Line-up

Headliner
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Last time in Boston / Cambridge: 3 months ago

Venue

Arts at the Armory Performance Hall

191 Highland Avenue, 02143, Somerville, MA, US

artsatthearmory.org/

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Additional details

Tour name: Piano & Voice

Concert in your area for Indie & Alt, Rock, Folk & Blues, Electronic, and Hip-Hop.

Find out more about Rock, Electronic, and Hip-Hop.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah biography

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is an indie rock originally from Philadelphia which currently consists of Alec Ounsworth and Matt Wong.

The band members initially met at Connecticut College in 2004 and formed CYHSY shortly after, they were one of the first bands to receive their commercial break through the internet after posting demos that were well received by their early fan and a small handful of critics.In turn this gained them attention from attention from record label Witchita who released their self titled debut in 2005.

Their indie rock sound was met really well by larger publications upon the release of their debut. It achieved a Metacritic score of 84/100 indicating universal acclaim after the likes of Pitchfork and Billboard gave the album near perfect scores. CYHSY then gained more attention from press when pop icons David Bowie and David Byrne were spotted in the audience of the supporting shows. It also broke the top 40 of the UK album charts where the band had a strong following.

The follow-up in 2007 was titled 'Some Loud Thunder' and it just appeared in the UK album chart at #40 and appeared on the US Billboard chart at #47 after strong first week album sales. However this album wasn't as well received by critics, and the band didn't receive the support by publications they had enjoyed on their first.

In 2009 they announced a public hiatus so the band could work on other musical projects. They reformed in 2011 and released 'Hysterical'. In 2014 they released 'Only Run' which features the new single 'Coming Down'.

Live reviews

I've been a fan of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah since 2005 when they self-released their eponymous debut album. There's something melancholy yet resigned about their music, it feels like a jubilation about giving up. My favorite songs are "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth" and "Over And Over Again." I didn't catch them when they first came out and always wondered whether they'd be one of those bands I loved in the mid-2000s but didn't get to see live. I never really kept up with the rest of their releases after that first album.

I was thrilled when Alec Ounsworth announced a series of intimate solo living room shows in Europe this year. It was just him without the rest of the band, but it was really charming. His performance suited the small, intimate atmosphere of a man alone with his acoustic guitar. His played the songs slightly differently from the album recording, whether by riffing on the melodies or playing them slightly faster or slower. It's clear he's performed these songs many times over and has honed what makes for an interesting, uqniue performance for avid fans.

He made a little small talk in between songs and sipped his beer. He seemed like he could be an extremely musically talented grad student drifter who happens to be at your house party playing a few songs.

Anonymous