yeasayer in fog

In addition to the previous night’s Vampire Weekend performance, I also was able to catch Yeasayer at the Sixth and I Synagogue. The dry venue that night combined with the religious nature of the venue left the crowd mostly serene at the beginning of Yeasayer’s performance. One got the feeling that a spiritual event was on its way, and Yeasayer delivered. Their psychedelic, futuristic, and “middle-eastern” tinged indie rock gradually built the crowd to a crescendo and aroused them off of their pews.

The highlights of the set were the new material throughout the opening, followed by crowd favorite tracks like “2080″ that really infused some energy into the audience. I am impressed by the direction of the group. They were not perturbed by the seeming lack of energy during the new material, and the audience’s unfamiliarity, and they ended up playing what might be my most memorable live experience of this year.

I am super excited for the next release from Yeasayer, which I anticipate in the beginning half of 2009. The performance’s psychedelic nature combined with the colorful soft glow of a multitude of moon globes was a transcendent experience that simply must be seen. Unfortunately, the boys are done for the year, but you can catch their simulate their live experience with videos and glow sticks for now. Hopefully, another professional video will hit soon as well, because the group was accompanied by a professional film crew for their set at the synagogue.

Here are a couple of videos of the aforementioned new tracks including “Tightrope” and “Ambling Alp” for your enjoyment…

“Tightrope” – Yeasayer

“Ambling Alp” – Yeasayer

“2080″ & “Tightrope” – Yeasayer – Courtesy of Blogotheque