Wednesday, June 3, 1998
Fountain of Sonic Youth heals dying grunge rock
MUSIC: Band’s singular guitar play mixes chaos, harmony into
free sound
By Brendon Vandergast
Daily Bruin Contributor
To say rock quartet Sonic Youth had something to do with the
rise of grunge-alterna rock in the early ’90s is a gross
understatement. To say the band had a part in its undoing is an
overstatement, considering its consistency and dedication.
Sonic Youth’s everlasting integrity runs much too deep to be
shorted by a small musical highlight. For the members, the fall of
grunge rock hasn’t stopped them from continuing their long,
successful career of avant-garde, art-guitar rock, just as they’ve
been doing for the past 17 years.
After almost two decades of music, one would assume that the
players would have gotten older and slower – but that wasn’t the
case Friday evening. Sonic Youth captured its adolescent rebellion
in the usually low-key Veteran’s Wadsworth Theater, just five
minutes west of UCLA’s campus.
"Thanks for coming out to Westwood," exclaimed guitarist
Thurston Moore in a sarcastic tone. "I hope everyone goes out after
the show and destroys Westwood!"
Not quite the "Teenage Riot" they could spark in ’88, but indeed
a noticeable disgruntlement over their last minute venue change
from the more accessible El Rey Theater to the seated Wadsworth.
Somehow, permanently bolted seats on the theater floor just ruin
all the fun in moshing and stage diving. So the anxious crowd of
punks, young and old, were forced to sit between aisle rows and tap
their feet instead. Yet the audience’s demeanor was only
appropriate to the performance Sonic Youth gave.
Much more of an orchestration than your typical body-moving rock
show, guitarists and singers Lee Ranaldo, Kim Gordon and Moore
wielded thick distortion and clangy melodies into graceful and
vigorous ensembles. Like Hendrix, they would interweave psychedelic
pseudo-riffs with supple feedback. Like Stravinsky, they composed
the perfect combination of dissonance and consonance, building
tension then releasing it at the crowd’s pleasure.
In fact, minus a few instrumental songs, Sonic Youth’s live
performance was almost exactly a live recording of the band’s
newest album, "A Thousand Leaves," which some critics herald as a
return to the more experimental composition it had abandoned during
its past three albums.
One possible explanation for the lengthy epics on the new album
could be the fact that the quartet had released some audacious
instrumental work on its own record label recently, which may have
transposed into the recording of "A Thousand Leaves." Or, more
likely, its established reputation for exceeding the boundaries of
noise pop has allowed the members the freedom to create successful
music without the aid of mainstream radio and MTV.
Indeed, they started their set with the nine-minute journey,
"Karen Koltrane," which incorporates electronic-like discords with
Ranaldo’s soft, matured voice. Likewise, Moore’s subtle vocals on
the similarly long epic "Hits of Sunshine (for Allen Ginsberg)"
does the same, as it contrasts the slowly graceful opening and
finale with several minutes of controlled chaos in between.
Conversely, Gordon still sings as if she were a teenage punk
rocker. On "Female Mechanic Now On Duty," Gordon’s voice was more
like a tuneless whisper or a scowl than singing. And on "The
Ineffable Me," she howls the lines, "Hey castrator/ Hey
castrator/Don’t fuck with me!" with convincing severity (added
note: Kim Gordon’s proud father was once the chancellor for
UCLA).
The only rhythm heard was from drummer Steve Shelley, since
Gordon played guitar instead of bass on all but three songs. The
three swirling guitars were improvisational at times, playing off
of each other, mixing beautifully and repulsively at the same
time.
The feedback and space-age guitar soundscape mixed with the ’60s
style light show to produce an unusual drug trip for audience
members. After its encore performance, the band continued their
noise assault past the ending of the last song. For over ten
minutes, the members of Sonic Youth plucked, banged, scratched and
reverbed their guitars as if manifesting a frightening and
intoxicating freeform expression session.
Those who were expecting to hear classics from Sonic Youth’s
massive collection of songs were probably disappointed. It seemed
the band made no hint at delving into its past repertoire, choosing
instead to keep the performance fresh and imaginative. Sonic Youth
is established and prosperous not for regurgitating greatest hits
but because it is always one step ahead of everyone else.
Geffen Records
(Left to right) Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and
Steve Sheeley comprise the band Sonic Youth.