Concert Review: Wye Oak with Deer Tick at Union Hall

Last night Spang and I went to one of our favorite places in Brooklyn to see one of my favorite new bands, Wye Oak. After several trials and tribulations we found ourselves there towards the end of the Deer Tick set, and they were having so much fun. Although I am really not familiar a lot of their work (read: i listened to like 2 songs on myspace) they were tooooons of fun. We heard a couple of songs and then they closed with a cover of "La Bamba" (or whatever that songs is called).

The set was too loud in my opinion. I usually don't need earplugs, but man, I seriously ran to the bar to get a pair (read: the elephant is old). I introduced myself to Jenn, the singer of Wye Oak when we arrived, as she was sitting at the merch table all by herself. She was warm and friendly, and introduced me to her drummer, Andy. Both absolutely adorabe. She commented that she is turning 22 on wednesday, and I was shocked. She is so poised and mature for 21, would have never guessed.

So Wye Oak is a two person band (much like the Dodos) which gives them a clean sound where Jenn's smoky, airy voice defines their M.O. On stage they are absolutely as strong as they are in recording, really digging into their music. They aren't at all heavy, and on stage they maintain their fluidity beautifully. Like everyone else, I am most familiar with "Obituary" and "If Children". My lack of familiarity allowed their other songs to really show me who they are. "Regret" was particularly haunting, in that depressing, beautiful, glowing hurtful way. When they finished their set, Jenn blushingly admitted that they only knew one other song, which they gracefully played for us. They have a defined sound (namely Jenn's voice) and I don't feel like there is going to be a lot of change from that sound in the future, but that challenge will force them to push into new, currently unexplored areas.

Their album If Children is out on Merge.

<3 the Elephant