Heather Perry

"Perry's unique, mature songwriting instantly creates an utterly distinctive mood... her understanding of dynamics cannot be underscored enough, and the sophisticated arrangements on each track are uniquely multifaceted." - Spade Kitty Records

"...making major waves on Chicago’s indie pop/folk circuit... evoke[s] the perky sensibilities of Regina Spektor, the softer side of Rilo Kiley and the angelic range of Tori Amos." - Hear/Say: America's College Music Magazine

"[Perry] retains her abstract approach to writing music and lyrics... relies on sudden shifts in rhythm and Perry’s unique ability to blend melody with two-part harmonies and layered instrumentation... [calls] to mind a young, vulnerable Fiona Apple." - Demo Magazine

On their Facebook page, French pop quintet The Ye-Ye’s note that they would like to “sing your favorite songs to you in the world’s sexiest language.” Last Friday night the band played their final show doing just that, bidding adieu to a jubilant crowd with a set of re-imagined covers and sweetly nostalgic originals.

The ladies embarked on their finale with a take on Marie Laforêt’s “Marie-douceur, Marie-colère,” itself a cover of The Rolling Stones’ 1966 raga-rock tantrum “Paint it Black.” They weren’t nearly as brooding and aggressive as The Stones, nor did they mimic Laforêt’s rushed pacing and nasal incantations. Instead, the Ye-Ye’s version floated on a hum of cool harmonies, guided by drums that snapped out a perfectly engaging beat. Similarly, the band’s performance of the Del Shannon hit “Runaway” shrugged the original’s melodic nervousness and desperate, aching vocals in favor of a more frolicsome, bubblegum boogie.

It’s a formula that The Ye-Ye’s, by the time of their unfortunate demise, have absolutely perfected. Take, for example, “American Ye-Ye,” the band’s new single. It’s an original composition that’s a little Doo-wop and a little surf, the kind of light and breezy that feels like dancing barefoot on cool grass. On Friday The Ye-Ye’s tucked that one right in the middle of a string of classics like “All My Loving,” “Bang Bang” and “Leader of the Pack,” and it fit in perfectly. Several originals were sprinkled throughout the final set list, which was otherwise made up of transformed American pop standards and ye-ye hits from the likes of Francoise Hardy and France Gall.

The band – keyboardist Lindsay Weinberg, guitar players Sara Jean Hoot and Rachel Swain (Roxy Swain), bassist Heather Perry and drummer Carlos J. Zapata (both of Bring Your Ray Gun) – delivered on each song, building a sort of party atmosphere inside Subterranean. They go-go-ed up Gall’s “Laisse Tomber Les Filles,” turned the ho-hum of Hardy’s “Oh Oh Cheri” into something robust and sunny, then followed those with another original that sounded plucked from 1960’s airwaves. The last third of the set found The Ye-Ye’s shimmying through “Peggy Sue,” delivering glistening guitars and castanets on “Be My Baby,” following that by conjuring up Francoise Hardy’s mysterious “Temps de l’Amour.”

For their swan song, the group chose to translate R&B into ye-ye, performing their version of “I’m Blue (The Gong Song).” While closer to what The 5.6.7.8’s sounded like when they gave The Ikettes track a go for Kill Bill, the Ye-Ye’s rendition opened with a patient, groovy confidence that made the eventual take-off all the more fun. While it’s a shame there won’t be another chance to experience this group together live, they do leave behind a handful of great recordings, including “Gong,” which the band says is their most requested song, and was their “favorite to play live.” - Midwest Action