Pitchfork

The Clap Your Takka Say Helsinki tour caravan rolled into Chicago last night for the second of two gigs at the Vic, drawing out the thrift-t-adorned, hair-flipping masses in earnest. Indeed, hands were clapped, and quite a few "yeah"s were said.

Too-polite Takka Takka opened with a blistering, face-meltingly polite set of polite indie rock tunes played to an annoyingly polite, well-mannered crowd, and that was pretty much that. Perhaps two-thirds into their set they snuck in a more intricate, darker-hued number that hinted at an auspicious future direction. More of that, gentlemen, and you may escape the indie rock cesspool yet!

Architecture in Helsinki (from Melbourne, Australia) pranced onstage next to teach a valuable lesson in crafting carefree, constantly fun, and delightfully danceable ADHD jams and another equally valuable lesson in engaging a crowd-- and a rapturous one at that. They shimmied their way through a set of mostly new tunes, with primary singer Cameron Bird hopscotching from guitar to keyboard to drum pad and back, sporting a Raekwon t-shirt and a terrifically tacky multi-colored cap which he later removed to let loose a boyish tuft of sandy-blond hair.

After Architecture's exuberant presentation, headliner Clap Your Hands Say Yeah came off a bit staid and standoffish, but that didn't seem to dampen crowd spirits an ounce. Indeed, Clap were the only act on the bill playing a whole bunch of tunes folks had heard before (and likely love). Those favorites from the self-titled debut went over well enough-- despite some broken strings and equipment glitches-- but it was new jams like the melodious "Some Loud Thunder" and the sinister-sounding "Satan Said Dance" that showed the most promise.

Still, singer Alec Ounsworth's yelpy, yappy, nasal vocals are a tough pill to swallow, even in this age of idiosyncratic yelpers like Brock, Darnielle, and Krug. Folks often play the Byrne card in reviews of the record, but here Ounsworth came across like Dan Bejar impersonating Eric Cartman, which was pretty much as obnoxious as it sounds-- funny thing is, nobody seemed to mind. Kids these days!

Keep your eyes peeled for an interview with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and news on the forthcoming record. Remaining tour dates and more photos ahead.

TAKKA TAKKA

ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI

CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH

Clap Your Hands Say Tour:

10-04 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *
10-06 Englewood, CO - Gothic Theatre *
10-07 Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater *
10-10 Seattle, WA - Showbox *
10-11 Seattle, WA - Showbox *
10-12 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom *
10-13 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theater *
10-14 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre *
10-15 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre *

* with Architecture in Helsinki, Takka Takka