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Archive for the ‘Yves Tumor’ Category

[ATTENDED: September 6, 2024] St. Vincent

I have seen St. Vincent four times and each time was a totally different experience.

The first time was in 2015 at XPN Fest.  She was so good that I wanted to see her again on that tour (since her set was a little shorter due to the co-headline).  But she did not tour that album again.  In fact, when she toured again, it for Masseduction and that tour (in 2017) was radically different.  For the previous Daddy’s Home tour, it was 100 percent different again–with a cool stage and backing singers and a kind of narrative.

This time it was more like a rock show.

The set was more intricate than most, but there were just a couple of moving parts.  And there was a video screen that was mostly used for lights and minor projections.

My wife and I went and we were in slightly better seats than last time, but you really want to be closer to the action with St. Vincent (although, tbh, we were going to see Pearl Jam the next night and we knew we’d be standing for hours, so the seats were a nice treat). (more…)

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[ATTENDED: September 6, 2024] Yves Tumor

I saw Yves Tumor last year on a headlining tour.  They played a bigger venue than the Met, which is kind of interesting.  But I was delighted that hey were opening for St. Vincent both for the exposure and because it meant I’d get to see them again.

Except I really didn’t see them at all.

For the entire set, they were backlit and covered in fog.  I literally never saw Yves Tumor’s face.  It was surprising because I feel like Yves is such a visual artist and because it made the show a lot less interesting.  And also because Yves is a star in the making–I feel like they sound like Prince if Prince were just coming out now (sometimes their voice sounds just like Prince’s)

Musically, they sounded great.  They played a condensed version of the show I saw the previous year.  Shorter songs, a lot less fanfare and soloing, although there was a lengthy jam at one point. (more…)

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[ATTENDED: May 5, 2023] Yves Tumor

Yves Tumor had been on my list of artists I wanted to see live.  So when they announced a show at Franklin Music Hall, I grabbed a ticket pretty quickly.  I didn’t think it would sell out.  In fact I thought that Franklin Music Hall would be too big a venue for them.  I mean, had anyone even heard about them?

When I arrived (much earlier than I expected, thank you light traffic), there was hardly anyone in the parking areas that are usually packed.  And the entrance was pretty swift.  But when I got to the floor, it was surprisingly crowded.  Not jam packed or anything, but I couldn’t get anywhere near the stage.

I also realized that this crowd was YOUNG.  I’m usually one of the older people at a show, but this time the gap felt pretty large.  That doesn’t bother me, because usually, the young hyperactive folks rush to the front and I hang out in the middle.  But in this crowd everyone was jumping and bouncing and carrying on.

I’m still not sure how people have heard about Yves Tumor.  My kids hadn’t and they have fingers on various pulses.  I know them from NPR Music, which I think of as a slightly older crowd.  But by the time Yves came on, the crowd was pretty packed in and ready to party.

I had heard that Yves Tumor’s show were must-see.  Their earlier releases were challenging with samples and loops and unexpected diversions.  The songs were spare with Tumor’s voice being one of the things that really held them together.

But on the newest record (and I’m guessing the previous EP), there’s a more glam rock feel to the album. Tumor’s vocals remain the same (which is good) but there are melodies and riffs galore.

Yves Tumor is a star.  They own the stage with everyone following their every movement and step.  Their microphone has some kind of cool attachment  to it (I couldn’t see it from where I was, but it was like a wolf’s head facing them.  They prowled the stage in leggings and short shorts.  They wore a leather jacket and a shirt that simply said FUCK.  Their hair was two-toned.  They were beautiful.

The stage had industrial metal crates with lights permeating from the center.  The lights and feel changed according to the mood and it was quite effective.  The band was few in number but huge in sound.  Gina Ramirez on bass and harmonious backup vocals; Yves Rothman on guitar, keyboard, and samples; Rhys Hastings on drums and lead guitarist Chris Greatti.

Greatti was a star himself, shredding like crazy and being very present as Yves walked around the stage–filling in front and center if Yves walked away and being there when Yves needed to hug someone. (more…)

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[ATTENDED: May 5, 2023] Pretty Sick

Yves Tumor had been on my list of artists I wanted to see live.  So when they announced a show at Franklin Music Hall, I grabbed a ticket pretty quickly.  I didn’t think it would sell out.  In fact I thought that Franklin Music Hall would be too big a venue for them.  I mean, had anyone even heard about them?

Of the two opening bands, I was looking forward more to seeing Pretty Sick, whose recordings are pretty great.  Their blending of noise with hooks is really terrific.  They allude to all of the best moments of 90s alt-rock.  Grungy guitars, squalling feedback sounds and lead singer Sabrina Fuentes recalls Courtney Love’s best vocal moments.

On their latest album she seems to leave it all on the floor with her intensity.

They came out and I expected a wall of noise and feedback.  But wow, was their sound tepid.  I have to blame the venue, because I think it got better as the set went on, but when they started out, the guitars sounded like they were coming from a teeny amplifier.  Fuentes’ voice sounded out of tune with what I was hearing and the whole thing felt so small after Frost Children.

The rest of the crowd seemed to really enjoy them, so maybe I was just wrong about it.  But I was so disappointed by the set–it felt really puny for some reason.

I’ve since listened to their records and they sounded even better, so maybe I need to see them again in a diffeent setting.

At the end of the show, the guitar player crumbled up a set list and threw it into the crowd right to the guy in front of me (his girlfriend was a big fan, so that was good for them).

There’s no setlist available for the show, but recent shows indicate these songs were played

  1. Angel Landing ∇ 
  2. Black Tar Ü
  3. Devil in Me
  4. Allen Street
  5. Superstar
  6. Human Condition Ü
  7. PCP Ü
  8. Dumb

Ü Makes Me Sick Makes Me Smile (2022)
⇓ Come Down (2021)
∇  Deep Divine (2020)

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[ATTENDED: May 5, 2023] Frost Children

Yves Tumor had been on my list of artists I wanted to see live.  So when they announced a show at Franklin Music Hall, I grabbed a ticket pretty quickly.  I didn’t think it would sell out.  In fact I thought that Franklin Music Hall would be too big a venue for them.  I mean, had anyone even heard about them?

I hadn’t heard of either opening band.  But when I looked up Frost Children, I was intrigued.  Frost Children are siblings Angel and Lulu Prost from St. Louis, now living in New York City.

I listened to their album on Spotify and liked it enough.  Hyperpop with sound effects and glitches and interesting pitch-shifted vocals.  There’s was lots of cursing and aggression, but it was all really catchy.  Going back through their catalog, it’s clear that in the last three years since their debut, they have gotten much more inventive with their creations.  There’s not a lot of depth to the lyrics, but who cares when a chorus like

Like oh my god
what the fuck
who are you?

is so damned catchy and singalong able. (more…)

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[DID NOT ATTEND: October 29, 2021] Pure Halloween with Yves Tumor

Yves Tumor is a fascinating musician and I would really like to see them live.

I was really surprised when I saw this announcement that they’d be playing in Philly in a club I’d never heard of.

I already had tickets to see Mannequin Pussy for that night, but this show seemed to start after that one.  And yet, from this write up, I couldn’t tell what was going on or if Yves Tumor was even actually going to be there:

Making Time Pure Halloween™ Feat Yves Tumor
Warehouse on Watts
Fri 29 Oct 2021, 8:00 PM EDT

Dear Philadelphia….. I can fee THE THRILL of PURE HALLOWEEN PUMPING through my veins, Philadelphia !!! (more…)

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