He wore a fro-hawk, thick glasses à la Milton Waddams of “Office Space,” and a t-shirt with the word “lamb.” He crowd-surfed, gouged imaginary (eye)balls and paced diagonally like a rabid Velociraptor. And while Yoni Wolf of Why? appeared unconventional on-stage at Middle East Downstairs, his unnatural performance made natural sense in tandem with the idiosyncratic music.
Two of Yoni’s standard dance moves that Monday night included a “praise-the-Lord” hand wave and the “invisible see-saw,” a dance step in which Yoni shifted his weight between legs to the beat. They both debuted in “Against Me.” The song bounced along with percussionist Josiah Wolf’s light rapping and keyboardist Doug McDiarmid’s charming melodies, fitting for Yoni’s “see-saw” play. And while Yoni’s gospel choir gesture might have seemed out of place, it was appropriate for the truth-seeking lyrics – “Oh am I too concerned with the burn of scrutiny?” – recited, like everything else, with pointed articulation.
Yoni’s eccentric exhibition of fervor was contagious. Mark Erickson held his bass completely vertical as he buried “Vowels Pt. 2” into a cavernous depth of sound while guitarist Andrew Broder staggered “figure eights.” An offstage staff member couldn’t help but pirouette. Another crocheted to the beat, literally. In “Brook and Waxing” a shirtless fan ran onto stage and leaned to the bass-drum heavy beat before jumping into the crowd’s approving hands. And along with at least one other that night, the audience member was escorted out of the venue. But besides this sacrificial act of fanaticism, perhaps the most apt expression of appreciation was the “shoe.”
While McDiarmid injected anxious vocal bleeps into “Song of the Sad Assassin,” the audience urged an accelerando with claps. And amidst the field of lunging arms, one fan held his shoe – a gesture as awkward as Yoni’s handle-bar mustache yet as enthusiastic as Why?’s presentation that evening.
Why? left Boston with a one-of-a-kind experience, also having included an impromptu free-style and two encores, “Gemini (Birthday Song)” and “Simeon’s Dilemma.” But do not fret if you missed it. Should Why? return, they will again produce a show befitting their unorthodox sound.