By Elliot Cole

“I’m going to the bathroom to ejaculate.  I think I have blue balls,” murmurs Why? frontman Yoni Wolf.  What may be too much information for some (ok…most) is exactly the same element that has brought a packed crowd to The Mohawk.  Yoni’s sense of confessional lyricism is at the forefront of Why?’s indie rock/pop/hip-hop, while acting as the core of what made their last album, Alopeica, one of the best unexpected discs of the year.  From masturbation to morbidity, nothing is off limits for Yoni and company, but it’s the band’s ability to spin such personalized faux pas dialogues into a web of intellectual poignancy that makes Why? special.

A surprisingly diverse crowd waited through opener Mount Eerie, a one-man performance of digital backdrops and resonating guitars by Phil Elvrum (best known for his act The Microphones).  While his set was met with applause, the live setting didn’t do Elvrum many favors.  The songs were spacious, which, for a packed crowd, allows for sporadic chatter to fill the space between the chords.  The airy vocals and haunting sounds were an odd opener for Why?, and led to a fair share of concert-goers playing with their cell phones.  Well-received, but probably soon forgotten for most.

Backed by bandmates Doug McDiarmid and Josiah Wolf (along with touring member Austin Brown), Why? took the stage with the track “These Few Presidents”.  Fans lined the stairwells of the venue to get a good look of the band, which had the unshaven and unkempt demeanor of a group in the middle of an extensive tour.  Yoni’s chill release was half-rapping and half-singing, allowing for a somehow melodic-but-deadpanned quilt of earnest verses and emotive choruses.   

Alopecia favorites like “The Hollows”, “Good Friday”, and “The Vowels, Pt.2” were the highlights of the set, and were met with dancing and singing.  (It should be noted that a surprising amount of the crowd knew almost every word.)  The cornucopia of genres melded into a show that felt as much hip-hop (tilted caps bopping the air)  as indie (tight pants and v-necks aplenty).  The shifting percussion and bouncing vibraphone of Josiah allowed for compelling rhythms, while the barbed lyrics of Yoni darted through the audience.

To divvy things up, Why? included a few more somber tracks, but even Yoni’s most personal demons are met with jubilant fans smiling along with each chorus.  The most solemn songs were surprisingly met with as much applause as the more raucous tracks, indications that Yoni’s startling honesty and diary-pried lyrics are ultimately the most redeeming quality of the group.  

In short, it was a set you didn’t want to end, and the communal feel of the show (the group didn’t so much demand your attention as just let you have a good time) complemented the group’s style perfectly.  The band’s sense of humor (“You’re working, we’re playing,” Yoni would tell the soundcrew) and laid back demeanor made for an appropriately relaxed vibe amongst the crowd.  Diligent fans were treated to an encore including a new track that, as the band excitedly pronounced, “None of you have ever heard!”  Of course, this was immediately contradicted by an audience that sang along to every word.  That’s the irony of Why?...even at their most personal, they can’t keep a secret from their fans.