Sonic Youth to Release Live Album of Their Final U.S. Show

Sonic Youth played their final U.S. show together where it all began: in New York. The August 2011 gig took place at the Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn and would mark the end of an era.

Soon that concert will be released as the live album, Live in Brooklyn 2011, scheduled to arrive nearly 12 years to the day of the show on August 18.

“The stage was facing the East River from the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, waterfront, and I recall the sun going down in the west during our set,” Sonic Youth guitarist-vocalist Lee Ranaldo recalled in a statement (via Pitchfork). “It was a pretty magical, if kinda weird day. Fitting, somehow, that our ‘last show’ should be in New York City, our home and where it all began.”

“This show was a culmination of a run of really special outdoor summertime shows in New York City for us, starting in ’92 with SummerStage in Central Park when we played with Sun Ra,” the band’s drummer Steve Shelley added. “For the Williamsburg Waterfront show I wrote out the set list to present to the band and it was a lot of material we hadn’t played in a while, a lot of deep cuts, so I wasn’t sure if everybody would feel like doing it.

“After worrying about which songs the band might say yes or no to, I threw those concerns out the window and I just made a list of songs that I thought would be a great set,” he continued, recalling, “In the end, I think the whole song list made it through.” During the 17-song show, the band played several of their “retired” songs and deeper cuts, including tracks like “Brave Men Run (In My Family)” and “Death Valley ’69.” “It turned out to be a pretty special event with a really special song list,” Shelley shared.

For the first time ever, the band’s final U.S. show will be available to re-experience on vinyl, CD, cassette, and in various digital formats.

Photo by Giotas / Riot Act Media)