Concrete Playground

It's been eight years since Yeah Yeah Yeahs released the still totally exciting self-titled EP (seriously, dust off Art Star!). A whole lot of time and tours have passed since then, but not the wide expanse of albums one might expect, which only makes each one all the more of a thrill upon arrival.

That's not to say they haven't been busy. Singer Karen O just received a Grammy nomination for scoring Where the Wild Things Are. Guitarist Nick Zinner has released three monographs of his photographic work, the latest with an introduction by Jim Jarmusch; and drummer Brian Chase is involved with a band that is described as playing "klezmer-fusion" music. What's more, this year's YYY album It's Blitz is one of their best.

Live, Karen O's delivery is somewhere between banshee beat and rock'n'droll, as faithful as her outfits by Christian Joy are bonkers. On stage, she's an unpredictable delight, though that time she danced off the stage at the Metro Theatre in 2003 was more former than latter (I'm still wincing). Here's hoping the wider boards of the Hordern Pavillion she'll be treading this time help prevent such a showstopper. Supporting the Sydney show will be local act Circle Pit, who are getting to be worth the ticket price alone.