Yeasayer takes their electro-pop safari to Chicago

April 29, 2010, at Metro

By Jodi Root
Published: May 1st, 2010 | 12:00pm

Anyone who attended last summer’s Pitchfork Music Festival will remember the unforgettable moment as the grey skies broke into rain right as the Brooklyn-based psych-pop outfit Yeasayer busted into their hit, “2080.” Arms were held high in the air, bodies swayed, and all in attendance experienced musical magic. Less than a year later, Yeasayer has dropped their second album, Odd Blood (Secretly Canadian), and embarked on a national tour, which recently stopped by Chicago’s Metro. The sold-out show was crammed with eager fans who stood shoulder-to-shoulder in a sea of restless bodies, and the stage was illuminated with a rows of lights that burst in an array of neon colors.

Yeasayer kicked off their 90-minute set with Odd Blood’s opening track, “The Children,” complete with robotic distorted vocals and a dizzying clamor of percussion, and then seamlessly transitioned through 14 tracks, only pausing for front man Chris Keating’s friendly banter. Keating was gracious to the crowd, and reminisced over his former Chicago residency; pointing towards the right balcony, he said, “I sat right up there about ten years ago at a show. Thank you Chicago—you’re a beautiful place with beautiful people.”

The crowd was happy to reciprocate the love and filled the venue with deafening clapping, hypnotic dancing, sing alongs, and arms flailing in the air. Keating all but forfeited vocal duties during the chorus of “Ambling Alp”—he extended the mic into the crowd as the audience excitedly shouted in unison, “Stick up for yourself son / Never mind what anybody else done.”

For a mere five-man setup, the sounds stemming from the stage were extraordinary: layers of numerous keyboard beds, synth magic, incredible percussion, dual high-pitched vocal harmonies, and electronic guitarwork. A whole lotta talent and dedication went into songs like “O.N.E.” and “Tightrope” and the crowd knew it by their reaction.

Yeasayer is fun, dreamy, and magnified pop music at its best, and the material live sounds even more electrified than its recorded counterparts, no doubt helped by the sound quality of the venue which allowed a perfect forum for the jittery and complex instrumentation. Fans of Yeasayer’s older material were not disappointed, as several tracks from All Hour Cymbals were represented, including the appropriately fitting encore closer, “Sunrise.” One can only imagine how badass it would be to hear that track performed live at breaking dawn, but used to close a spectacular 90-minute set is no shabby runner up.

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Yeasayer official site

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Secretly Canadian