
24 July 2023 – The Hordern Pavilion, Sydney – words and pictures by Bec Harbour
Really the only attraction for me on this year’s Splendour line-up was the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. So yeah, it was off to Sydney to catch a side-show.
There had been some grumbling from certain sources that the crowd at the Melbourne show were a little lacklustre in their enthusiasm. As far as I am concerned, crowds can do what they want and jumping about and screaming does not necessarily show a lack of enthusiasm. The crowd at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney showed up early, were suitably dressed (lots of sparkles and sequins) and there was a low-key undercurrent of anticipation.
Kicking off the evening was Automatic, a no-wave synth-band from LA. Automatic fall very much into the art-rock genre as well, which makes sense as that is what the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are considered as well.




Automatic – Hordern Pavilion – photos by Bec Harbour
Automatic have the art-rock low engagement with the crowd down, heads down or neutral gazes off into the distance. They have released two albums, Signal and Excess. The crowd that had come inside were appreciative and may have known the support act’s music better than me. They intrigued me (a bit of a no-wave fan) and I decided to find out more when I returned to Brisbane.
With the sets running late, the atmosphere was electric for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The crowd was a bit older, not surprisingly considering that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs kicked off in 2000. There were a few kids that had come with their parents as well and they seemed just as excited as the rest of us.
Finally, the lights dimmed and the crowd let out a “whooooooooo!!”. The band, drummer Brian Chase and guitarist, Nick Zinner as well as their touring musicians came out on stage. But the crowd were waiting for Karen O and she did not disappoint arriving dressed in a shiny silver and red dress, immediately yelling out “Hey Sydney!” The crowd roared back and they jumped into their first song, ‘Spitting Off the Edge of the World’ from their latest release Cool It Down then segued into ‘Cheated Hearts’ and ‘Black Tongue’.



Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Hordern Pavilion – photos by Bec Harbour
Karen O is a spectacle just on her own and Chase and Zinner act as anchors for her wild dervish on-stage performance. With confetti canons shooting tiny pink Y’s into the crowd and Karen removing the outer layer of her costume to reveal a silver dress with her customary KO belt the crowd lapped it up and were dancing and taking phone snaps and videoing – the action was constant.




Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Hordern Pavilion – photos by Bec Harbour
‘Rockers to Swallow’, ‘Burning’, ‘Zero’, ‘Wolf’ and ‘Soft Shock’ were all received with applause and screams from the crowd. It is interesting to note that there were a few punters lamenting the lack of older material from the band as they did not know the songs post-Fever to Tell. Yeah Yeah Yeah’s moved through their set and it felt like it was going so fast with ‘Lovebomb’ then the biggest cheers of the night for ‘Sacrilege’.
It was the second half of the set that the crowd really let loose with dancing and singing along (perhaps more familiar with their older work?). It was cheer after cheer when the opening notes were played for ‘Gold Lion’, ‘Maps’ and ‘Heads Will Roll’.
And then there was the customary break before the two-song encore – the confetti was still floating and no-one had moved. The opening notes of ‘Date with the Night’ had anyone thinking of leaving back out there and they finished up with ‘Y-control’ to massive cheers.



Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Hordern Pavilion – photos by Bec Harbour
The sound of Harry Belafonte’s ‘Banana Boat Song’ exited the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, from the stage and the crowd from the Hordern. Waiting in line for a cab to head back to city, people were gushing about how much they loved the gig and were singing acapella versions of songs. I would say that appreciation comes in many forms and the fan appreciation for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is like the band – unique and amazing.