Sonic Youth - Complex, Washington, DC, July 25, 1986

Sonic Youth - Complex, Washington, DC, July 25, 1986What the world needs now, is EVOL, sweet EVOL. Right? Just about 40 years ago, Sonic Youth was touring all over in support of their classic third LP, which had been unleashed earlier that spring. A lotta good tapes from this era, some officially released, some unofficially circulated. This Washington, DC, show falls in the latter category — but with its high-fidelity recording and high-quality performance, it could easily be added to the former. By this point, drummer Steve Shelley had been in the band for a little over a year, and was fully integrated into the Sonic Youth sound and lifestyle. After a couple cool soundcheck snippets, Steve drives the band relentlessly through most of EVOL, only letting up occasionally for retuning breaks soundtracked by the pop hits of the day; there’s a nice moment where Prince’s “Kiss” is almost medleyed with “Shadow of a Doubt.” The guitars are glorious throughout, especially on the majestic…