Even though I go to at least 50 shows a year around the western United States, very few of them do I anticipate with such girlish glee. For me, Sonic Youth is definitely one of those shows. I've only had one other opportunity to see them before, and it was at the Coachella festival in 2002. The set that they played unfortunately was only 45 minutes long, and for you Sonic Youth fans, you know that's about a six song set list if you're lucky. That 45 minutes has been stuck in my brain for over two years now, and for two weeks prior to this show, I was salivating like Pavlov's pups every time I would begin to think about what a great experience this was going to be. Needless to say my expectations were running a little high, but when all was said and done, those expectations were met and then some. As the house lights went down, each member walked out one at a time to their usual positions. Steve Shelly was first, and sat behind his drum kit. Lee Ranaldo was next, as he went to the audiences' left over to an organ and started pounding out course uneven rhythms. Jim O' Rourke came out next, and started in on the chorus of noise with Lee on rhythm guitar. Finally, Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore walked on stage together and picked up their bass and lead guitar respectfully. As they did, a wave of metallic blue came from behind Shelly and the stage, as Kim started the night off with the beautiful "I Love You Golden Blue" off their great new record Sonic Nurse. After Kim and the group were finished with the opening number, Thurston yelled out to the crowd 'This one's off Sister!" And the crowd went bonkers as they ripped into "Schizophrenia." After that blast from the past however, most of the rest of the set was heavily immersed in Sonic Nurse tunes. 8 of the 12 songs from the set were from the new album, but every one of them sounded great. "Pattern Recognition," and "Stones" were fantastic, but "New Hampshire" took the cake for sounding even better live than the studio version.

There were a few surprises thrown into the mix as well. Lee sang "Karenology" off of Murray Street, and he also asked all the people in the audience to be sure to register to vote and be sure to vote for the right guy (whoever that may be) before ripping through "Paper Cup." Thurston grabbed the mic off the stand and gyrated about for a truly inspired version of "100%," and everyone's face in the audience was set to stun when Kim closed the set with "Brother James" off the Kill Yr. Idols E.P. When the band came back out for an encore, they performed "Rain On Tin," the song I'd been waiting for all night. And they also did "Pacific Coast Highway," another song off of Sister. The most shocking and worthwhile thing that happened all night though was when half the audience had left after the encore performance. Sonic Youth walked back on stage about five minutes after the encore, and came out with the opening band Wolf Eyes. It took a few minutes for everyone to decide what instrument they were going to play, but once everyone got situated, Wolf Eyes and Sonic Youth ripped into the greatest cover I've ever heard of The Stooges "I Wanna Be Your Dog." Wolf Eyes were thrashing their instruments, Kim sang ferociously, and at the end, Thurston took a gong like looking instrument and pounded into the ground over and over again. My God, what a perfect way it was to end a damn near perfect night.

Grade: B+

Setlist:

1. I Love You Golden Blue
2. Schizophrenia
3. Pattern Recognition
4. Unmade Bed
5. Karenology
6. Kim Gordon and the Arthur Doyle Handcream
7. Stones
8. New Hampshire
9. Paper Cup
10. 100%
11. Dude Ranch Nurse
12. Brother James

First Encore:
13. Rain On Tin
14. Pacific Coast Highway

Second Encore:
15. I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges)