In the twenty-plus years since the prime time of Meet Me in the Bathroom era New York City rock and rock, the trio of Karen O, Nick Zinner, and Brian Chase have withstood the test of time and remained one of the most vital groups of the era. As they look back on their twenty-five years together as a band, they decided to celebrate the occasion with their Hidden In Pieces Tour, a stripped down, largely acoustic, and at times orchestral show to highlight a side that many have never seen take the stage. Naturally, they turned it into one of the must-see shows of the year. As the theater faded to black and the band took the stage, Karen naturally made her delayed entrance as a blue hew lit the floor and she segued us sweetly into the start of the show. After a nearly acapella opener, the band took us back to 2000 and hit us with "Our Time," the divine closer from their debut EP and an instantly satisfying tune that immediately gives off the group's raw and unfiltered sound. Armed with mostly acoustic guitars and some softer drums, the band was ready to give us their version of an Unplugged set and it paid off with flying colors. At the top of the night, Karen carefully instructed the crowd that we were equally welcome to sit or stand for the show, but as soon as the back half of "Our Time" dropped, it was a rise to the feet quite unlike I've felt before as they hit home of this undisputed classic. The rest of the night saw them rip into their catalogue with surgical precision, selecting some of their greatest and underrated hits from over the decades and made sure that each of them took on a new life and meaning while still drawing upon all of the nostalgia that comes packed within each tune. "Gold Lion" from Show Your Bones was a natural fit for this setting, but when Karen took a seat early in the night to make us surrender to their mind-bending cover of Björk's "Hyperballad" things escalated quickly. Informing us that most of their early practices start with an acoustic guitar and their collective ideas, the almighty trio showed us their raw chops with stunning form and made sure to leave impressions that would last far beyond this special evening. A remarkable moment of the night came when the quartet on stage locked-in for a transcendent take on "Skeletons," the strings swelling as the wailing guitar skyrockted towards the sky while Chase's striking and anthemic snare hits kept a steady beat at the heart of the song before peaking in total triumph. Slowing things down for a moment, the band sunk into "Spitting Off the Edge of the World" from their great comeback record and with it came Mazzy Star elements of dreamy-folk and a touch of alternative guitar, an excellent contrast to the version on the album. Of course "Maps" was a standout that had the entire room singing along back at the band in one of the most emphatic moments of the night, the generational anthem once again claiming its place as a definitive song of a decade and entire moment in time. Closing things out with "Y Control" played via dueling acoustic guitars was stellar way to bring things to a finish and the room was pumped to be hearing the classic rage on even if it was on the softer side. Returning for an energized version of "Burning," again from their most recent record, had the crowd back on their feet and when the synths hit for "Zero," the room was ready to unleash all of their remaining enthusiasm. As giant inflatable eyeballs made their way into the crowd to be passed around like beach balls, the band brought things to an end with one final bang and another solid reminder of their consistency over the past quarter century. Twenty five years later and the urgency still adds to the excitement that make them one of the most important bands of the century and even a mostly-acoustic tour reminds us just how much they still rock.
Set list:
01 "Blacktop"
02 "Our Time"
03 "Gold Lion"
04 "Hyperballad" [Björk cover]
05 "Cheated Hearts"
06 "Warrior"
07 "Runaway"
08 "Skeletons"
09 "Spitting Off the Edge of the World"
10 "Maps"
11 "Turn Into"
12 "Y Control"
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13 "Burning"
14 "Zero"
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