Yaz returns!

Yaz
Chicago Theatre, Chicago
Monday, July 14, 2008

The entire short-lived career of Yaz (known as Yazoo overseas) could be summed up in the final 15 minutes of its “Reconnected” tour: the dance floor packer “Don’t Go,” the haunting ballad “Only You,” and the club anthem “Situation.” But somehow the synth-pop duo of frontwoman Alison Moyet and post-Depeche Mode/pre-Erasure programmer Vince Clarke managed to re-create 80 minutes worth of music from its two studio CDs during a nearly sold-out Chicago stop.

Though owners of 1982’s Upstairs At Eric’s and the following year’s less-enduring You And Me Both (which are both remastered along with B-sides and a DVD on Mute’s brand new box set, In Your Room) heard all the essentials, the evening pointed out just how poorly the material has aged. While Moyet’s soulful pipes remained mighty, even her impressive leaps couldn’t counter balance Clarke’s mostly dated arrangements and stoic stage presentation (even if standing still has since become his signature style).

“Good Times” was an early example of Yaz’s unbearably cheesy beats, which glared pathetically in the glow of much more modern production that included rows of horizontal fluorescent lights and two LCD screens riddled with mannequin imagery. The dinging keys and piped-in shouts of “Goodbye ’70s” were also culprits, though quickly forgotten as the duo spontaneously embraced.

There was no denying the group’s genuine desire to be back — Moyet even mentioned “it’s been such a long time since I’ve been here and to come with Yaz is just a dream” — but sincerity couldn’t cover the synthesizer silliness throughout “Sweet Thing” and the rote robotics of “Walk Away From Love.” The always-banal ballad “Winter Kills” didn’t make any additional impact and would’ve been worth omitting had the group’s catalog stretched deeper.

In spite of these agonizing recollections, there were a handful of more meaningful flashbacks and examples of the pair’s influence on younger artists (such as Shiny Toy Guns and LCD Soundsystem). Elements of “State Farm” were almost ahead of their time (such as the song’s techno explorations), the somber “In My Room” soared with chilling beauty, while “Bring Your Love Down (Didn’t I)” was spiked with unavoidably contagious grooves.

And as expected, the blatantly obvious finales had no problem connecting, with Moyet’s range especially shining throughout “Only You” and Clarke more tangibly manifesting his innovative abilities during “Don’t Go” and “Situation.” Still, Yaz’s literal 15 minutes was generally best left in the past, and while it certainly warrants a trip to iTunes to download the trio of top tracks, a full concert was ’80s overkill.

— Andy Argyrakis

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly