Yeah Yeah Yeahs Play A Very Tight Show

Earlier this year NY band Yeah Yeah Yeahs released their fourth album Mosquito. It was received with somewhat mixed response. It is a good album but just can't compete with Show Your Bones and It's Blitz!. Known for the lively performance of front woman Karen O they are always worth checking out.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Paradiso Amsterdam, July 17 2013



In the hot venue tonight Karen O is appropriately dressed in shorts. She's also wearing a jacket and this is obviously a bit too warm. It doesn't slow her down whatsoever. She's one of those people who are born to be on stage. It all seems to come so natural to her. From our position, close to the speakers to one of the sides of the stage, the sound is a bit off balance. The bass and drums are very loud, but the vocals are hard to hear. Probably because in this position the low sound is drowning her high voice. Originally a trio, live on stage Dave Pajo is helping them out on bass.



Set opener is latest single 'Sacrilege' off the new album. About half of Mosquito makes it into the set. The songs are scattered throughout. The rest is a nice overview of their entire catalogue, not ignoring any of the other albums. What is becoming very obvious tonight is what a tight band this is. Drummer Brian Chase's grooves are solid, loud and very tight. Guitarist Nick Zinner is a very creative guitar player, mostly looking down to control the many pedals and effects around him. Of course during their biggest hits 'Zero' and 'Heads Will Roll' Paradiso's main hall explodes. The band is clearly pleased by this response, judging from the smile on Karen O's and Chaser's face.



Karen O is smiling a lot anyway. It is one of her regular facial expressions while performing. Once and a while she's singing with her eyes closed, next thing she's jumping up and down or in circles, looking like a kid in a candy store. It's a delight to watch her perform. After a total of fifteen songs including three in the encore and a final blow from one of the confetti cannons, the 75 minute set is over. That is quite short I think, but it sure was a fun night. Yeah indeed!



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Setlist
01. Sacrilege
02. Gold Lion
03. Mosquito
04. Phenomena
05. Slave
06. Zero
07. Soft Shock
08. Subway
09. Cheated Hearts
10. Pin
11. Machine
12. Heads Will Roll
Encore
13. Despair
14. Maps
15. Tick


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Rock Werchter 2013 Day 4: Dancing In The Dark

The final day of the festival doesn't look so good on paper. It's not a great program today, which may just be better for us. There's more time for just lingering around and to give our aching and tired bodies more rest. And we start in the grass with a nice ice cream.

Rock Werchter 2013 Day 4, July 7 2013

Twin Forks
While enjoying our ice cream we watch the first main stage band of the day, Twin Forks. Where did they get this band? It must have come with another band in some kind of package deal. This group doesn't belong here. They may be shiny happy people but it's just a mediocre cover band. Since they are playing many covers in a poor way and their own songs are even worse. We try to get in at Bastille's performance, but it's too full. The programmers need to get used to programming three stages. The main stage has hard-core band A Day To Remember at the same time, which won't draw a big crowd. So many people want to go over here instead. More time to take it easy and have some cava. In the end we're almost too late for Haim and can only catch the last ten minutes. Based on that I'd like to see them again.

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Band of Horses
Finally there's a band I really want to see. And they don't disappoint. Band Of Horses is playing a very good set. Singer Ben Bridwell's voice is clear and he's smiling most of the time. It's still quite a difficult time to play at the end of the afternoon of this hot last day, but they are definitely putting all their heart into it. We get treated to many nice songs. Their mix of southern rock and country is suitable for this sultry afternoon. Afterwards we leave the festival site to eat something and make sure not to hear anything of Thirty Seconds To Mars.



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Depeche Mode
We're back in time for Depeche Mode. A few years ago they closed the festival and left mixed feelings. It was good, but the band forgot about playing on a festival. They played many new songs at that time and had a dark and mostly slow set. Today it looks like it will be the same. The first song 'Welcome To My World' is a new song and more will follow. But it turns out the set is building up in a smart way. Slowly they are working to a climax and give the crowd what they want. 'Enjoy The Silence', 'Personal Jesus', 'I Feel You' and of course 'I Just Can't Get Enough' are all in the last "greatest hits" part of the show. Dave Gahan is in great shape, his voice is strong and clear and he's moving around the stage like in his best years. Finally this day is starting to look better.



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Editors
Last year at Rock Werchter Editors found the right combination again to continue as a band. As a result they released the new album The Weight Of Your Love a few weeks back. It shows a different Editors, a lighter version, with big stadium songs (full review over here soon). Singer Tom Smith starts out on his own though with an intimate 'Nothing' on piano. We get a nice overview of all four albums. Big hits like 'Munich' and 'Smokers Outside The Hospital Door' are alternating with new songs 'A Ton Of Love' and 'Formaldehyde'. The new songs actually sound good and work well on a big stage in front of a huge crowd. Highlights of the show are the great intimate cover version of Springsteen's 'Dancing In The Dark' and an explosive 'Papillon'. I just don't understand why they didn't close with that last one but played 'Honesty' after that. Maybe they tried to squeeze in too many new songs. We could have gone out on a bigger high instead.



