In the music dictionary, right after awesome and before the word god, is the two-word definition to badassery: Karen O. The front woman for rock group the Yeah Yeah Yeahs defines what any man or woman in rock should aspire to be. 
Dressed in a sequined outfit with a red and blue spiral pattern and cords draping her arms as faux sleeves, her neon green leggings reflected the lights from her the glow luchador mask she occasionally darned. Karen O is as bold in outfit as she is in her songs.
However, with how memorable Karen O was, it made it very easy to forget the show’s openers. That isn’t to say they were awful, just not quite up to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs standard. David Pajo, better known Papa M and touring as an extra musician for Yeah Yeah Yeahs, opened with covers of the Misfits. A talented musician in a full-piece, but watching a lone guy never looking up from his guitar doing less than enthusiastic covers of the Misfits was not the way to kick off this show.
Grand Ole Party was a vast improvement. The San Diego three-piece is fronted by singer and drummer, Kristin Gundred. The coordination when doing both of those is not an easy task and she did it with her head held high (or maybe it just looked like it was being held high by the seated singer who looked tall compared to her surprisingly short band mates) as she sang a few songs from Humanimals mixed with many new tunes. Gundred has a voice similar to Karen O, but tends to go for a smoother croon. If the two women were the cartoon angel and demon consciences on your shoulder, Gundred would be the former and Karen O would be the latter, and both a very seductive result.
Yet even after Grand Ole Party won over the crowd, the second the lights dropped and the mysterious white orb on stage swiveled around to reveal a giant eye a la “Zero,” all mind’s were focused on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I would say all eyes were focused, but for as nice as the newly remodeled Beaumont Club is, slanted or tiered floors were not part of the remodeling plan and many in the sold out crowd struggled to see the stage. Despite this minor (or major depending on where you stood) inconvenience, the show was still phenomenal.
Giving up on the neck strains just made it more fun and a lot easier to throw up arms and dance as songs from It’s Blitz, the radio and more from past albums and radio singles alike reverberated through the venue. For those who could see, they got to see some amazing stage theatrics. Karen O often opted to hit her long notes by biting down on the microphone and letting out a chilling yowl. After every swig of water, she arched her back and spit a fountain straight up into the fog, showing she can quite easily keep up with any man in rock. It’s probably safe to assume that after hr performance, every man and woman in that venue had a crush on her.
Though she definitely was the heart of the show, Karen O was accompanied by several musicians who complimented her theatrics well. The crowd loved everything about this show and the band did, too. After dedicating the encore performance of “Maps” to the openers and Kansas City, Karen O reaffirmed her love for KC yelling, “I DOOOO” after singing, “They don’t love you like I love you.” After debating whether to end with “Tick,” “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker,” or “Date With the Night,” “Date” was finally picked and the crowd went off into the night completely enamored from that phenomenal show.
Set List:
Heads Will Roll
Miles Away
Dull Life
Gold Lion
Black Tongue
Pin
Cheated Hearts
Skeletons
Hysteric
Honey Bear
Zero
Y Control
//
Maps
Date With the Night
Band Info:
David Pajo: website | myspace
Grand Ole Party: myspace
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: website | myspace
Photos by: Joshua Hammond
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