Yeah Yeah Yeahs Turned Up the Heat at Forest Hills Stadium

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Yeah Yeah Yeahs Turned Up the Heat at Forest Hills Stadium

Japanese Breakfast and The Linda Lindas joined them for their New York homecoming.

Photos: David Iskra

October 03, 2022

Forest Hills Stadium is turning 100 next year, and to say it has a lot of history would be an understatement. Everyone from The Beatles to Arthur Ashe have left their mark on this gem of a venue tucked away in residential Queens, New York.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs added a little more to the Forest Hills story this past weekend, bringing a stellar and diverse lineup to this one-time home of the US Open. To mark the release of their fifth album Cool It Down, their first since 2013’s Mosquito, they threw a celebratory and dynamic homecoming bash in spite of the cold and rainy weather.

To kick things off, The Linda Lindas blasted through a zippy opening set that had the stadium roaring before it was even half full. Having spent the summer on festival stages, the teenage fourpiece played like stadiums were old hat for them.

Next up, Japanese Breakfast brought their mix of alt-pop and shoegaze in what could have been a headliner set. Decked out in a stunning persimmon dress and intricate braids, Michelle Zauner bounced across the stage while backed by her equally well-dressed band. While the music was the centerpiece, one of the most moving moments of the evening came from Zauner between songs. She intended to read a passage from her book Crying in H Mart, but felt it would feel too much like a marketing stunt. She instead explained how much Karen O means to her, not just as an artists but as a fellow Korean-American woman and rock star.

Seeing Karen O had made her feel as if all things were possible—but at the same time, if there was already a half-Korean female rock star, could there be room for another? Zauner has obviously put that question to bed, but it speaks to the longstanding lack of diversity on stages across the country. The struggles women face in the music business are well-documented, and far from being overcome, but the evening’s lineup marked significant progress: Three rock bands fronted by Asian American women playing a sold-out stadium show is surely something to celebrate.

This fact was not lost on Karen O either. She dedicated "Maps" to mixed-race families, and shouted out The Linda Lindas, Japanese Breakfast, and her fellow bandmates and their respective families, remarking that she would be so fucking psyched if she was a kid seeing this show. While they’re far from being the first Asian women to pick up a guitar or microphone and make an impact on rock music, they're right to stop and take note of the impact they’ve had on young girls who need someone who looks like them on stage, on the radio, or on TV, and what better role model than Karen O?

Per usual, Karen O took the stage in an outlandish outfit, with a resplendent cape, intricate headdress, and an explosion of color she’s known for. With a big smile, she and the band tore through more than half of their freshly released album. While Cool It Down leans a little more toward the dancefloor on record, the band roughed up the edges onstage, bringing more rock while keeping the club vibes intact. Backed by some stunning 4K visuals, KO danced, posed, and smiled while die-hard fans in the front row sang along to every song—even the new material.

Many in the hometown audience have waited nearly a decade for this comeback, and they were justly rewarded. Favorites like "Y Control" and "Zero" were frenetic, with Brian Chase blazing on the drums and Nick Zinner laying down his trademark alt-rock-meets-new-wave guitar. "Maps" was the obvious crowd pleaser, "Spitting Off the Edge of the World" sounded incredible live, and recent single "Burning" sounded like gospel on acid. Karen O dedicated another new track, "Fleez," to the Bronx’s very own dance-punk innovators ESG, who were name-checked throughout the song.

While future plans are unknown for the band, let’s hope they aren’t taking another eight-year hiatus. The rust—if there ever was any—has clearly been shaken off, and they are firing on all cylinders.