10% for the 10%: Yuck
Seriously short concert reviews for serious concertgoers, our new column “10% for the 10%” takes on a band’s live experience in ten categories, each representing 10 percent of a possible 100 percent score, in 140-character, Twitter-friendly reviews. For our first installment of this brand new column, we give the rundown on UK indie rockers Yuck, and what fans can expect from their live show.
Yuck
Radio Radio – Indianapolis, IN
Choice of Venue: Dark lighting, walls decorated with soundfoam & no backstage made mood grunge enough; full length bar & lounge seating classy enough.
8 of 10%
Audience: Venue was packed from wall to wall with a friendly bunch that knew every word to a Feb. 2011 release. No fights. Tons of sweat and smiles.
10 of 10%
Sound Quality: Chose a venue that more than handled their roaring overdose of pedalpower. I think the crowd understood Blumburg’s lyrics better in person.
8 of 10%
Opening Act: Solo effort Porcelain Raft’s pedal mastery and falsetto were out of this world, but the short set from the lone opener ended too abruptly.
6 of 10%
Set Up: 2 rows: drums and amps in back, mics, pedals and guitarists in front. Spacing was adequate, so that all members were seen throughout venue.
8 of 10%
Set list: 11 songs from LP and demos sounded spot-on to the recordings, but that’s quite alright when your efforts are known for being lo-fi.
9 of 10
Showmanship: Front line didn’t venture far from their pedals, but you felt their passion anyway. Besides, Rogoff packs enough energy for the lot of em.
7 of 10%
Crowd Interaction: Yuck don’t small talk much, but their nonchallant shmoozing with the crowd before and after their set more than made amends.
7 of 10%
Shirts, Merch and Sales: Offered an expanded re-release of their acclaimed debut in CD and vinyl, and Yuck didn’t push too hard to sell.
7 of 10%
Meets Expectations of Hype: Brilliantly executing their set and hanging with the crowd post-show, the crowd still could have played a few more tracks, perhaps a cover.
8 of 10%
Total Score: 78%