Yeah Yeah Yeahs Concludes Tour With 3-Night Residency In N.Y.C.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

credit: Jason Al Taan

The final show of Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Hidden in Pieces tour this past Wednesday evening at New York City’s Beacon Theatre wasn’t so much a concert but a triumphant homecoming. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the acclaimed indie rock trio’s formation, which explains why there was a feeling of magic and love in the air — even Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ compelling lead singer Karen O gave a shoutout to the audience towards the end of the show: “You guys are on fire!…New York City, what a night! Who would’ve thought!”

Since their emergence in 2000 in New York City, which was followed three years later by their now-classic debut album, Fever to Tell, the band of Karen O, drummer Brian Chase and guitarist Nick Zinner has gone on to become one of the most important indie rock bands of the last 25 years. Along with groups such as The National, Interpol and LCD Soundsystem, Yeah Yeah Yeahs led the city’s post-punk revival scene, which was immortalized in Lizzy Goodman’s 2017 book Meet Me in the Bathroom. Their last album, 2022’s Cool It Down, was at the time the group’s first new studio record in almost 10 years.

For their Hidden in Pieces tour (whose name is taken from the song “Isis,” off their 2007 Is Is EP), the group performed three consecutive shows at the Beacon with some slight variations in the setlist (see here and here). Augmented by a string section and additional backing musicians, Yeah Yeah Yeahs delivered a balanced career overview featuring their popular songs and more.

The show started quite majestically with “In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)” from David Lynch’s 1977 film Eraserhead, before segueing into “Blacktop” from the Cool It Down album. Afterwards, the 90-minute show consisted of punkish and exuberant rockers (“Miles Away,” “Cheated Hearts,” “Despair,” “Turn Into”) and stripped-down and midtempo cuts (“Gold Lion,” Spitting Off the Edge of the World.”). The band also delivered a poignant cover of Björk’s “Hyperballad,” and unearthed a deep cut, “Hysteric,” from the 2009 It’s Blitz! album.

Of course, the favorite “Maps” elicited feverish cheers from the fans when the band launched into that song; that was later followed by another popular rocking track, “Y Control.” Yeah Yeah Yeahs later returned for the encore to perform “Burning” and “Zero,” the latter concluding the evening with glorious verve.

The alchemy among the three band members remained intact after a quarter of a century together: O with her commanding voice and dazzling stage presence; Zinner’s buzzing, angular guitar sound; and Chase’s propulsive and explosive drumming were all in full force Wednesday night. In a moment of gratitude, O offered heartwarming advice to the audience in between numbers: “Be tender. Keep your heart open in these crazy (expletive) times! Music makes everything better. It’s like our small offering to you because we are humbled to serve New York.” Judging by the cheers throughout the show, the feeling was mutual from the audience.

Setlist

Blacktop (with In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song) intro)

Miles Away

Gold Lion

Hyperballad (Björk cover)

Cheated Hearts

Isis

Despair

Skeletons

Spitting Off the Edge of the World

Hysteric

Maps

Turn Into

Y Control

Encore:

Burning

Zero