Spirit Desire

Last night I ventured out west in Sydney to Newtown to see Sonic Youth perform Daydream Nation, their Magnum opus, released in 1988.

Newtown is very different from Manly. Much more like Camden than St. Albans. The venue, The Enmore Theatre, was great; similar in size and feel to Brixton Academy with a great atmosphere. The same can't be said about the opening act The Scientists. I've never heard them before and hopefully I will never hear them again.

Sonic, on the other hand, were magnificent. When the first tones of Teenage Riot started ringing out I got goose-bumps. The sound was crisp clear and not too loud (important for an old cod like me up in the seated section). While Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley have aged with dignity, Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore look exactly like twenty years ago. I'm not sure, but I suspect there is a painting of Kim and Thurston by Basil Hallward somewhere.