Concert Review/Photos: tUnE-yArDs @ Union Transfer
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Like a shot to the dance cortex of everyone present.
[ 6/15 ] Three-quarters of the way through the transformative tUnE-yArDs concert on Sunday at Union Transfer, the sold-out hall seemed to be swaying back and forth. The soul-affirming refrain “Don’t take my life away” from “Bizness” echoed from the main floor to the balcony and was like a shot to the dance cortex of everyone present. Sweat, smiles and unfettered joy poured from Merrill Garbus, Nate Brenner and their touring members to the crowd and back from start to finish.
With eyes big and small staring from the stage, tUnE-yArDs delivered their unique mix of sounds and styles. The Haitian influences that simmer throughout 2014’s Nikki Nack were very apparent here. The centerpiece of the night was “Water Fountain,” the group’s infectious social activism number about water rights and power. But the percussive threads connecting them to the volatile island nation were on display from the first song of the night, “Sink-O,” onward.
Calling the crowd “precious” and praising Philadelphians for always bringing their dancing shoes, Garbus was quite the ringleader of sound and experience. Could everyone in attendance have figured out the rich subtexts of her songs in order to appreciate them on multiple levels? No, of course not. (I’m still wrapping my head around much of it). With all great art comes multiple levels of discovery. What makes tUnE-yArDs such a vital purveyor of modern music is how many new rewards will be paid out to those who peel away the hip-swaying and lush beats to find out something more about the world. For now, the blood-soaked dollar of “Water Fountain,” the memories of surreal stage props and the hard-earned body odor after a 90-minute workout will more than suffice.
The North Carolina duo Sylvan Esso got the crowd in the dance mood with their opening set.
SETLIST
- Sink-O
- Hey Life
- Gangsta
- Real Thing
- Powa
- Time of Dark
- Real Live Flesh
- Stop That Man
- Bizness
- Water Fountain
- Find a New Way
ENCORE
- Fiya
