[Photos courtesy of “Anonymous”]

Sonic Youth long ago reached that rare point in an artist’s career when they can do exactly whatever they want, whenever they want.  Two great  examples happened last week: a day after they released two incredible tracks on the glowingly-reviewed vinyl-only retrospective box set by the North Carolina imprint Three Lobed Recordings, the band dropped into the radically revamped Williamsburg waterfront and its row of luxury condos and played a set of older and rarely-played cuts.  Albums that have gone almost-untouched on recent tours saw the light of day: “Brave Men Run,” “Ghost Bitch” and (the more-commonly played) “Death Valley ’69” from Bad Moon Rising were on the menu.  Dirty – regarded, rightly or wrongly as the band’s most “commercial” record – wore its age well on an extended “Sugar Kane” and the infectious “Drunken Butterfly,” with Kim spinning round the stage like a madwoman twenty to thirty years her junior.  “Starfield Road,” from the relatively unappreciated Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star, made the cut, alongside classics like “Kill Yr Idols” (originally from the Kill Yr Idols EP) and “Cotton Crown” (from Sister).  Late-period material similarly seemed at home; “What We Know” sounded just as vital among these gems as it has at recent shows where the band played almost exclusively new material.  And, for good measure, the band’s second encore (of three) was the title track to Thurston’s mid-90s solo effort, Psychic Hearts.  Other than their deep-as-shit discography, Sonic Youth don’t feel like a “classic” band, with energy, enthusiasm and intensity that could put most crews of 22-year-olds to shame.  They can carry a show and rule the night anywhere in this city – be it United Palace, Terminal 5, Music Hall, or an outdoor stage facing the bright lights of Manhattan.

The show wrapped with the feral noise squall of “Inhuman,” as Moore howled at the soulless towers of steel and glass and the band’s immense blasts of feedback threatened to shake the junk to its foundations.  A lot in this world feels built on a shaky foundations these days.  Some artists have the power to remind you that some things still are real, and good, and right.  Fifty years from now, those architectural monstrosities will probably be rubble.  Sonic Youth will be a monument to their era.

Johnny Fried Chicken Boy and I recorded this set with multiple mobile rigs that were mixed together after the show (thanks to page for the help with the sync).  Hours of post-processing work have gone into making this recording sound as good as possible, given the limitations of recording an outdoor show, our location in the venue, and the enthusiasm of the crowd.  It is by no means our best capture of Sonic Youth (see the links to Terminal 5 and Music Hall above for those), but it is by far the most interesting setlist we have recorded for the site.  Samples are included, and all files are tagged for easy importing into your favorite music software.  Enjoy!

Direct download of the complete show in MP3 [HERE]

Direct download of the complete show in FLAC [HERE] or [HERE]
If either of the links are no longer working, email nyctaper with a request for the download location of the files.

Stream the full set

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Sonic Youth
2011-08-12
Williamsburg Waterfront
Brooklyn, NY, USA

Recorded by Johnny Fried Chicken Boy and acidjack
Produced by acidjack

Source 1: DPA 4061>Church Audio CA9200>Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1)
Source 2: Audix 1280c>Church Audio “active” cables>SP-SPSB-8>Edirol R-09 (24/48)
Mastering: 2x24bit WAV>Audition (resampling, EQ, effects)>Audacity (sync sources, mix down)>Audition (EQ)>Audacity (tracking, set fades, amplify and balance, smooth peaks, reduce clapping)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
[Total Time 1:33:00]
01 Brave Men Run
02 Death Valley ’69
03 Cotton Crown
04 Kill Yr Idols
05 Eric’s Trip
06 Sacred Trickster
07 [banter]
08 Calming the Snake
09 [banter]
10 Starfield Road
11 I Love Her All the Time
12 Ghost Bitch
13 Tom Violence
14 [banter]
15 What We Know
16 [banter]
17 Drunken Butterfly
18 [encore break 1]
19 Flower
20 Sugar Kane
21 [encore break 2]
22 Psychic Hearts
23 [encore break 3]
24 Inhuman

PLEASE SUPPORT Sonic Youth, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from the Store at their website [here].  If you wish to buy their two latest tracks, “Out & In” and “In & Out”, check out the 4xLP box set Not the Spaces You Know, But Between Them on Three Lobed Recordings [HERE]