Say Hellz Yea to Yeasayer!

I was expecting much from this local indie band in their live performance this Thursday at Pier 54, but wow, they were amazing.

Kee Naam!
So, you may be asking as my grandparents did: "Vhat? A Who-sayer?". Yeasayer is an indie band based in Brooklyn, NY and definitely far from ordinary. Their music, I believe, is like no other. It's refreshing, it's unexpected, and it's even better when you hear it live. According to the band, their music sounds like "Middle eastern-psych-snap-gospel". I thought they had that sort of vibe but with a hint of experimental synth-pop from the 80's and a smidgen of traditional African beats. My mom, who was shopping in Chelsea three blocks away, heard their music breaking though the silence of the night sky and thought it sounded like Nepalese mountain tunes. If you really want to have a good idea of what they sound like....um, just YouTube them or something...that always does justice.

If You Wanna Get It Big Time, Go Head and Get It Get It Big Time
I asked a bunch of people who would have some interest in listening to these guys, but everyone was busy that day with other plans. Since I really wanted to see these guys and most of my concert plans for the summer were shot dead with a heavy bullet of last-minute family plans, I went alone. And since I'm such a loser, I went one hour earlier to stand in line. Oh, but was it worth it. I was fucking sixth in line. SIXTH. Plus, it was free. So is was a first-come, first serve basis.

Heyyyy...
As I was sitting there on the dirty gravel (or darkened seagull shit, I don't know), I saw someone who I felt was one of the guitarists from Yeasayer. He just frankly walked out from the venue for a walk around the park. I started to stare at him for few reasons:

1) One of the members of Yeasayer is a Desi man named Anand.

2) I'm a Desi. If you were unaware of the workings of the Desi mind, I will clarify it for you. You can write a fucking book about this kind of crap. When a Desi sees another Desi (who, keep in mind, is a complete stranger), one of them is bound to stare down the other as though their eyes have a strong magnetic attraction to the other's entire body. Whether or not he is in the band has nothing to do with my staring. I'm totally against this act, but it's in my blood. I can't help it.

3) Damn, he was fine!

4) I wanted to get a good look at his face because I didn't want to make the same mistake as I did when me and my friends found a pseudo-Caleb Followill at the Kings of Leon concert. (Refer to previous post)

5) For all I know, he could have been related to me.

After he was far enough in the distance, the girl next to me asked: "Was that Anand?". Damn it, it must of been him if she noticed him too. Oh well, we'll just have to wait for him when he walks back. Ten minutes pass by. Then twenty. Then thirty. Where the fuck did he go? Did some hobo push him into the river and watch him dissolve like alka-seltzer in the "waters" of the Hudson? That would suck bollocks. To pass the time, I talked to the girl sitting next to me. Wow, she was actually normal. For once, I'm not next to some pseudo-art punks who look like they stepped out of my mom's high school yearbook or wear Che Guevara shirts without a bloody idea of who he really is. Normal is good. We decided that when "Anand" came back, we would get his attention and take each other's pictures with him.

My Brain Fell Into the Hudson
And, oh lookie over there, here he comes. Shit, we shouldv'e grabbed him when we had the chance. There was no one on the line then. He was stopped once or twice for pictures and then he came near us. I went up first. I though he was gonna stand there like a stiff plank and lean towards me from a foot away. But no. He freaking grabbed me like we were cousins and he pressed his head near mine for about two seconds with a goofy smile on his face. Damn, that felt nice. Then he stood up straight and the girl on the line took our picture. I thanked him and the other girl went up. Holy shit. My hands were shaking when i was taking their photo. Haha, he's not grabbing her. He asked me if I was putting this Facebook, but I said no, I never do. Then he left with his cute little smile. Farewell, Anand bhai. We looked at each other's pictures. Apparently, I was leaning into his shoulder. When the fuck did that happen? I was so lost in his embrace that I totally forgot what the hell I was doing. The girl thought my picture came out better. Of course it did, haha.

I'm glad I didn't wear my brown shirt that day

We both started to think whether or not we were gonna put this up on Facebook. Now that he mentioned it, maybe I will. I never would have though of it. Thanks dude.

Hold a Sec...
The line began to move five minutes later. I saw a few stalls up, but I wasn't bothered by it (although I should've, since they were selling Yeasayer tees). I ended up right in the front. Front row center. It can't get better than this. Well, it didn't really. All of us had to wait for another hour or so for the opening act to come out. Opening act? What opening act? I don't recall this. I overheard from some losers next to me that it was some band called Amazing Baby. They too are an indie band...but indie-er. Who the hell are they? I don't want to see no babies doing amazing shit okay.

