Sonic Youth - Silver Rocket Live on Michelob Presents Night Music (Restored) 

There is no other band on planet earth that sounds like Sonic Youth, the best band of all time. I saw them live twice and I was amazed.

I knew steve was a cool drummer, but he’s actually playing pockets all over the place. He’s totally in charge of the sound!

I can only imagine scrolling through channels and stumbling upon this by accident. If that was me back then my life would be changed forever.

I saw them live in 1991, the concert ended at around 10:00 pm on a Saturday with Kim tossing her bass in the air and finally letting it fall to the ground, playing it with her feet, and Thurston knocking down amps by swinging around his guitar and then placing it on top of them, producing massive feedback. After that I went to spend the night in a youth hostel and could not understand a word of what the receptionist tried to explain to me, we had to shout at each other. On Tuesday at 6:00 pm my ears stopped ringing.

I saw Sonic Youth in a cafe in Santa Cruz CA, about 1988. It's true, they are certainly the loudest band of all time. I guess it's cool or avant garde to be that loud, but I had ringing in my ears for days afterward. In fact that ringing has never really stopped, even after 30 odd years. The gift that keeps on giving. I think I deserve some sort of compensation.

Greatest guitar band of all time

great performance by steve shelley he is the one who controls the tracks

Greatest album I ever bought.

I come back to this every one in a while to re-like. Pay homage to the church of Sonic Youth

I remember watching this when it aired on TV and recorded it on VHS. Back when you had to open up the TV program to find pit who was playing on TV. There were some cool musical guests on this show. I believe it was called "Night Music " or "Sunday Night" at one point, hosted by David Sanborn. Came on around 1am. Sun Ra was also on this show.

From incredible melodic to insane wall of beatiful noises back to melodic again. Sonic Youth will always be inspiration for many.

I'm amazed how their guitars and bass go through all that and somehow stay in tune...

Ahhh Sonic Youth...I love you. The best band- probably their best song

This was the first time I ever heard them and I was totally blown away. Been a fan ever since.

The noise freakout section is legendary. Always love SY ❤

Make a nice song, then tear it apart and stomp on it, then pick it up, hose it off, and walk it back to center stage. That is Sonic Youth, here in a compact form (this song being a good introduction to the band's general approach). It's hardcore jazz, one might say. An unsuspecting club owner or two may have said a few other things, back in the day, but for us there is a lot of NY-subway beauty in that raging racket. Thanks for the memories.

yeah the part where it got really unmusical and they started moving their bodies all weird to make the amps feed back in different sorta untuneful ways was really unique. nobody ever does that because they are afraid to make unpleasant sounds. these guys are real. this song is totally unpleasant in places. so creative.

Fucking insanity. Possibly the best live video of this song on youtube. Everyone was on fire front to back.

This performance is fucking legendary

Just beautiful. Miss em too

I've always wondered if Thurston and Kim actually ever did see Cats on Broadway.

Steve and Lee are 75% of the Sound. Let's be Real.

Props to the sound engineers!

Love for ever

the whole performance is on gourmet level

I watch this everyday

Sonic Youth are the true gods of "No Wave", "New Wave", "Punk Rock", "Alternative Rock", "Grunge Rock", "Experimental", "Noise", Noise-Core" & hell even "Disco" !

damn, this sounds so good. YT algorithm hitting the mark today.

Best album of the 80s OMG

that's some heavy guitar abuse also I love it

underrated SONIC YOUTH song !

i like how he just mentions j mascis out of nowhere

Rawwwww!! Couldn't be better!

Seeing this back then was a life changing experience. Music was never the same again for me.

The absolute masters of justified dissonance. Not to mention that a woman rocking the hell out of a Gibson Thunderbird bass is the definitive wet dream. Amazing band. Miss em

😊 thank you.

Merci. C'est tellement bon. Overwhelming.

Best band I never saw. Unfortunately they opened for Neil Young and Crazy Horse that night. As usual I was in the stairwell puffing doobies while they were on the stage.

Yeah it's good rock & noise !

Beast performance! Big BEAST!

I saw this performance for the first time tonight and I'm like "woah". This is fucking intense.

