September 1st, 2008 3:07pm

We’re Going Straight To Hell

Sonic Youth @ McCarren Pool 8/30/2008
No Way / Calming The Snake / The Burning Spear / The Sprawl / Cross The Breeze / Hey Joni / Silver Rocket / The Wonder / Hyperstation / Mote / Jams Run Free / Pink Steam // Making The Nature Scene / Brother James /// Expressway To Yr Skull

Sonic Youth “Brother James” (Live in Bremen, 8/27/1991) – When Sonic Youth tour, they normally play most or all of their most recent album, and about half or one-third of the set will be oldies. The band have a large back catalog, but only certain songs make it beyond an album’s initial touring cycle. For example, you can hope and wish for “Dirty Boots” or “Mary-Christ” all you want, but they aren’t going to play those — the only songs from Goo that have performed live by the band since the early 90s are “Mote” and “Kool Thing,” and they have no apparent intention of rehearsing anything else. But hey, at least they’ll play something from Goo — God help you if you’re hoping to hear something from Bad Moon Rising or A Thousand Leaves these days.

Anyway, after seeing this show, I have seen Sonic Youth play every oldie that has been in rotation since 1995. Well, that is, aside from “Inhuman,” which is quite rare and I’m not sure if it really counts. I had been hoping for “Brother James” for ages now, not only because it’s the one major classic that had eluded me, but because it’s also one of my favorite Sonic Youth songs in general.

I’ll be honest with you, I wasn’t really feeling this particular show — against all odds, I’ve become very bored with seeing the Daydream Nation material, and so I felt kinda bored and impatient through a third of the set, which was overly similar to that of their free concert back in July. Just before “Brother James” began, I had written off this show as a $50 performance of “Mote,” but when it kicked in, I was overcome with excitement and relief. It was a very thrilling performance, but much of my pleasure came from this mix of surprise and satisfaction, like being a rare toy collector rummaging through a fairly typical garage sale only to find that one rare Matchbox car to complete his set, and better yet, it’s in pristine condition.

Also: The two new tunes were both fairly accessible rockers. The Kim song was much better than the Thurston song, which was a bit too normal for my taste. They both had a vague “swamp rock” quality to them. Rather Ripped fans ought to be pleased. I was hoping that they’d do something more unusual and experimental on the next album, especially since they are going back to the indie world. That seems very unlikely now.