bass drum case, guitar amps were stacked on chairs.  And, everyone (except Thurston) came out to prep their own gear.

There were a couple lunatic bozos nearby who just screamed and shouted through the set, but it’s hard to overpower Thurston and Co.  One of these bozos took off his short and threw it on stage–it actually landed on Deb’s bass which I could see pissed her off.  After the song she threw it back into the crowd–it sailed right over my head.

After everyone got set up, Thurston came out.  Someone told us that he was quite tall–I had no idea how tall he was!  But even more amazing was that he was standing right in front of us–I was at times right up against the stage.  When he soloed he stood at the edge of the stage–anyone could have grabbed his guitar (or shoes)–thankfully no one did.

They opened with the new song “Cease Fire” and Thurston stood right on front of us playing those single notes while Sedwards played the leads.  For most of the songs Sedwards played some wild leads–it was really amazing the way the two played off of each other.

Deb and Steve hung in the back–an incredible anchor to the dueling noises of Thurston and James.  Deb’s bass was fantastic–rumbling and low, always steady and with enough effects to keep the sound dynamic.  And Steve Shelley was of course outstanding–keeping things simple enough (he had a minimal kit to work with) but never dull–lots of tom hitting and cymbal work.  Here’s a little clip of them in “Smoke of Dreams.”

Then they played the pretty opening to “Turn On.”  Once again it was amazing to watch these two guitars play off of each other.  I was so close I never knew who to look at.  The song ended and jumped into what they are calling “Feedback Jam.”  It was the two guys playing a slow build of waves of noise (even Deb was playing with some kind of metal device on the strings).  It was great to watch Thurston bang on the neck of his guitar and generate interesting sounds with the whammy bar.  It was quite a change from the prettiness of the earlier songs.

I loved that Thurston was right up in our faces to play his solos, like this one in Speak to the Wild.  Or watching Sedwards look like he was trying to break his guitar as he made some crazy sounds.

Amid all of the noise and feed back they also played some really pretty melodies. Deb and James in the beginning of “Turn On.” And Thurstons’ accompanying melody.  I also really like the way that pretty intro turns into the rocking middle of “Turn On.”

For the fifth or sixth song, Thurston switched guitars from his beat up standard to a cleaner looking one.  He also brought out a lyric sheet and placed them on the lectern in front of him.  He said who’d written the word, but I forgot who.  He played that guitar for two songs and then switched back to the old beat up guitar.

All through the set, they played with the sounds their instruments could make, like this scratchy soundscape from Thurston.  There’s was also this pounding section from “Exalted.”  Before this song, a guy near us yelled a siren sound for a good 20 seconds.  It was really loud, and the band had started to play something but he kept screaming.  Impressive.

The one thing that never ceased to amaze me was just how big his hands are on his guitar.  He could play just about anything.  And when he wants to manhandle that thing, he had no trouble.

And it’s not too often you see someone just banging on a guitar to make sounds.

The final song was “Ono Soul,” an old one from his Psychic Hearts album.  On record it’s pretty short, but they stretched it out with great sounds and feedback.  A great mix between catchiness and noise.

And then it was over.  The band left the stage and by the time I got to the back to check out the merch table, Thurston was there, shaking hands and signing things  I couldn’t believe it.  I have so many things I could have brought to have him sign, but instead I bought another copy of Rock n Roll Consciousness to have him sign–and not a quick scribble, but with an artistic flourish.  He shook my hand and listened to me babble on about how much I loved his music.  And he was incredibly nice and talked about how much fun it was t play in this small place.  It was a great moment.

I was going to try to get signatures from the rest of the band, but when I turned back to the stage, they were still taking down their own gear.  I could have hung around, but it was time to drive home.

I know that Thurston has had many guitars over the years (some of which were stolen) but it was so cool to see this beat up classic up close.

SETLIST

Cease Fire

Turn On*

Feedback Jam

Speak to the Wild (from The Best Day)

Cusp*

Smoke of Dreams*

Aphrodite*

Exalted *

encore

Ono Soul