…And the last band left standing shall receive the spoils, but these are metaphysical spoils, which shall not be quantified by ticket sales or legions of fans, but rather by the knowledge that your music inhabits a space within the sinuous web of rock and roll, and that every afternoon new bands are forming everywhere, inspired by a specific set of your songs…
Few bands over the past 25 years exhibit the level of influence wielded by Pavement or Sonic Youth, and we would have to go back a half-decade and across the sea to find bands like Joy Division, Gang of Four, and The Clash, who lay claim to a greater circle of followers.
That being said, the September 30th Pavement / Sonic Youth show at the Hollywood Bowl was a lineup for the ages, at one of the most beautiful venues in the world, a venue almost out of antiquity, so complementary with its natural surroundings that it couldn’t be man-made, or at least originally conceived by the father of the great Frank Lloyd Wright, who was called simply Lloyd Wright.
The up-and-coming Los Angeles band No Age opened the show. They are about to embark upon a European tour, which will be followed by an American tour, including a show at Cleveland’s Grog Shop, an old b3sci stomping ground. This is a band to watch. From what I’ve heard, they’re still in the process of amalgamating their influences, but their measures of experimentation show a band without a clearly defined ceiling, for whom the sky’s actually the limit, creators of music which belongs to “no age”.
Sonic Youth played for about fifty minutes, and they absolutely slayed it! Kim Gordon is 57 years old. She’s the hottest rockin’ grandma I’ve ever seen! The tightness of this band is unbelievable, the result of long periods of incessant, generally uninterrupted touring. They’re like Phish, where even if you’re predisposed against the style, witnessing their live performance is enough to baptize the neophytes. They stopped playing at approximately 9:35, waving and leaving without an encore, to the dismay of thousands of old and new converts.
My friend and I walked around the structure during intermission. Except for the steep incline up to the nosebleeds, there isn’t a bad seat in the whole bowl, thanks to the convex arrangement of seats. The consensus is that the new shell, added between the 2003 and 2004 season, has greatly improved the sound quality. Also worth noting, Heineken costs eight dollars at the Hollywood Bowl… we should’ve gone to a liquor store beforehand.
Pavement took the stage a little before ten o’clock. They opened with “Cut Your Hair”, which was the song they played on Leno back in ’94 (watch below). When we see the popular disregard in Malkmus’ falsetto, it’s easy to understand why they weren’t invited back for a second performance. Still, with its hooks and harmonies, “Cut Your Hair” could’ve been a single on the level of Weezer’s “Buddy Holly”, if only it had a Spike Jonze directed memorable music video. Other highlights included “Gold Soundz” (which was voted top song of the 90’s by Pitchfork) , and the transition into Shady Lane. Other set highlights included “Summer Babe” and “Range Life”.
Malkmus had a wry smile as he trotted off the stage, and I figure they’d be back in 90 seconds for an encore, which of course would include “A T & T”, my favorite Pavement song. But the house lights went up immediately, along with some barely audible PA music, a not-so subtle way to tell the masses to exit the premises. Sadly, the band were hoping to play an encore, which would’ve included “A T & T”, but couldn’t due to time constraints.
It was a fantastic show, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. But Pavement only played 17 songs, totaling an hour, as opposed to their NYC concert, where they played 27. Hopefully I’ll still see them play “A T & T” someday.
Contributed by: Christopher Gedos
Reviewed by b3
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