Institute of Contemporary Arts

Yeasayer / Dragon Zynth

Date: 6 March 2008

Yeasayer. Photo: Gabriel Green

Jahan Nazeer 

Still getting over last night’s excitement, I found myself back at the ICA less than twenty four hours later for another ear catching line up. New York’s Yeasayer were passing through to play the first of two gigs here at the ICA supported tonight by Dragons of Zynth. Feeling like I’d never really left, I picked up my ticket and went through to the bar area where the atmosphere was lively and drinks were flowing nicely. I’ve got to say, there is always a great crowd of music fans and definitely some real characters coming down to these gigs at the ICA, tonight was no exception. Check out the ICA Music People Gallery to see some of our past party pals.

Dragons of Zynth were first up. As the crowd gathered in the main room, they took the stage in colourful outfits and opened with beating drums and heavy guitars. The sheer volume and ferocity of their sound had my ear drums fizzing and they’re hyper energy on stage was breathe taking. Switching at will between calm, almost trip-hop style, psychedelic passages and heavy, abrasive sections of metal-like guitar work, vocals were equally schizophrenic with some soul influences, some punk, some craziness and a tab of acid. Careering through an eclectic, and very loud, set, Dragons of Zynth often seemed to be just on the point of spinning out of control, but tight drumming and thick electric bass somehow kept them from losing their grip and crashing. Any sonic untidiness was besides the point really, this band are entertainers, and entertain they did. Jumping around the stage, bristling confidence, as passionate as aggressive, they thrilled the growing crowd with their attitude and charisma. A superb set.

With a short break between acts, there was just enough time to grab a drink before the main room was plunged into darkness for the next performance. Yeasayer are Anand Wilder, Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Keaton and Luke Fasano from New York. Their Myspace page describes their style as Visual/Gospel/Showtunes – whatever that means. Beginning gradually with hi-hats, sitar-like guitar and falsetto vocals, the band grabbed the attention of the now full main room. Synth breakdowns and rolling drums complemented the three way vocal collages as the energy filtered through to the crowd. Visually expressive, Yeasayer staggered and bopped along as they played their mix of indie-electro shakers, ballad-like psych rock pieces and funky folk stomps. There was a mixture of programmed and live drumming with sampled sound effects and some synth bass lines thrown in for good measure. The highlight from their set, for me, was the tune ‘Final Path’ with its apocalyptic visions of the future, catchy melodies and synth layers. Futuristic and traditional all at once, Yeasayer mesmerized the sell-out audience and kept things going nicely with some entertaining chitter-chatter between songs before bringing Dragons of Zynth out from backstage to help them perform their final track. As you can probably imagine, absolute madness ensued as the stage became a frenetic epicentre of rhythm and song. Arms, legs, drumsticks and shakers flew all over the place as two exciting New York bands joined forces for a climatic end to a thoroughly enjoyable night.

Dragon Zynth. Photo: Gabriel Green

Yeasayer. Photo: Gabriel Green