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I'm as excited as anyone that SY will be performing DDN live in its entirety this summer. Its my favorite album of theirs, and I've always felt it got the short shrift in their live sets, with many jewels from that LP not being performed for almost 20 years.
But here's the thing. The Pitchfork review of the new DDN Deluxe edition got it right when they pointed out:
"What's really shocking is the energy of it. This record's default setting is the place most rock bands try to work up to around the third chorus-- guitar players veering off into neck-strangling improvisations, singers dropping off the melody and into impassioned shouts. These songs start there and just stay."
To my ears the last time SY possesed this level of energy was the Dirty tour. Nowadays when they do an old song the tempo feels sluggish, the ensemble isn't tight, the guitars don't wail with the same sense of utter abandon they once had. Can SY summon up that intensity again?
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