Yves Tumor and It’s Band at Royale, 4/3
I originally had plans to see Yves Tumor at The Sinclair during spring break of my sophomore year – if I’m being honest, at the time I was going to Tumor’s show mostly because I wanted to see the opening act. While I had certainly heard of and been recommended Tumor’s work, it wasn’t clicking for me. But then a global pandemic broke out, we got sent home just as spring break was due to start, the show got cancelled, yadda yadda – it’s a tale as old as time at this point.
In the two years since then, Yves Tumor has released two records – 2020’s Heaven to a Tortured Mind, and last year’s surprise The Asymptotical World EP. Heaven quickly became one of my favorite records of the early pandemic, and Asymptotical World also quickly reached regular listening status upon its release the following year. I can now firmly say that I’m a fan of Yves Tumor, which only made me all the more excited to see them live.
More than two years later (and during my final semester of college), I walked into the Royale with a bit of a vengeance, enthused to be ticking a long-awaited show off of my pre-pandemic concert bucket checklist. I waded into the crowd, camera in hand, as best I could, and readied myself.
After opening sets from rowdy and raunchy rapper Izzy Spears – an unlisted, yet welcome addition to the bill who had my fellow crowd members asking “who was that?” – and seasoned underground club DJ Doss – who a friend described as putting on one of the best sets he’d ever seen during the summer prior – Yves Tumor and its band (consisting of a drummer, bassist, and guitarist) took to the stage just after 10 to much fanfare.
Sporting glam rock and hair metal inspired looks – and pulling them off far better than many of those who popularized those styles, might I add – they launched into Asymptotical World’s lead single “Jackie,” an absolute ripper of a track that immediately lit the crowd on fire.
You know how most musicians have like 3-4 big hits that they intersperse throughout the show or save for the very end? Yeah, none of that business here – that’s a testament to how strong Tumor’s discography is. The songs that immediately followed “Jackie” were equally iconic, beloved, and perhaps most importantly, moshable to. In order, they were:
Romanticist
Dream Palette
Gospel for a New Century
Medicine Burn
Crushed Velvet
Honestly? If you asked me to rank those tracks according to my personal preference, I don’t think I could do it. Adding the live element would make that task even harder, as Tumor’s grandiose and maximalist sound translated to a live environment just as flawlessly as I’d hoped they would. Their band was tight and well-rehearsed, never missing a beat over the course of the night.
After a couple of songs, Tumor briefly stopped things to make sure that the crowd, who had been moshing so damn hard throughout (I had personally tapped out of the pit a short while before then), were doing OK. I’ve always seen them as a sort of ethereal, mysterious, borderline mythical auteur, so hearing them directly address the audience was a bit of a trip. They resumed things shortly thereafter though, performing other feverish gems such as “Kerosene!” and “Licking an Orchid”, as well as unreleased material such as “Cntra” and “Mtora.”
Yves’ inner showman came out in full force during the two encore songs, “Noid” and “Secrecy Is Incredibly Important to the Both of Them.” They completely covered a guitarist’s head with a towel (said guitarist continued to play flawlessly) and also playfully gave them a wedgie while dangling them towards the crowd (again, this did not affect the guitarist’s playing ability.) It was both a hilarious show of camaraderie and impressive display of technical skill. “Secrecy…” was also perhaps the perfect song to end the set with, as its helter-skelter opening guitar riff instantly gave the crowd a second wind before they headed off into the late – at least by Bostonian standards – night.
