Sonic Youth/Entrance Band - 9:30 Club - July 7 2009

The Entrance Band - Saw this three piece at Terrastock last year and was impressed. I enjoyed them again. They aren't a perfect fit (who is other than a wannabe clone?) with Sonic Youth but they are a good act and went over well, although a bit politely. The guitarist/vocalist plays a right handed strung guitar left handed ala Dick Dale and Albert King. I always find that fascinating for a start. He and his rhythm section perform spacey west-coast psychedelic jams that seem to be more of an updating of the San Francisco scene rather than Los Angeles where they hail. Solid set and he even handled a broken string without a hitch--must be something to do with the upside down/backward style.

Sonic Youth - Fourth time for me. Third time at this club, well second as the first was at the old 9:30 Club locale in 1987. I seem to hit a winner on the even number shows. The second was at CBGBs and they were breaking out Daydream Nation at that show which I really enjoyed. I found their show a couple years ago adequate, but being that it was the first of two shows in one night, it felt light and crammed into a tight timeslot. No problems here as they did their two sold out shows on successive nights and had plenty of time to do everything they wanted. Their energy was good, the songs really rocked--some good newer ones and a few from the classic back catalogue. The sound was very good--maybe a tad light on vocals, but it roared while allowing me to hear the intricate parts. A classic band still with plenty of fire.

Quote of the Night - From a guy near me directed toward the opener... "I saw you at Terrastock!" Yes, so did I. I was hoping to chat with him a bit, but I missed him. And then you become a sardine in a sold-out 9:30 Club show.