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Still it was a great closing act of another wonderful edition of Rock Werchter. Again we've seen so many strong performances and wonderful bands. In the end I watched great music and had a blast with my friends as well. Doesn't get a lot better than that does it? Well, I could have gotten my cervelas in the end, which I didn't. Hello Mr Piler, time for one last round?

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Rock Werchter 2013 Day 1
Rock Werchter 2013 Day 2
Rock Werchter 2013 Day 3

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Rock Werchter 2013 Day 3: On Fire

Summertime is really trying to make a point now and the sun is getting really hot. It's impossible to make it past 10.30am in our tent and we arrive at the festival ground early. Plenty of time to down a few espressos and get ready for the first band.



Rock Werchter 2013 Day 3, July 6 2013



The Van Jets
Rock Werchter usually has a Belgian band open the main stage one of the days and I got to know some fine bands because of that like Triggerfinger. I already know The Van Jets and I like their pop/rock songs. The band is playing a tight set where front man Johannes Verschaeve is working hard. With songs like 'Broken Bones' and 'The Future' there's plenty ammunition to win over the crowd. But it's hard to compete with the sun and hangovers. Many people decide to lie down in the grass and watch the stage from there, although I do think they have made a few new fans. Better go see this band in a club next time.



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Graveyard
A Swedish band that is playing old school hard rock and blues is always a good thing to check out. Graveyard look like they stepped into a time machine in the seventies. Singer Joakim Nilsson has an interesting voice. It has a lot of bass when he's singing low registers, but gets more hoars when he's singing higher. They bring their blues and hardrock songs with a lot of heart. The band looks quite unmoved, but they are letting their music speak. Bluesy ballads are followed by heavy grooving rock songs. This is what I like a lot so I'll be watching these guys more closely from now on.



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Stereophonics
I used to really like Welsh rock band Stereophonics. But their last few albums just don't cut it for me. Also their last performance I saw a few years back on this exact same stage was quite poor and uninspired. But I'm glad to see the band are doing well again. The songs sound convincing and the band are enjoying themselves. Singer Kelly Jones never was a talker, but he is even chatting to the crowd now and then. Hits like 'Maybe Tomorrow' and 'Mr. Writer' never sounded better and are pleasing the crowd. Of course everybody is joining in on closer 'Dakota' and I think Stereophonics made many friends today.



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Django Django
Django Django has too many friends. The tent is overcrowded and very hot. There's a big party starting wherever they play and today is no exception. Although many people are leaving after they played their hit song 'Default'. Too bad since this band deserves full attention for an entire set. Their intelligent mix of percussive dance music and fresh catchy guitar riffs is wonderful to hear.

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Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
The times I saw Nick Cave perform here before, I was up front in the pit and was stunned. This time I kind of keep my distance to the stage. It makes it harder for me to get into his performance. It's not easy getting into his dark poetic songs when the sun is burning your skin. But Cave doesn't take things easy and is working hard to please the crowd. He's spending a lot time at the front, where he's even signing autographs during his performance. In the end he definitely knows to grab me again with brilliant songs like 'Into My Arms', 'Mercy Chair', the wonderful 'Red Right Hand' and a vicious 'Stagger Lee'. See you in November Mr. Cave.



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Tame Impala
If your forgot to pack some items to "broaden your mind", don't worry. Who needs drugs when you have Tame Impala? I always have trouble getting into their live shows. I really love their music. Mastermind Kevin Parker is a true genius, but something is missing on stage. It still is quite a mind-blowing performance once again, with long spacy jams, hallucinating vocals and great versions of 'Mind Mischief' and 'Elephant'. So I do leave on a high without even using mushrooms but only Joe Piler by my side.

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Volbeat
Short of options we decide to hang around the main stage. And so we're "lucky" enough to see Volbeat struggle through their set. It seems to get worse every time I see them. Their music only is loud and uncouth, with no subtleties. Their set is far from tight and even the cover songs sound horrible. Singer Michael Poulsen's voice is not too good and is getting quite boring after a while. So does their performance. Too bad they keep popping up at festivals a lot.

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Rammstein
Hopefully Volbeat were watching Rammstein after their own set. I've seen them several times and their music doesn't really appeal to me. But once again I was impressed with their amazing show. A tightly directed flaming roller-coaster ride through their music catalogue. Sometimes it gets real cheesy like during 'Bück Dich' when singer Till Lindermann uses a dildo to spray some fluids all over keyboard player Christian Lorenz. But somehow they can pull it off. Of course the fireworks are impressive and well timed. This is the reason why programmers keep booking them for closing headline spots at festivals. They sure deliver on it.



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After the sun has been burning our skin and Rammstein burning our eyes it's time for some refreshments. Now Mr. Piler where are they keeping those cervelas since I still haven't had any!

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Rock Werchter 2013 Day 1
Rock Werchter 2013 Day 2
Rock Werchter 2013 Day 4

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