Sexy Stutters
10-Jan-2003

Last Wednesday New York City’s post-punk rock revolution reached the North Star
Bar of Philadelphia in the form of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the TallBoys.  The 
TallBoys opened up with an invigorating, spastic, wailing set.  Most people who
entered the bar expecting to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were frozen in lead screamer 
Sheila Donovan’s penetrating stare as she sputtered and stuttered her assaulting 
lyrics into a neat pattern.  When her stare broke free, so did her whole body into 
a fit of convulsion to match the break-neck jangly guitar tempo.  Her rain dance 
was contrasted by the statuesque stillness of her fellow band members.  Drummer 
Aviva Wishnow and guitarist Vanessa Roworth were a tranquil frame for Sheila’s 
manic gyrations.  Listening to recordings of the Tallboys’ garage rock from 
mid-2003, one cannot escape the realization of their maturity.  Their sound is now 
slicker, and as refined as punk gets.  It’s no wonder their EP is making its debut 
this month.  They are ripe and bearing juicy fruit.

By the time the Yeah Yeah Yeahs made their way to the stage, the bar was brimming 
with a sea of prep school punks, record nerds, and corporate rockers—most of which 
were very familiar with the raw sexual energy on the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s debut album 
Fever To Tell.  The translation to the stage was half-concert, 
half-Vegas-style sex show.  Lead singer Karen O. did everything but strip.  She 
wound her microphone cord (lit with a string of lights) between her legs, around 
her throat, inserted the head of the microphone into her mouth during bouts of 
screaming, lifted her Spanish flamenco-style mini-skirt to her waist, rolled 
around on the floor, and teased the audience with her raw sex appeal in every 
imaginable way.  It was a sinfully delightful spectacle.

Those there for the music could not have been disappointed either.  Guitarist Nick 
Zinner and drummer Brian Chase were a well oiled machine for Karen O’s sex.  
Together the trio created a blast of beautifully adulterated rock noise.  So well 
rehearsed was this trio, when Zinner’s guitar cut-out during a rendition of 
“Rich,” Karen and Brian kept playing without missing a beat.  Their individual 
skills were such that they could play perfectly together or apart.  Then suddenly 
amidst the voice and drums the guitar melody returned.  However, it wasn’t 
Zinner’s guitar producing the music.  It was the crowd humming the tune from 
memory.  Karen began to giggle between words, but sang right through to the end of 
the song and a roaring applause.

Some critics have dismissed the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as a small wave resulting from the 
splash of The Strokes, but a keen ear proves otherwise.  Fever To Tell is 
easily the best album of 2003 and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are the rebirth and future 
of rock and roll.

Online Info: 
www.tallboys.net
www.yeahyeahyeahs.com

<< /home/articles