Concert Review: Why? Makes You Say How? Did We Get Here
When I went to Why?’s concert at Music Hall of Williamsburg, I did not know, exactly, what to expect. Sure, I may say that a lot, but, in my life, I like to say “Yes!” to opportunity, and only needed a few songs in “pre-listen” to convince me that Why? are a live show to see. With music that feels like the best sonic soup of folk-rock, psych-pop, and a possible mystical chant, Why?’s concert makes you say, “So what? Let’s have fun!’.
Maybe, I am psychic but my intuition was right; Why?’s lead singer Yoni Wolf is a spectacle worth watching. Wolf appears like that high-school nerd who grew up to be a really cool, acclaimed artist. I, actually, have a feeling that is his literal life story. His very presence is mushed between energies of silliness and mindfulness that all stem from a poetical openness. I am constantly observing the confidence of artists because that is the key to how you connect to them. From the “arrogant artist” who needs more praise than Trump or the “shy artist” who constantly apologizes for their awkwardness, I have seen them all, but Yoni is the best kind of confidence because he feels like your own.
Self-esteem is an ebb and flow within all of us, and our greatness simply appears rather than flashes. The best artist is the one who shows this truth about confidence, and, thus, seems like one of the crowd. As Wolf sang tracks like, “This Ole King”, “Proactive Evolution”, and “The Hollows”, he looked like a friend reciting myths and histories you never knew you wanted to know, nor that any mind can carry them. Yet, more importantly, he recited the thoughts about the world we have all had, which made us say, “You think that, too!”. The audience sang along to Why?’s verses like they were ripped from the pages of their own, personal poems, and this has band has a wealthy catalogue.
There is an undeniable, shamanic quality about Why?’s music; with all their songs feeling like modern fables written by the writers of Corporate. From “These Few Presidents” to “Song of the Sad Assassin”, Why?’s music can be humorous, eccentric, and darkly telling about humanity’s relationships with power. Whether we are serving it or seeking it, somehow, we exchange spiritual values for material currency. Wolf’s narrative voice plants lyrics like details to the stories of human beings that rise, fall, rise again, and fall again because they believe in the same false prophets and foolish plans; money never bought happiness, but joy never paid a house bill. Thus, how we try to set our life between these two facts is how Why? oddly becomes a music response. Click Here For More Information on Why?.
