Tame Impala have support slots with the Hoodoo Gurus, You Am I and MGMT in their diary for the coming months. There are some very good reasons why they have such a busy schedule ahead of them. The cynics might say it’s simply because they’re signed to might of Modular and are seemingly being groomed as the replacement to the recently defunct Wolfmother, but anyone who’s heard them knows that they’re one of the most exciting new acts in the country. With their extended jams they lock into their groove and simply refuse to let go, with all three members trading sly grins to acknowledge the sheer fun of it all. While their own psychedelic jams impress, it’s their rollicking cover of Blue Boy’s Remember Me that stands out as the set’s highlight.
Like their Brooklyn peers and touring partners from earlier this year, MGMT, tonights’ headliners Yeasayer manage to combine a wilful eccentricity with their pop sensibilities to offer a truly thrilling sound. The chatter murmuring through the Corner revealed that many punters had approached the gig with a cautious optimism that the band can reproduce the intricate sounds of their superb All Hour Cymbals album on stage. With MGMT touring in December, we’ll have a chance to see if the comparison extends to their live show – though the MGMT boys will have difficulty matching Yeasayer’s Corner show in the cavernous Festival Hall.
Looking as though they’ve stepped from the Dos and Don’ts section of Vice Yeasayer certainly have the Williamsburg look down as perfectly as their finely manicured moustaches. Their bass player, Ira Wolf Tuton, somehow manages to combine the appearance of a native Indian and hipster skateboarder, with a touch of Hasidic Jew, into a particularly bizarre ensemble. Yet, despite their ridiculous appearance, they manage to deliver a performance worthy of their stunning recorded offerings.
Unsurprisingly their live sound is a little more ragged around the edges, offering a rougher take on their tunes, without descending into a mess of sounds. It takes a few tunes for the band to click into gear with so many elements to deal with in each song. The aching beauty of No Need to Worry has all four members of the band rising to the high vocals of the chorus, reducing the Corner audience to a stunned, awed silence. Knowing that it’ll take a miraculous performance to top this, Yeasayer’s setlist then turned to 2080, the standout track of their album. The frenetic peaks of the captivating show manage to combine elements of indie-rock and dance into a heady brew that comes close to matching the heights of !!!s (Chk Chk Chk’s) amazing live shows.
Returning to the stage for their encore they blare through the rousing Wait for Wintertime it’s a mantra and description that fits Yeasayer perfectly – Solid gold and nothing’s gonna stop us,solid gold, solid, solid gold. If MGMT come close it’ll be spectacular.
