Ranalli: For Yeasayer, quality of concert determined by venue

This summer, I was lucky enough to watch Yeasayer perform at Lollapalooza in Chicago. Last… This summer, I was lucky enough to watch Yeasayer perform at Lollapalooza in Chicago. Last Saturday, I — along with thousands of others — saw Yeasayer perform at Virgin Mobil’s FreeFest in Columbia, Maryland. This Tuesday, I — along with about 650 others — saw the band perform at a sold-out Mr. Small’s Fun House right here in Pittsburgh.

After driving through multiple states — six, to be exact — to watch each performance, I was proud to conclude that Yeasayer’s Pittsburgh show was, hands down, the best experience of the three. I came to this conclusion via the scientific method.

Hypothesis: The Venue Changes Everything

Variable 1: Weather

I believe most people at Lollapalooza saw the Sunday morning rain as a burden. By Yeasayer’s afternoon show, however, the blue skies and sunshine were also accompanied by unbearable heat.

“The heat is making me delusional,” vocalist Chris Keating said before their final song, “Ambling Alp.”

The same heat wave seemed to sweep across Maryland during FreeFest as well. At close to 100 degrees, I saw two people pass out and get carried away on stretchers as the members of Yeasayer continued performing in their sweat-stained tank tops.

At Mr. Small’s, however, the mix of the fall night air that blew through the open doors and the air conditioning made the sold-out venue cool and comfortable.

Variable 2: Visuals

Both music festivals were lacking in distinctive images. Since Yeasayer played in the afternoon at both outdoor venues, the hot rays of the sun replaced the wildly distorted visual show. The bandmates were in full view the entire time, and the suspense was lacking.

Last Tuesday night, however, Yeasayer invaded Mr. Small’s with psychedelic lights and fog that complimented each song. The band members were hidden by the darkness in between most numbers, but they never stopped playing. It added something to the performance and set them apart from other bands. During the song “The Children,” while Keating sang with his electronically pitch-shifted demonic voice, the stage was illuminated in an equally chilling red light.

Variable 3: The Crowd

Both of Yeasayer’s festival performances at Lollapalooza and FreeFest were swarming with hundreds upon hundreds of attendees, but don’t let that fool you — people were in and out: watching, laying, talking, drinking, laughing, smoking and dancing.

Also, the crowd had choices. At Lollapalooza, fans chose between Yeasayer, Chiddy Bang, Hockey and The Verve Pipe, while at FreeFest, the band overlapped with Joan Jett, The Blackhearts and Neon Indian. Also, the majority of the crowd stood in place when Yeasayer left the stage at 5 p.m., anxiously awaiting MGMT, who came on at 6 p.m.

The crowd at the band’s Pittsburgh performance was lively and excited. I arrived at Mr. Small’s a little after 9 p.m. The tickets had been sold out for hours, and the venue was shoulder-to-shoulder with eager fans. I can use the word “fans” here because that’s exactly what these people were. The majority of the audience sang all the words song after song while dancing the awkward concert bob. There were even those who took up at least four standing spots just so they could feel the rhythm.

Variable 4: The Sound

Outdoor venues tend to lack the depth and richness of a smaller venue like Mr. Small’s. The music tends to trail off, sometimes even mixing with the acts from the stages nearby, and it’s very easy to hear the conversations of the people next to you — if you’re even lucky enough to find a spot up close. Yeasayer’s songs are comprised of many details and played with bizarre instruments that can’t be heard to their fullest while outside, surrounded by thousands of people.

At capacity, Mr. Small’s fits 650 people. Large sets of amps framed the stage, which caused the sound to echo and bounce off the high ceilings of the former chapel. I felt the vibrations up through the wooden floorboards, and couldn’t hear anyone else’s rendition of the songs over the pure volume of each bandmember’s instrument.

Yeasayer’s sound is experimental and original to say the least, but to close it into a small space with such an enthusiastic atmosphere was what made the experience.

Conclusion:

As I watched Keating and his fellow bandmates dance in circles and throw their hands in the air at Mr. Small’s, I realized that it doesn’t matter how many people attend a show — it’s how dedicated they are. Yeasayer absorbed the energy of each fan and jammed it right back to the crowd, which made the Pittsburgh performance the most intimate and enjoyable of the three.