Why? deliver in Orlando

November 4, 7:43 PMTampa Indie Music ExaminerGabriel Loewenberg

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Why? at The Social, Orlando, FL; Monday, November 2nd, 2009

It's difficult to categorize Why?. Indie-prog meets folk/hip-hop? It's something that you need hear and something that you must see live. Singer Yoni Wolf's hip-hop beginnings materialize themselves in his cadence and wordplay while the rest of band delivers beautiful, tuneful and sometimes bizarre complexities that beg you to listen. On tour to support their latest (and according to Yoni, "the least hip-hop out of anything I've ever been involved with") album, Eskimo Snow, Why? were greeted by a packed house at The Social on Monday night. The set was heavy on songs from 2008's brilliant Alopecia, with eight of its fourteen tracks being played. Sadly, only four songs from the equally great new album made an appearance: "January Twenty Something", "These Hands", "Against Me" and the title track. Though it was conceived and recorded at the same time as Alopecia, Eskimo Snow's sparseness seems like a slight departure from form. But live, the newly released songs seem perfectly at home with their previously released siblings. When played in the same set, it's obvious that songs such as "January Twenty Something" and "A Sky For Shoeing Horses" (from Alopecia) were born from the same time and place. To the delight of the crowd, two gems from a few of Why?'s earlier releases were also present; "Gemini (Birthday Song)" and "Sanddollars". 

While the hip-hop influence is evident, it's just that; an influence. What really set Why? apart is their music. Each part is meticulously thought out and balanced with the others, nothing is over played. Electric piano, guitars, vibraphone and synthesized noises all worked into counterpoints that complement the drums and vocals. Through the course of the set, the musical interplay of the band was just as mesmerizing as Yoni's front-man charisma. Yoni owned the stage; prowling around, giving high fives to the crowd and doing yoga poses while flawlessly delivering his half rapped/half sung lyrics. After a twelve song set and another two for the encore, the crowd begged for more; but that was all Why? had to give, and that was more than enough.

Set list:

• Fatalist Palmistry
• January Twenty Something
• These Hands
• The Vowels, Pt. 2
• These Few Presidents
• Song of the Sad Assassin
• Against Me
• Gnashville
• A Sky for Shoeing Horses Under
• Eskimo Snow
• Gemini (Birthday Song)
• The Hollows
• Sanddollars
• Good Friday

Photo gallery from the show, click on any thumbnail to enlarge: