Yeah Yeah Yeahs Bring the Love to Reading and Leeds

Posted on Aug 31st 2009 5:15PM by Rebecca Laurence

Yeah Yeah Yeahs joined in with Reading Sunday's last blast festival spirit by performing a set as loud and as colourful as one of Karen O's notorious stage costumes.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs had played Leeds the day before where the crowd was equally wild. Nick Zinner told Spinner before their show, "We had one fan with his face painted. He was looking like the werewolf from our video for 'Heads Will Roll'."

And what of the frontwoman's Reading outfit? O would only tell Spinner "I have a new costume, which doesn't have a headdress" and when she emerged, her outfit didn't disappoint -- an eclectic combination of studded leather boots, inflatable shoulders and what can only be described as a sort of psychedelic nappy.

The Reading crowd's crazy vibe had the singer repeatedly cracking up during the set, with one amorous fan sitting on his friend's shoulders with "Karen O" painted on his bare chest.

The love-in was mutual, too. "We got a lot of love for Reading Sunday," boomed O, giving shout outs to her friends. "Let's hear it for [touring bandmate] David Pajo. He's having a baby in a couple days," she announced, before playing 'Maps.'

The band whizzed through 'Show Your Bones' highlights 'Cheated Hearts,' 'Phenomena' and 'Gold Lion,' as well as 'Fever to Tell'-era favourites 'Pin' and 'Date With the Night.' The biggest cheers came for 'It's Blitz!' songs, including 'Heads Will Roll' and 'Zero,' during which O donned her famous 'KO' leather jacket, Zinner took his customary photos of the audience and inflatable eyeballs launched into the crowd like malevolent beach balls.

The Reading and Leeds shows came on the back of a long summer that saw Yeah Yeah Yeah's step up to the plate as replacement Lollapalooza headliners. When the Beastie Boys pulled out after Adam Yauch's cancer diagnosis, the pressure was on YYYs to perform. "It was one of the best shows of the summer for us," O told Spinner. "We'd done a lot of festivals this summer, but I guess there was a lot of speculation as to whether we could fill their shoes. We could never fill their shoes."

Self-deprecation aside, Yeah Yeah Yeahs have come a long way, and O offers the band's upcoming Radio City Music Hall show in New York as evidence. "It's a huge deal for us, starting out as an art-rock band, making it to Radio City," the singer told Spinner. "It sold out in half an hour. We could have sold two. I think one is enough as it is -- it's going to be a night to remember."

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Thom Yorke of Radiohead performs live on the main stage during the third and final day of Reading Festival on August 30, 2009 in Reading, England. Reading Music Festival 2009 - Day 3 Reading, England United Kingdom August 30, 2009 Photo by Simone Joyner/WireImage.com To license this image (58208265), contact WireImage.com

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Karen O of New York based alternative rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs performs live on the main stage during the third and final day of Reading Festival on August 30, 2009 in Reading, England. Reading Music Festival 2009 - Day 3 Reading, England United Kingdom August 30, 2009 Photo by Simone Joyner/WireImage.com To license this image (58207708), contact WireImage.com

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Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend performs live on the main stage during the third and final day of Reading Festival on August 30, 2009 in Reading, England. Reading Music Festival 2009 - Day 3 Reading, England United Kingdom August 30, 2009 Photo by Simone Joyner/WireImage.com To license this image (58207764), contact WireImage.com

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READING, ENGLAND - AUGUST 30: Thom Yorke of Radiohead performs on stage on Day 3 of Reading Festival 2009 on August 30, 2009 in Reading, England. (Photo by Andy Sheppard/Redferns) *** Local Caption *** Thom Yorke

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