Goddamn the way they use feedback is so insanely creative

Two words - Steve Fucking Shelley.

Ty SY 🙂

Fucking Amazing, The sound & the performance, love it...

Love u guys

Awesome! Thought Lee was going to loose an eye for a second! Lee almost loosing an eye was not awesome...the music was! You know just to be clear.

Alternative tuning legends. How many guitars did Thurston abuse in his career?

Damn right 👍 for your input!

Immense!

Love

I hope you guys upload the other performance from the same night, the stooges cover. Ive seen it on youtube already, but a better quality official upload would be greatly appreciated. =)

Revolutionary 😮

How is it possible that these guitars are still in tune after such a mindblowing Performance?

my kind of 80s

Grandioso!! C:

Power, sonic youth. Power

Specifcly about the album "Evol" from 85' to about "Washing Machine" from 96'. Sonic Youth is as close to a perfect band as there is out there

esto es precioso

Saw them in 1990. Drew straws to see who would get back stage since we only had two passes. Jesus lizard opened for them. Needless to say drew one of the straws, met them and the rest is history.

Lee looks so fucking cool

This was on the "Screaming Fields of Sonic Love" VHS tape, which had different tracks from the CD of the same name. I bought this in 95 or 96 I think.

That lyric shift tho.

Steve Jay Shelley, baterista estadounidense, nacido el 23 de junio de 1963 en Midland, Míchigan. Formó parte de la formación original de la banda de punk: "Crucifucks".

Boy, they sound tight...

Stories, so many tales to tell. One: Attending a Jim Foetus (Scraping Foetus off the Wheel) in London, 1988, and being bored and hanging out at the bar with the Butthole Surfers. Back to a big round table, joined by Sonic Youth. We then took the tube to the Surfer's hotel listening to insane ditties of jumping out windows, smoking crack and waking up to champagne breakfast with Gibby and the Sugar Cubes. I changed my brain that day and night.

That was Silver Rocket with a semi-hidden Total Trash insert. Two song medley.

exciting,🖤sonic youth

Lee’s bullseye amp rocks

Majestic!

Snake in it, jack into the wall TV amp on fire blowing in the hall Gun your sled, close your peeping toms(?) Turbo organizer cranking on the knob(?) You got it! Yeah! Ride your silver rocket! I can't stop it! Burning holes in your pocket! Hit the power, psycho helmets on(?) You got to splice your halo, take it to a moon(?) Nympho id clamor fueling up the hammer(?) You got to fake out the robot and pulse up the zoom(?) You got it! Yeah! Ride your silver rocket! I can't stop it! Burning holes in your pocket! [Instrumental Break] Can't forget the flashing Can't forget the smashing The sending and the bending The atmosphere re-entry You gotta have the time Got another in your mind Got your heart injected And you got your soul aligned You got it! Yeah! Ride your silver rocket! Can't stop it! Burning holes in your pocket!

wow.

0:02 grande don Ramón

NOISE ROCK!

That was actually pretty great.

This was a life changing event for me.

Wow. Haven’t seen Dave Sanborn in years.

so weird to see any of them playing a strat

Man! That guitar sounds hungry 2:14

They're literally Sonic and the MC5's kids and they are perfect. I wonder where Iggy's grandkids are? Where are the rock n' rollers?

good job

seeing Lee playing a Strat... ugh. no no no!

What's a Nirvana?

What year was this brilliance¿

❤

это кайф

Beck in the keyboard. Awesome haha

David Sanborn is a cool af host.. oh, BTW Shelley was killing it in this..

gnarley fuck yea !!!

Shelley's like, "OK, Thurston, Lee -- that's enough."

Шикарно! Тёлочка с гитаркой хороша!

Kool Thing

How could the Jazzmaster stay in tune after that ?

What a weird introduction. "With their manager Don Fleming on keyboard." WTF? Did the manager request that that piece of information be delivered? I've never heard anything like that.

🤘🤘🤘

What year is this from?

So this is what happened to Potter and Weasley after Hogwarts

My memory is very fuzzy. I did used to watch this show, was this the episode with Sun Ra?

Kim wielding a bass like Peter Cook

Steve. Shelley.