The Name Game
But then I was eventually exposed to these babies. And trust me, they ain't that amazing. Apparently, they played psychedelic stuff. Some points they sounded like Pink Floyd. Other moments they sounded like an angry Echo and the Bunnymen. I didn't see anything special about their sound. Just your generic indie band who attempts to outshine Led Zep or David Bowie, swilling Heineken here and there and flinging sweat into your faces. There was no way you could not avoid comparing everything about their music, including themselves. So that's what I did during the show. The lead guitarist had a hair style reminiscent of Ben Shepard, the bassist of Soundgarden. So I just dubbed him "Ben". The rhythm guitarist looked like my college friend, Andrey. So now his name is "Andrey". The singer was a carbon copy of Jarvis Cocker circa 2002. Too bad Jarvis is 10 times cooler. He had no chest hair. I found that really strange. The unfortunate bassist was not awarded with a nickname. I ignored him. He wasn't so exciting. The drummer, I swear, looked like Adrien Brody...cept he was Desi...and skinnier..and hippier. I named him Brody Bhai. Then Ben's girlfriend and her friend came to sing back up vocals. I just assumed it was his girlfriend cuz he kissed her. More likely she's his fuck body. That's how rock stars are. The only guy that really had the talent was Ben. I really hope they don't find my blog.
Um guys, turn around...the crowd's THIS way

By the third song, some weirdo started dancing around in a big circle and bumping into people, including me. His dancing wasn't even matching the music. This wasn't even the main band. WTF!? Thankfully, he got thrown out.

Call Me Helen Keller
The moment they left, I realised how deaf I had become. Thanks guys. Now I won't be able to hear what I actually came for. Plus, there was a swarm of photographers shooting pics here and there in front of the stage while the band was playing. This one lady had a translucent cover over her flash so that it would increase its intensity. She took 10 or so pictures during every song. By the end of the gig, I was legally blind. Great. Now I'm blind and deaf. This is the ultimate concert experience.

Five minutes before Yeasayer was coming on, the sky decided to take a wee leak. You gotta be kidding me. Luckily, the minute the guys went on, the rain stopped. They are so magical. Why couldn't that happen when I went to see Kings of Leon?

They Fished My Brain Out Of the Hudson & Ate It With A Dollop of Rainbow Sauce
I'm usually the type who would sing really loudly when I see a live band. However, I was so captivated by their music that I just stood there swirling my head around like a dazed hippie and mouthed out the words. The lighting for the show matched their music: colourful, exciting, and at some points, surreal. They played all of their songs from their album, All Hour Cymbals (which is not much, considering that's the only album they have). Songs such as "Sunrise", "Tightrope" and "Wait for the Summer" were awesome on their album, but even better live. Chris's spastic dance moves and microphone handling was strangely magnetic to me. Anand's bird-like head jerking was working the same way as well. Ira was just Ira. He's one of those guys that just stand there playing the bass (which not a very exciting instrument to play, I feel) and be extremely cool. I think it was his new mousse top hairdo. Random guys in the crowd were screaming, "I love you Ira!!" and he responded jokingly with a shy wave and placing his hand softly against his chest. The drummer in the back (the original one, Luke, left the band) had the most pathetic face. It was I-need-a-huge-hug-face. There was also this random black dude in the back handling some other percussion and synth beats. I had to give him massive credit. that was a difficult job to do, juggling between all the sounds and wearing a smile on his face through. You could tell the guy was enjoying it. Everyone was. Everyone but the poor drummer that is. His face wanted to make me cry. Maybe that's why they put him in the back.

Hodocahtay!
The guys finished their last song and Chris thanked the crowd like twenty times (if your an indie band, that's what you mostly run on --- that, and beer). They left the stage and surprisingly, a quarter of the crowd immediately left. Some fans you are. Me and the rest of the fans stayed for an encore. They came back (even though they were done) and Chris announced, "now we're gonna make up a song". The first have they made up, and the second part was obviously a song they're working on for their new album. Then they played "Wait for the Wintertime". It sounded so psychotic and the colours followed along. What a way to end the show! Chris then thanked us again fifty more times and left because they really had nothing else to sing. The crowd cleared off quickly and I was able to go back to my grandparent's place without a problem.

That was one of the best concerts I've ever been to. No really. There is usually something that goes wrong, but nothing did. The picture with Anand, my position in front of the stage, the final song, everything. Damn it, I wish every concert was like that.