July 7th, 2008 12:33pm

Going Back To These Origins

Sonic Youth @ Battery Park 7/4/2008

She Is Not Alone / Bull In The Heather / Silver Rocket / Skip Tracer / The Sprawl / The World Looks Red / Jams Run Free / Hey Joni / Cross The Breeze / The Wonder / Hyperstation / Drunken Butterfly // Making The Nature Scene / Pink Steam /// Schizophrenia / 100%

The cost of living in New York City is very, very high, but one of the better justifications for living here is that we routinely get awesome things like this: A free Sonic Youth concert on the 4th of July with a setlist including “Schizophrenia,” “100%,” “Skip Tracer,” “Bull In The Heather,” “Jams Run Free,” and nearly half of Daydream Nation. We get what we pay for, often in very indirect ways.

Sonic Youth “Making The Nature Scene” – It may not be obvious if you just scan over this setlist on your computer monitor, but aside from the abundance of material from Daydream Nation, the group placed an emphasis on their rhythm-centric, almost-nearly-rapping side in this show. Starting off with “She Is Not Alone” and “Bull In The Heather,” and ending with “100%,” it seemed like a deliberate move, as if they were maybe trying to give us a hint as to where they might be going with their next record. Maybe that’s my own wishful thinking — I’m very fond of that aspect of the band, and I’m also kinda eager for them to shake things up and do something more abrasive after two strong yet relatively bland albums.

“Making The Nature Scene” was particularly violent and aggressive, especially in comparison to the original studio recording from 1983. The arrangement was still skeletal, but it sounded as if the bones had been sharpened, and its deliberately primal rhythm was tapping into disused predatory instincts. It’s essentially a song about acknowledging the city as a natural habitat, but it’s not at all romanticized. The city of “Nature Scene” is cold and unforgiving, its institutions are crumbling, and everyone is urged to fend for themselves. In other words, it’s Kim Gordon’s version of “Welcome To The Jungle,” only far more intellectualized, and nearly four years ahead of Axl Rose. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)