All photos by Punkphoto
I thought I was walking into a snoozefest early on last nite as I went to check out Yelle’s first U.S. appearance ever at the Knitting Factory. She’s been like the biggest thing partywise in France. Listening to her album Pop-Up, it seems like she has a knack for sounding the same on all her songs, maybe its because I don’t understand what the f*ck she’s saying in French. I was partly right, the place was jam packed with adolescent college students and most of the males were fawning up front for her attention. As she came out on stage there wasn’t a female up front in sight. If these guys were smart they would’ve tried to mack on all the chicks in the back. I don’t really blame them though Yelle came out on stage looking pretty fit and sassy in her Jazzercise gear.
The crowd and Yelle were pretty stiff up until maybe the third song when she did “Tristesse/Joie”. Then she started warming up and blessed us with some Jazzercise and aerobics moves on stage. Seeing and listening to a Yelle show is like listening to the Knight Rider and Miami Vice soundtrack with live drums, plus a little Italian disco mixed in. Her two mates on stage did a pretty good with the drumming, keyboards and hyping the crowd up. Of course the crowd went bonkers once she performed her club hit “Je Veux Te Voir”. I wonder why everyone was jumping up and down for “short-dicks”? Anyways I enjoyed it like everyone else, the best song of the nite. Second best song of the nite was when Lauren Flax dj-ed flip-floppers Jungle Brothers’ classic “I’ll House You” before Yelle came on.
You pretty much get the same effect from seeing her live video on Youtube below. She sure can reproduce her record live. I wonder how many dudes went back to their dorm and spanked it in their sock.
[MP3]: Yelle “Je Veux Te Voir”
Pop Up, Virgin; 2007
