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Finally folks, a concert review of Sonic Youth at the Ogden Theatre, Saturday July 31

August 6th, 2009 Posted by: Dust Devil

I really do need to start doing these reviews the night I arrive home from the show, especially if the concert was during the weekend. I get to the office, focus on other things and before I know it nearly a week has gone by. A lack of respect on the part of the Dust Devil, because Sonic Youth put on an incredible performance this evening! Too bad the Dust Devil is an idiot and missed most of it! But I digress …

Let me start off by recommending if you go to an out of town show like I did for this one, especially if you are flying in, LEAVE EARLY! I thought I would still work that day, leave the office a bit early, arrive in Colorado with about an hour and a half leeway time. Well, due to weather and an airline that is not exactly top notch (I will never fly Frontier again), I arrived in Denver well past my scheduled arrival time. By the time I arrived at my hotel, checked in, cleaned up and caught a cab to the Ogden Theatre, it was 10:10pm and Sonic Youth hit the stage at 9:00pm. Dangit …

However, the whopping 4 1/2 songs (no joke) that I saw were so incredible, so intense, so amazing, a review is still in order. Plus, the Dust Devil was completely impressed with the Ogden Theatre, another great venue in Colorado!

Like its Colfax Avenue counterpart the Bluebird Theatre, the Ogden Theatre is a converted movie house that has maintained the same rustic look as during its cinema run. The interior is exquisite, the multi-tiered floor makes any spot downstairs an ideal place to see the show, and the balcony wraps around the entire venue, placing you right on top of the stage if you are fortunate enough to get a table that close. There are bars on both levels on the venue, plenty of tables and chairs scattered around the balcony, and lots of railing on both floors that provide plenty of room to both lean and set down your drink.

I enjoyed the heck out this venue. The sound was fantastic, the sightlines were good and the interior provided plenty of interesting decor to observe. The Ogden Theater is a venue I will undoubtedly visit again, and I already know what table on the balcony I want!

Denver seems to attract a lot of great indie and alternative artists, and Sonic Youth is a distinct legend from those genres of music. Having come out of the original “No-wave” scene in New York back in 1981, the band has released sixteen brilliant studio albums in their illustrious career. Several drummers have come and gone over the years, but the critical trio of Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore has been consistent the entire career of Sonic Youth.

Not many bands have been capable of mixing beautiful, alternative pop music with a truly vicious barrage of feedback and sheer, deafening volume. Sonic Youth has taken this unique formula to dizzying heights, creating a catalog over the years that few bands could hope to replicate. From early albums such as Bad Moon Rising, to their watershed disc Daydream Nation, to major label masterpieces such as Goo, Sonic Youth truly is one of the few bands in rock history that can honestly claim they have never sold out and actually mean it. They have one of the most loyal fan bases in rock and roll, solely due to their DIY work ethic and incredible music.

The last time I had an opportunity to see Sonic Youth was in 1995 when they headlined Lollapalooza. A great show, but unfortunately in an environment where “Alternative Nation” was more interested in seeing Hole and getting hammered. A band of this caliber deserves an appreciative audience. The Denver, CO crowd was exactly what Sonic Youth deserves!

As I mentioned earlier I arrived very late, so when I walked in Sonic Youth was in the middle of a track I was not immediately familiar with, but it was not long before I was hooked. They sounded brilliant! Mark Ibold on bass and Steve Shelley on drums complete the current line-up of Sonic Youth. Shelley played on the majority of Sonic Youth’s most brilliant work, while Ibold was formerly the bass player for Pavement.

The band finished up the track they were playing, then left the stage. I wanted to cry! Luckily that was simply the end of their initial set. I had no idea the magic that I was about to see live.

Sonic Youth came back onstage and unleashed The Sprawl on the audience. An incredible track, The Spawl features a guitar line that simply grooves and some incredible lyrics, including a first verse that features text from the novel The Stars at Noon by Denis Johnson. Next up was ‘Cross the Breeze. Another brutal track, this song pummels its way into your senses, featuring a heavy punk tempo and lyrics such as “I wanna know, should I stay or go? - I took a look into your hate - It made me feel very up to date.” Both songs are from Daydream Nation, and both feature the incredible vocals of Kim Gordon. At the age of 56 she STILL sounds as good as she did more than 25 years ago when the band first began playing together.

A second encore followed with two more songs. The first track I did not recognize, but then to the delight of the crowd Sonic Youth pulled out their classic Bad Moon Rising track Death Valley ‘69. Released in 1985, this track still shreds and features the brutal dual guitar assault of Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo. The crowd ate it up, and needless to say the Dust Devil was in heaven.

I may have only been witness to 4 1/2 songs, but the delivery was so intense, so precise, so perfect, I could look back today and be bummed I did not see more, but be grateful I was fortunate enough to see what I did. I respect this band more and more as time rolls on, and can only hope for 28 more great years of music from Sonic Youth.

Luckily for me the week of this show Sonic Youth added dates to this tour. When I booked the trip the band was skipping Arizona. The music gods smiled upon me, and now Sonic Youth will be playing back to back Arizona shows, October 1 at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, then the next evening, October 2 down south in Tucson at the Rialto Theatre. I think there is a good chance the Dust Devil will be at both shows.

Folks, as of this writing only seven more U.S. dates for Sonic Youth are in play. Don’t miss an opportunity to see this amazing band live, they will blow you away in a manner most bands cannot even comprehend. If nothing else, check them out on Sunday, October 4 at the 2009 Austin City Limits Festival. Saturday evening is already sold out for this event, and often times the whole weekend does, so be sure to take a look at TickCo’s selection of ACL Festival tickets as well.

Hope you enjoyed this review my friends. Now go pick up The Eternal, the latest release from Sonic Youth if you do not already own it!

Cheers!
The Dust Devil

Filed under: Venue News & Reviews, Event Reviews