This past Saturday night, the once great and still really damn good Clap Your Hands Say Yeah came through town, playing the same venue they first played Seattle in, back in 2005. But much like the venue (The Crocodile), the band is similar to its 2005 counterpart only in name. The comparison to the Croc is quite apt, actually. Both band and venue have changed considerably in that time. They’ve both lost their scrappiness. They’ve exchanged their grime for a more polished, well-put-together display.
I’ve now seen CYSHY eight times, and the transformation of the band over the last nine years has been amazing to see first hand. Alec Ounsworth, the band’s principle songwriter, lead singer, and driving force, has calmed himself. No longer does he bounce around on stage, as he once did oh so many years ago. He sounds very much the same, allowing his broken, high-pitched, David-Byrne-meets-Gordon-Gano voice to carry him through. The rest of the current lineup (three guys on keyboards / guitar, bass, and drums) played well and moved about with frantic purpose.
The set started off with a song from their excellent new album, Only Run. “Blameless” is a good indicator of where the band has come over the years. Heavy on electronics and deep-seated drums, it has a polish to it wholly unlike anything from their unmatchable self-titled debut album. It was clear most of the crowd wasn’t familiar with the song, but then the album came out only a couple months ago. After that, the set went straight for the gut, and got most people moving with tour favorite “Satan Said Dance” (which appeared on their 2nd album, Some Loud Thunder, two years after it debuted during their initial tour as a band).
The rest of the set flitted around, playing a good mix of old and new, and doing a great job of keeping the crowd into the show, even if Ounsworth didn’t seem to be enjoying himself. Barely moving around, not quite leaving the mic, he looked tired. The set was still fun, and the rest of the crowd seemed pleased with what they were hearing. Perhaps it was an off day for him. But more likely, I feel he’s a reluctant star. The band’s debut album, self-released, was an overnight success, and still holds up well nearly 10 years later. It will be one of a handful of albums that defines the early 2000s for many years to come. And that can be a hell of a lot of weight on somebody.
The band’s second album, Some Loud Thunder, was generally panned by critics, so that just adds to the difficulty Ounsworth has had to endure. Hysterical, the bands third album, from 2011, started to show signs of life, and brought me, personally, back into liking the band. Only Run, their fourth in just nine long years, is the best of “new CYHSY.” But the years have clearly taken their toll on Ounsworth, who appears as if he’d prefer to stay at home and make music rather than tour around and play 9-year-old songs to a crowd that doesn’t appear to appreciate his new work as much.
“Alright, this is our last song… Well, you know, we’ll go off stage and then come right back,” said Alec, matter-of-factly, at the end of the first set. Ounsworth then came out alone and played “Into Your Alien Arms” by himself on a guitar, completely redefining a rather jaunty song from Hysterical into a quiet, introspective love song. Then the rest of the band came back out, and they played two more songs before calling it a night.
The entire just-over-an-hour set felt short, but very much on point. Despite Ounsworth’s obvious exhaustion, I and many others in the crowd had gotten quite a workout, bouncing to the beat, Snoopy-style. I hope Alec finds it in him to continue to produce music and tour. I’ve loved nearly everything he’s put out in his fairly short history, and I look forward to much much more.
