Yeah Yeah Yeahs' radical live performances from day dot in the early 2000s highlighted a bold and progressive approach to their artistry. Their performance at MCA was exactly what a rock concert should feel like.
Performing tracks off their latest studio album, Cool It Down, MCA was filled with the synths of my (fever) dreams and drew attention to an epochal antithesis referencing psychedelic rock of the 70s and 80s.
MCA really is a fantastic concert venue, especially in the colder winter months. We were lucky enough to witness Little Simz and Yeah Yeah Yeahs on consecutive days at the prestigious arena and the giant backdrop, lighting displays and acoustics around the venue – not to mention the visibility from the seated aspects – helped to put both experiences among our best concerts of the year. Special mention also goes to MCA’s in-house restaurant Mr Miyagi – it’s not often you can praise a concert venue’s food with such adulation, but it’s also not often a venue can boast one of Melbourne’s most renowned Japanese purveyors.
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In the 20 years since the Yeah Yeah Yeahs released their debut album Fever to Tell, the indie sleaze trio have gathered guitar strings and microphone chords, successfully tying together the past, present and future.
It started off in the best possible way with Automatic – afforded the full stage backdrop and lighting treatment in a generous act by Yeah Yeah Yeahs – playing their Krautrock-influenced post punk in this wonderful humming build-up to the electricity that was about to explode to life with Karen O took the stage, dressed to the nines with her signature bob and bangs flying all over the place.
The band’s definitive songs including Maps and Heads Will Roll (saved for an elated encore) brought the audience to life. It was no mean feat, the show had been interrupted by a medical emergency early in their set, and Karen O’s seasoned capacity to reinvigorate the performance spoke to the band’s powerful live presence.
It was the first time Yeah Yeah Yeahs had played in Melbourne for a decade, despite being billed in both 2020 and 2022. It’s been a long time coming and it was clear that the band was just as eager as we are for their performance.
It’s no surprise that guitarist Nick Zinner cautiously, yet confidently, recognises it as their “best tour ever”. Zinner notes that the “response, energy, feeling and experience” of the tour is something he doesn’t remember being “so powerful” in previous years.
The recent exploration of the tracks off Cool It Down in a live setting has also left a mark on Zinner, holding a certain significance for him. A juxtaposition is noted between playing older and newer songs with the more recent tracks triggering recent memories of “being in my house and Karen and I just fuckin around”, while their older songs are simply “part of [their] DNA.”
“I hope it’s an experience that stays with you as much as it stays with us and just makes you feel good about yourself and the world for a little bit of time until…well, I’ll just stop there,” he laughed.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs are playing at Splendour In The Grass this weekend. Tickets – would you believe it – are still available, follow all their tour dates here.
Check out what else is coming up at MCA here.
