The Marquee Theatre is located on Mill Ave and Curry. The inside is all black with a small bar area in what I can only guess is the foyer. The beer is not too over-priced. $6 for a Kilt Lifter or Sierra Nevada. $4 or $5 for an Undrinkable (Coors Light, Bud Light, etc…). Inside the Theatre (what do you call places that rock bands play? This wasn’t what most people would consider a concert hall. It wasn’t an area or a stadium. I think theatre works best.) there were some folding chairs set up in the back and standing room in the front (Id say 3/4 of the space was full of standing folks). Kim and I purchased our potables and went inside. The warm-up band was still playing. They were ok, just not impressive enough for me to remember their name. They did play at a volume “soft” enough for Kim and I to talk a little. And then, it was time for the main event. I haven’t been to many (any?) real rock concerts in my life. The closest thing that I’ve attended to a rock concert was the performance of Worker’s Union at the Ojai Music Festival last summer. And the Firework’s Ensemble did play some Zappa… But nothing that could compare to Sonic Youth (of course). First of all, watching a band that is that incredible is an amazing experience, but then realizing that all of the members are the same age as your parents makes the show that much more awesome. As I am not an avid Sonic Youth listener (I now have their newest album The Eternal and some of Cotton Crown), so I can only assume that a majority of the concert contained material from their 2009 album. The mix was great- I could hear and absorb everything except the lyrics. I should have listened to The Eternal a lot more before the concert. Some of the lyrics are actually pretty cool. Here’s a bit from Sacred Trickster:
I wish I could be music on a tree/Noise Nomads and me/Levitating on the ground
Yeah, I like that. They played from 9-10:30 and the encore lasted until 11ish. They rocked so hard some of the more intense moments sounded like really, really good Metal. There were a few noisy (not at all in a bad way) transitions that sounded more like a no-wave band. The encore left us speechless and partially deaf. Totally worth it. I think it took me about two full days to recover.
So my advice is get The Eternal and go see Sonic Youth before one of them breaks a hip from rocking too hard. : )

On a completely different note- I made mushroom onion stroganoff and an apple, feta and arugula salad with home-made balsamic vinaigrette. It also rocked.