Yes! Yes! Yes!

Brian Chase, Nick Zinner and Karen O, otherwise known as Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, played to a sold out crowd last night at the Roseland Theatre here in Portland. I showed at doors and got as close to the stage as I could before the local opening acts got started, so I had a spectacular view of the entire show.

Karen O came on stage in a shiny gold and black Peter Pan outfit, wearing what could have been Egyptian war paint. The show was spectacular. They played a 50-50 mix of songs from Fever to Tell and Show Your Bones. Karen was all I could have hoped for: Dynamic and Flamboyant, constantly crowd pleasing. At one point, she started off a song sitting against the left stage wall under the spotlight. Just as the song blew up, she bit the microphone head, let her arms drop and let out six long, perfectly timed screams, a wave of sonic bliss, as she slid slowly down the wall into a heap on the floor. Karen had the crowd from go, and everyone was keyed from start to finish. The Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs closed the set with 'Y Control', which sent the crush into a frenzy.

After the set, they came out for a three song encore, which began with 'Maps' ( my personal favorite YYYs track ). Karen O had become a skeleton of two-tone denim, with a chained heart in the center of her chest. The final song of the night was 'Cool Kids Belong Together', the hidden track from Fever to Tell.

You can't fake pleasure, no matter what Meg Ryan says. By the end of the night, Karen looked worn out, but completely happy. Even Nick ( trying hard to remain deadpan and stoic ) and Brian, were clearly enjoying themselves. It was highly apparent that all three of these guys truly love what they do for a living. That's the element that makes a concert brilliant, instead of just good.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.

Tonight I see the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs live. I bought their new album last week, and it was pretty good. Overall, even better than their last one. Nothing on it quite as good as Maps, but the album was better arranged and engineered, and I liked nearly every song on the album. If these guys are in for the long haul as they claim, I expect them to be producing brilliant, savagely original music in the next few years as they follow in the creative, anti-establishmentarian footsteps of Pearl Jam and Fugazi.

They're also supposed to be a killer live show, so I'm looking forward to tonight. I'll post more details on the show tomorrow.

Comfort.

Today is the first genuinely warm day I've experienced since arriving in Portland.

Here, Kittie, Kittie...

Thanks to S+P, I saw Kittie last night in their natural element, a small venue called Rock and Roll Pizza. Five bands played in all: A couple of lame screamo bands, a group called the Warriors, who did a halfway decent cover of 'Bulls on Parade', by Rage Against the Machine, a tight little metal/hardcore group called Inflikt, plus Kittie themselves.

Kittie rocked the house. There was a pretty decent pit going near the end. My left ear is still ringing a little. And for those of you who doubt: Yes, Morgan can still scream. Good stuff.

In other news, I've been banned in China. My response is posted here.

The End of an Era.

Today I am officially no longer an active duty member of the United States Air Force.

Houseguests.

I've had houseguests for the last week and a half or so, and I've had a really great time. Thanks guys. :)

In other news, the Dresden Dolls are coming to town in July. That will make at least three bands from my "must see" list this year alone, the other two being Deftones ( who were brilliant, btw ) and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who I will see in about two weeks. Sadly, it has been brought to my attention that Demented Are Go has cancelled their US tour. At least I got a refund on my tickets in a timely manner, which means I can eat this week. heh.