Mid-July, 2000, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In and around town in all of the various places where Cat’s Cradle shows were promoted some 8.5″x11″ fliers started popping up advertising an evening billed as “SYR Records Presents: Perspectives Musicales”. Huh? The questions started up – “Sonic Youth just played in Raleigh in late June – it couldn’t be them again could it? Is this some sort of showcase, albeit for a label that only releases Sonic Youth material? Aren’t they on tour with Pearl Jam or something?” All I knew was that for $12 and a Saturday show was that I was *in,* regardless of what the set turned out to be.
Those two-ish weeks between the show’s announcement and the actual day were pretty suspenseful. Checking the Pearl Jam…
…/ Sonic Youth tour itinerary had revealed that the “Perspectives Musicales” night was actually an off night *and* in North Carolina. It seemed pretty likely that it was going to be a Sonic Youth set, leaving the mystery then as what kind? Similar to the June show? All improv? (Admittedly, my fantasy.) Something else entirely?
The night arrived and, well, as you’ll quickly be able to tell from this recording, it was pretty special and fun. Freewheeling and loose, the first set was constantly rotating, each portion something that a dyed-in-the-wool Sonic Youth (and related) fan would want to see. The magic was that you were getting to see each of these portions all back-to-back-to-back in real time. “Psychic Hearts”? Sure! “Mote” solo? You’ve got it! Improvised film scores? Yes, please! A sneak peak at Kim’s not-yet-released SYR5? Got you covered. Thurston running through instrumental 12 string acoustic demo-style takes of tracks that would later appear on “Murray Street”? Jackpot! The crazy thing was that this special hour-ish went by quickly and then was followed by a full-on, ripping SY set. As the final notes of “100%” closed out the night, everyone in the audience knew they had seen something special.
I’m sitting here typing this, somewhat in disbelief that this show was right at 20 years ago. It is one of those things that formed memories so pleasant and vivid that it still kind of seems like it was yesterday. Relive it with me, won’t you? -Cory Rayborn, June 2020
01. Intro (Live) 04:13
02. Psychic Hearts (Live) 05:12
03. Lee Reads Gregory Corso (Live) 03:56
04. Mote (Live) 18:13
05. Rain On Tin (Live) 02:23
06. Disconnection Notice (Live) 05:21
07. Marika (Live) 02:59
08. Trio (Live) 05:30
09. Paperbag (Live) 02:52
10. International Spy (Live) 06:03
11. Fuzzy Sun/Not Sport Marital Art (Live) 04:45
12. Halfway To A Threeway (Live) 04:21
13. Schizophrenia (Live) 05:22
14. White Kross (Live) 02:58
15. Free City Rhymes (Live) 07:48
16. Small Flowers Crack Concrete (Live) 05:54
17. Nevermind (What Was It Anyway) (Live) 06:10
18. Side2Side (Live) 05:28
19. Kool Thing (Live) 06:12
20. Hoarfrost (Live) 07:46
21. Renegade Princess (Live) 06:28
22. Bull In The Heather (Live) 03:17
23. NYC Ghosts & Flowers (Live) 12:30
24. 100% (Live) 02:49