Between last night and this afternoon I had the chance to see Yelle twice, and now I’m totally hooked.  Based on the reaction of every person in the crowd during both performances, I now feel like I’m totally out of the loop, because everyone was totally into the music and obviously very familiar with it, and I have only just heard of her as of this week (confession–I thought Yelle was the name of the band…).  It started with going to the Beauty Bar in San Diego to see Passion Pit (an excellent band in their own right), and knowing only incidentally that Yelle was also playing.  I listened to some of her music beforehand, but was underwhelmed at best.  Anyway, Passion Pit was great, Funeral Party (playing after Passion Pit ) achieved a tenuous balance between great music and a horribly obnoxious frontman, and then the wait between Funeral Party and Yelle was practically another performance in and of itself given its duration.  People seemed to materialize from nowhere and pack into the small stage area in anticipation of Yelle’s performance, and though the wait was long and uncomfortable, it was worth it indeed.  She opened with their song, “Tristesse/Joie”, and proceded to parlay it into a highly energized extended mix that drove everyone insane and set the tone for the rest of the performance.  The albums I listened to before the concert did little to convey the incredible energy and enthusiasm that the Yelle puts into her performances.  When I found out that Yelle was playing for free the next afternoon at the Price Center at University of California San Diego, I couldn’t resist, and skipped out on work for a couple hours with co-workers to attend.

I was skeptical of how the act would translate to a bright outside venue in the middle of the day, and when Yelle again opened with the same song as the night before to a relatively small crowd, I could feel only a very slight amount of the energy from the night before.  Fortunately, by the end of the first song things had picked up considerbly, and continued to do so with each song.  The afternoon’s performance rivaled the prior evening’s, providing everyone with a great time, and me with a greatly improved view!  I got a couple horrible passable photos with my phone (as seen above), but I’m still kicking myself for not bringing my D70.

Video for “Je Veux Te Voir” here.