Sonic Youth Is Served on First Night of Matador at 21

Posted on Oct 2nd 2010 3:00PM by Jason Cohen
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If the Matador at 21 concerts are as much about the newer artists as past favorites, Friday night belonged to one of the label's more recent signings: a plucky little band from New York City known as Sonic Youth, which signed to Matador in 2008 after almost two decades on Geffen.

"This is from our 12th Matador record back in 1991," Lee Ranaldo joked before his lead vocal turn on 'Mote.' Playing as a four-piece (recent utility man Mark Ibold is occupied in Pavement), Sonic Youth didn't play a single song from their only Matador release, 2009's 'The Eternal.' Instead, they stormed brilliantly through the first third of their back catalog.

This made perfect sense on a symbolic level. Way back in 1985, Sonic Youth put out their initial college radio breakthrough record 'Bad Moon Rising' on Homestead, the label Matador co-president Gerard Cosloy worked at in those days. Every fan of Matador grew up on (or later discovered) Sonic Youth, and there's probably not one band playing Matador at 21 that wasn't influenced by records like 'Evol,' 'Sister' and 'Daydream Nation' (all of which were represented heavily last night). For Guitar Wolf, Chavez and F***ed Up, opening for Sonic Youth is like the Beatles getting to play with Little Richard.

And Friday's show was as if the 1969 Beatles came out and launched into 'Revolver.' Opening with 'Tom Violence,' from 'Evol,' the band was in precise, dynamic and high-volume form, with drummer Steve Shelley's unparalleled power driving the guitar attack. Old favorite kept following old favorite: 'Schizoprenia,' '(I've Got A) Catholic Block' and 'Stereo Sanctity' from 'Sister,' 'The Sprawl' and an explosive 'Cross the Breeze' from 'Daydream Nation' and even the more "recent" 1994 hit 'Bull in the Heather,' which was originally inspired by, and on this night, dedicated to Pavement's Bob Nastanovich. Most appropriately of all, they closed the show with 'Death Valley '69' from 'Bad Moon Rising.'

Earlier, the reunited Chavez played to a crowd that showed considerable familiarity with their material, in a set that was both tight and poignant: frontman Matt Sweeney noted that guitarist Clay Tarver's teenage children barely knew their father used to play in bands. Watching from the side of the stage, a head-bobbing Stephen Malkmus showed more enthusiasm then he did during his own band's show.

Watch streaming video of Matador at 21 courtesy of MySpace below.