Thurston Moore Brings the Noise, Sort of

"Look down there, look at that amazingly ugly crowd," one concertgoer perched in the VIP section was overheard whispering to her significant other. And though seemingly based in over generalized pretentiousness, this onlooker's observation contained premise; last night (Sept. 26), Brooklyn's freshly renovated Music Hall of Williamsburg venue housed a crowd chock full of raggedy, unsightly dudes sporting all flavors of tattered post-grunge garb and appearing to have just rolled out of bed, hair matted against heads across the floor. And soon, following a brief and drone filled set from opener Christina Carter, one of their own emerged, a near mirror image of his disheveled fan base: the towering Thurston Moore. Ah, the ironic glamour of rock stardom.

Moore, supporting Trees Outside the Academy, his first solo outing since 1995's Psychic Hearts, which marks a departure as he chiefly sheds this electric, fuzzed over noodling for more conventional songwriting, hit the stage clad in layers of crosshatched stripes and flannels and without much chatter, kicked into a set showcasing the bulk of his new record. Though stripped of an ocean of noise, the chord progressions, high pitched pings, tunings, and often song structures of Academy give heed to Sonic Youth material, but here, with the volume and chaos toned down, Moore's voice and lyrics, as well as the minutiae of his songwriting, are thrust to the forefront. Along with SY sticksman Steve Shelley, Moore and crew, including violinist Samara Lubelski, rolled through "Fri/End," "Honest James," which featured Carter dueting with Moore offering layers of lyrics -- "What's inside your heart / I'll will always love you" -- and "American Coffin," all of which stood out as songwriting triumphs of auditory delight.

"I would like to dedicate this song to all the people who held back from drawing penises on my face on all of those posters out there," Moore said to his rock brethren, referring to the scores of bills surrounding the venue, "this songs about Ian Curtis." The band then dove into a fizzling acoustic rendition of instrumental track "Free Noise Among Friends," bringing smiles to the faces of fans seeking more than a glimmer of SY in the Academy material.

Later, returning to the stage for two encores, the first strolling through a few tunes from 1995's Psychic Hearts, including "Queen Bee and her Pals," and the second, a single song offering, poised Moore solo with just drum accompaniment from Shelley on the album's title track, "Psychic Hearts." Though now on electric guitar, Moore's voice rose and unveiled itself bare bones, his lyrical prose fired before a crowd of dudes, previously lost in the boyish rocker's characteristic sonic confusion, but now found.  

We asked: Thurston Moore's latest record, Trees Outside the Academy, is his first stab at chiefly acoustic driven material and thus a departure from anything he's previously offered; how do you feel these new, different tunes stand in comparison to his work with Sonic Youth?