Kansas City Blog

The reputation that Solombrino’s band rips off the Yeah Yeah Yeahs left some people snickering at last night’s line-up at The Granada. On the way to the show, I heard someone cast the Beautiful Bodies as “the Nickelback of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.” Incidentally, that guy had never actually seen the Bodies live.

Even considering how amateurish anyone might come off compared with Karen O., last night was a good introduction. I’ve never seen the Bodies perform better. Whether from nervousness or just not being drunk, Solombrino didn’t seem as out of control as usual. Although she still got in the faces of the front row and eventually threw herself atop the crowd, her antics didn’t get in the way of her singing. The rest of the band played loud and tight but managed not to drown out Solombrino. Toward the end of the set, she released a bunch of balloons on the audience. The spectacle forshadowed the madness still to come.

If the Beautiful Bodies are Kansas City’s Yeah Yeah Yeahs, then the Ssion is its Gogol Bordello. I actually hadn’t seen the Ssion before last night, but I had an idea of what to expect: synth, drag and “Street Jizz.” I hadn’t realized how important the video component was to the Ssion’s show. A giant screen behind the band illustrated the songs with wacky visuals – a pile of shit, men dancing and kissing, the asshole-ish entrance to a cave. Cody Critcheloe often sang right in time with a Borat-like, projected image of himself. At times, it was hard to tell what was prerecorded and what was happening live, but it didn’t matter. The Ssion was pure fun.

I honestly wondered how the Yeah Yeah Yeahs would top Critcheloe's homoerotic dance party. But when Karen O. finally emerged, garland draped from her head, it was obvious who had sold out The Granada on a Wednesday night.

Whereas the Beautiful Bodies and the Ssion are all sex, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are something more. Leggy as she is, Karen O is almost stripped of sex by her guttural vocals and stick-thin figure. She resembles Marilyn Manson, circa the androgynous Mechanical Animals cover. It’s as if Karen O puts on the cleavage-baring costumes to confirm for everyone that, yes, she is female.

Last night, her movements and voice seemed almost serpentine. The garland headdresses were a recurring theme. She’d turn her back to the crowd, put on a Mardi Gras mask decorated with garland, then spin around, strands of shine streaming down her face and back. “It’s been a long time, Lawrence” was another frequent refrain. She said it every time as though she hadn’t yet addressed the audience.

The set lasted almost an hour and featured drummer Brian Chase, guitarist Nick Zinner and another, puffy-haired acoustic guitarist. They played a mishmash of songs spanning Fever to Tell and Show Your Bones, Karen O’s voice always piercing the din. For slow songs, she sang into the mic and held a green light bulb up to her face. As if we didn’t already realize that she looks good in the limelight.