Recently some of the long-established bands of our time have developed a trend of performing entire past albums live. Is this because these bands are not able to come up with new ways to further their musical growth? Some may say that, but anyone who was in attendance of one of Sonic Youth's performances of ''Daydream Nation'' will argue the point.
When ''Daydream Nation'' was first released in 1988, it sent a shockwave through college radio stations and the bedrooms of all the kids who weren't happy with what they were hearing on commercial radio.
Sonic Youth performed its 20-year-old groundbreaking album in Europe and a few U.S. cities last summer. The tour was recently revived for New Zealand and Australia where it wrapped on February 23rd in Perth.
Sonic Youth has long been considered the godfathers and godmother of the indie-rock movement. The group has established itself in many different arenas; starting with its early noise rock recordings and moving into the arms of the MTV audiences of the mid-'90s with a more mainstream sound. They have also recorded many avant-garde recordings on their own label, Sonic Youth Recordings (SYR). On their last studio album, "Rather Ripped," they embraced a more pop-oriented sound. But the pinnacle of their catalog has always been "Daydream Nation."
When "Daydream Nation" was first released in 1988, it sent a shockwave through college radio stations and the bedrooms of all the kids who weren't happy with what they were hearing on commercial radio. It showed a whole new generation of amateur musicians that there was still some uncharted territory left in rock.
Since its release, many of the songs on "Daydream" were not performed live. On this tour two decades later, the songs still sounded just as fresh today as the moment when they were set to tape.
The opening crunch of "Teen Age Riot" sounded like a call to action for the disenchanted. The riff that guitarists Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo thrashed through on "Total Trash" was catchy enough to make Jimmy Page jealous. Kim Gordon laid down a solid bass and sung such classics as "'Cross the Breeze." Drummer Steve Shelley never missed a beat. He has a very inventive technique of playing the drums with a maraca rather than a drumstick on certain songs.
The album was played in sequence, including the experimental song "Providence," which consists of a tape of an amp dying, Moore playing a haunting piano melody, and a phone message from Minutemen bassist Mike Watt.
Of all the songs, the one that struck a timely note was "Hyperstation." Moore's lyrics recast New York City as an almost apocalyptic wasteland. The chorus simply says, "Daydreaming days in a daydream nation." That lyric is as relevant today as it was when it was first written.
After they charged through "Daydream," the band returned to the stage to play almost the entire set of "Rather Ripped." "Incinerate" kicked the encore into overdrive. Then the band took it down a notch with "Do You Believe in Rapture?" a tender, harmonic-based ballad sung by Moore. They closed the show with another ballad, "Or," in which Moore asks the final question, "What comes first, the music or the words?"
While some bands may simply be trying to cash in on past glory, I don't think that is on Sonic Youth's agenda. They have been creating their very own unique brand of rock for a quarter of a century now, and they show no signs of slowing down any time soon. Like any great artists, they leave their faithful fans wondering what they will do next.
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