Clap Your Hands Say Yeah/Architecture in Helsinki @ Rumsey Playfield, Central Park

I love you too, Alec.

Thus, last night's performance by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah ends Chapter Two or Act II of their story. The band continues on tour in October then off to Japan in November. It's been like this for a while -- CYHSY are no longer a NYC/Philly act. They've bucked the system and made music on their own terms. The end results -- multiple late night TV appearances and widespread distribution of their self-produced CD.

The performance, their largest gig in NYC to date, shows the band at the same skill level as they did back in April. They are better musicians and more comfortable with the "It" band status. They are able to expand upon their DIY music sound live, adding in some free-form jams before songs and making the sound seem larger. Alec, still acting like he just woke up, even showed his chops on the guitar with some Hendrix like riffs. Also, he's a little bit more relaxed as the lead man, taping his foot around and even, dare he do it, leave from behind the mic to step closer to the edge of the stage. How daring of you. To top it off, his banter include: "This is the last song ... okay, I have to be honest ... it might not be."

What can we expect music wise from them next year? Some new tunes produced by Dave Fridmann. Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be done on the band's terms.

First time with the Aussie outfit called Architecture in Helsinki. It dawned on me during their lively and impressive set that we might have a trend at hand in music. Let's call is ramshackle pop -- it's defined as using any sort of instruments and electrics at your disposal to create eclectic pop music. Others in this genre include Mystery Jets, Psapp and Guillemots. The founding fathers of this trend could be Talking Heads and They Might Be Giants

Watching Architecture live is like viewing a volleyball game -- after each set, the members rotate. The band takes turns handling drum machines, guitars, horns, drums and keyboards. It must keep them on their toes. What they are trying to create is music without boundaries -- embracing different tempo changes and odd flourishes with programmed beats. The result is pop music for the head set. "Do the Whirlwind" could be one of the most fun songs of the year. You can't miss with that killer melody. They cross genres within each song, starting with a ska vibe, then delving into more tropical and tribal sounds. Each song has a distinct tone, but the threadline is their sense of fun with experimentation.

Comments

[johnny peckerwood]

what was the dylan cover they played last night? first song of the encore?