Sonic Youth

Mirroring in many ways their latest release, Sonic Nurse, Sonic Youth's Commodore Ballroom show was the predictably amazing genre melange that fans of the New York punk rock no-wave legends have come to expect. Perhaps most of all, like on the new record, it was bassist/vocalist Kim Gordon who particularly shone and stole the night. The first song was the hypnotic epic-length, "I Love You Golden Blue," which provided the extended intro that allowed for the band to each saunter out, pick up their instruments, slowly building the song up from a feedback buzz. Interestingly, "Pattern Recognition," which appeared soon after, is named after the the novel by Vancouver author William Gibson. Later on guitarist/vocalist Thurston Moore would introduce "Mariah Carey and the Arthur Doyle Hand Cream," which has had to be renamed on the album to quell corporate fears of potential lawsuits. While the crowd was overly accepting of all the new material, not surprisingly it was two rarer older tunes that became the performances of the night. The intense "Drunken Butterfly" ended the set, with Gordon dancing and spinning to the point that underwear was visible, while Moore played guitar with myriad body parts to roaring cheers. The other show-stealer was "Pacific Coast Highway," for which Gordon pulled out a trumpet — the song debuted close to two decades ago and hasn't been on a set list in years. In the wake of Lollapalooza's cancellation, it seems that Sonic Youth are filling in their summer with smaller club gigs, so stay tuned and be treated.