Atlantic City Weekly

It’s hard to say no to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ live show. You never know what vocalist Karen O is going to do. The hyperkinetic front woman careens about the stage while her messy mop of black hair covers her intense eyes. She has more in common with old-school rockers like Iggy Pop than pop-rock contemporaries like Katy Perry. O is real and isn’t the least bit self-conscious onstage.

“The key for me is to get really plastered,” O says in a recent phone call with Atlantic City Weekly. “I don’t have to get drunk when I play, but I admit it makes it easier. It helps me not think about anything onstage. I don’t worry about what anyone thinks of me or the band. The best way to do it live is to just let it rip.”

O is not the only reason that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a live force. Bespectacled powerhouse Brian Chase slams away at his drum kit as guitarist-keyboardist Nick Zinner delivers minimal but melodic lines. O commands attention as she stalks the stage like a famished predator.

“That’s just the way we do things,” O says. “That comes natural to us.”

The band has morphed from a little-known New York City-based indie act to one of the most identifiable acts in Gotham. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who will perform Saturday (Sept. 26) at Borgata’s Music Box, headlined Wednesday at Radio City Music Hall. But even though the group is playing one of the most storied venues in Manhattan, which signifies that you made it, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs haven’t changed a bit. The trio remains gritty, tenacious and dramatic.

“I don’t see why any band becomes something else,” O says. “You should remain true to yourself, your band and your music.”

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are touting their third album, It’s Blitz! The band remains true to mixing things up. It veers from guitar-driven rock to a sonic changeup of sorts. Much of the new material is keyboard-oriented. The songs are direct and immediate, which is quite a contrast from the band’s last album, 2006’s Show Your Bones, which is a more personal, introspective work. The new tunes are sexy, sensual and dramatic. It’s a style of rock that recalls the hedonism of the Rolling Stones and the joy of the Sugarcubes. Few contemporary rock albums possess the range of It’s Blitz!, which careens from straight-forward rock to the Celtic tinged to serene balladry.

“There’s no point in repeating yourself album to album,” O says. “You have to keep growing and expanding as an artist. That’s what we’re trying to do as a band.”

The audiences keep expanding but it doesn’t stop O from looking back at the band’s early days getting established in New York at the turn of the millennium.

“Things have taken off, but [you] can ground yourself by thinking about those early humbling days,” O says. “I remember our second show ever. It was at CBGBs and we were between some hair-metal bands. Back then I would douse myself in olive oil to glisten when we performed. I remember the olive oil dripping in my eyes and burning them and no one was paying attention. Everyone was sitting at a table and talking. It was so depressing, maybe our most depressing show ever. But everyone goes through shows like that. The memory of that kind of show stays with you and that’s a good thing.”

These days, those attending Yeah Yeah Yeahs shows are like antennas, soaking up every last decibel and nuance at shows.

“It’s great that people come out and are there [in rapt attention],” says O. “They’re focused and so are we.”

O has become one of rock’s most prominent females, following in the footsteps of such provocateurs as Debbie Harry, Siouxsie Sioux and Bjork. “It’s interesting being a woman in rock, because if you are a female in a band, you tend to stand out,” says O. “I’m the only female in this band. At shows, the people who work on things are predominantly female. I can see why it’s more exciting for females coming to a show and seeing a woman front a band because we’re in the minority in this business. But I try not to think about things like that. I’m not focusing on being a female up there. I just want to be up there performing with the best band.”

Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Where: Borgata Music Box, Atlantic City
When: Saturday, Sept. 26, 9pm
Phone: 866-692-6742
How Much: $39.50