Chimpomatic

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Sala Heineken - Madrid

Halfway through their set, support band Dr. Dog announce that this is the last date of their European tour with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and give thanks for the opportunity of getting overseas and on the road with the lengthily titled headliners. And then it makes sense. They must be knackered. Having been pretty much blown away the last time I saw Dr. Dog, I couldn’t figure out why this show seemed so flat. The audience were smiling along, clearly amused by the idiot antics of the goofy frontmen kitted out in shades and woolly hats. But there was something missing, this was a performance that suggested ‘Just one more, then we’re out of here’.

The same could apply to the hugely anticipated CYHSY. Desperate punters, begging for tickets outside in the rain, hinted that the levels of hype already witnessed in their native New York and more recently London had spread to Spain. Opening with the first ’song’ on the album (not the eponymous vaudevillian number) and finishing with its closer and highlight Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood, with a few new tracks in between, they put on a solid show. But that was it: solid. A large part of the album’s appeal is the sense of character and fun running through it and I imagined the live show would capture this. But a largely static backing band flanked tired/shy singer Alec Ounsworth, as they worked through the numbers. This is not to say it was disappointing; the songs themselves are strong enough to grab and hold the attention, his unique vocals certainly captivate and being joined onstage by Dr. Dog and friends for the encore was definately a high point (quite literally as a Dog guitarist performed an exemplary solo from the shoulders of a burly roadie). Overall, would be worth checking out again - just to see how they operate with a full tank of gas.