Date With Destiny?

Yeah Yeah Yeahs; The Dirtbombs; The Black Lips
@Roseland Ballroom
New York, NY – May 3, 2006

I hadn’t expected on going to this show until by dumb luck (and frustration) I found out that the Dirtbombs had suddenly been added to the bill and had played the night before and were playing again. My girlfriend and I were able to score tickets and we went. The YYY’s were a little slower paced at times than they were at the Bowery in February but for the most part they had the same mesmerizing set full of musical lusciousness and visceral energy. Sometimes the new music is so sexual it isn’t funny. They doled out “Pin” and “Y Control” again and finished off the show with “Date With the Night”, but again focused on the new material, which has proven to be one of the best albums of the year. “Phenomena”, “Honeybear” and the single “Gold Lion” are absolutely fantastic songs.
So how were the Dirtbombs? As usual they were the best. There is no other word for it…the best. It was awkward seeing them play in such a large venue (the loud but sparse cheers the band received upon coming on stage prompted Mick Collins to say “Thanks for knowing who we are”). We had balcony seats, however, so it was also a nice change to be able to visually take in the entire band as a whole (and we were treated to Ben Blackwell doing a headstand while playing the drums for our troubles). It was also different to hear the band from enough distance as to not have ringing ears by set’s end.
The Black Lips – who I finally was able to see a full set of – started off with a rocking song that recalled twangy country 60’s rock as done by garage bands but the rest of their set was an ode to the 13th Floor Elevators, case closed. That’s not necessarily a bad thing however.

The sound is bad and my stupid "woooo" is picked up towards the end, but here is a visual presentation of what it's like during a Dirtbombs show:


A taste of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs:


(videos by Roxxan H)