BY IAN HRABE
A year ago, on a whim, I saw Why? play the Jackpot. I never see bands on a whim. In those days, I had to have some sort of investment to fork over ten bucks to see a band, but having nothing else to do, I ended up watching Yoni Wolf put on one of the best shows I'd ever seen.
It wasn't necessarily the thrill of discovering a new band to obsess over, but it was how the one-man bandleader sold it. Wolf spent most of the set behind a small drum kit in front of the stage and stared out at the audience with a piercing gaze, which contrasted nicely with the humorous stage banter.
This time around, about a year later, Why? has dropped yet another album, Eskimo Snow, which is the furthest Wolf has strayed from the alt-hip-hop he began crafting with cLOUDDEAD in the late 90s.
Based on the nearly sold-out crowd at the Jackpot last night, Why? is huge now. This time around, Wolf was backed by a full band and assumed the role of frontman, delivering his lyrics like an emcee at half speed.
(Video after the jump.)
The band, comprising bass, guitar, Wurlitzer piano, vibes and drums, reproduced Wolf's arrangements with precision, in particular the minimalist elements on "A Sky For Shoeing Horses Under" which I'd assumed to be electronically produced.
During "Good Friday," which features Wolf's most intensely confessional lyrics, some jackass jumped up on stage and put his arm around Wolf, causing him to freak out a little bit and shove the guy towards the edge of the stage without breaking the flow of the song. Fortunately, everyone in the audience seemed embarrassed, as this is the kind of behavior that is off-putting to musicians when they start plotting out their next tour.
To the crowd's delight, Why?'s previous album, Alopecia, was more heavily represented than the album the band is touring in support of. Though I'd have liked to hear more tracks from 2005's Elephant Eyelash (they played only one), I really couldn't complain. The set was tight, the banter sparse but humorous, and though Wolf came off as being a bit distant from the audience, it wasn't enough to make the band's performance less than great.
At the very end, the audience was asked to vote on which would be the last song. It was between "By Torpedo or Chron's" and "These Few Presidents," and though I'd wanted to hear the latter and the crowd voted the other way, they ended up playing both. Though he's moved away from hip-hop, Yoni Wolf's delivery is still reliant on flow. The best aspect of his songwriting is that he has a habit of saying things out loud that one would typically keep to themselves. For instance, few singers discuss such topics as masturbating in art museum bathrooms or barfing in parking lots behind health food stores, and while discussing such things doesn't make Wolf a great songwriter, his handling them with wit and grace do. Though Why?'s music keeps drifting further and further away from the hip-hop it's rooted in, the addition of indie rock and chamber pop elements have made his music not only exciting from a critical point of view, but infinitely listenable.
Set List
January Twenty Something
These Hands
The Vowels Pt. 2
Good Friday
Song for a Sad Assassin
Against Me
The Fall of Mr. Fifths
Brook and Waxing
Rubber Traits
A Sky for Shoeing Horses Under
Twenty Eight
Eskimo Snow
The Hollows
By Torpedo or Chron's
These Few Presidents
Showing 1-6 of 6
I saw an Architect jump up, come down, and break the original Jackpot STAGE.
It was either Brandon Phillips or Mike Alexander. I can't remember - they were embrassed as hell, though.
I've seen it busted two separate times. On the first song when Arcade Fire played in 2004 Win Butler jammed the microphone stand through one of the ceiling tiles, causing it not only to split, but one of the clear grate things over one of the lights to fall on a member of the audience. Then someone punched a hole in the ceiling once, seeming to marvel at the fact that his fist went all the way through.
I've now missed Why? the past two times. I have no excuse.
Btw, the Jackpot is neck and neck with the Brick in the busted-ass-ceiling race.
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