Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley reunited on stage together in New York this week – see footage below.
On Friday (December 6), the three members of the classic lineup of the band joined together at The Stone venue in Greenwich Village, with drummer Shelley a special guest of guitarists Moore and Ranaldo.
The intimate show was comprised, as explained by some of those in attendance, of “an hour of improvised instrumental noise”. See fan-captured footage of the show below.
Rare convergence last night at The Stone with Thurston Moore/Steve Shelley/Lee Ranaldo zoning an hour, great set pic.twitter.com/IrrbjRp9TZ
— Brian Turner (@btrnr) December 7, 2024
just saw thurston moore, lee ranaldo, and steve shelley play an hour of improvised instrumental noise, which for a SY fan like me is sort of like seeing 3/4 of the beatles jam. spellbinding! pic.twitter.com/arDYFrRPEp
— Simon Vozick-Levinson (@simonwilliam) December 7, 2024
Thurston, Lee & Steve from Sonic Youth played the Stone tonight; it was magical. Bob Dylan said one great thing about rock is that you can hear 1 second out of a passing car and know who it is. Only four people on the planet can make that SY sound. It was beautiful, even moving. pic.twitter.com/iBtXuhjqw4
— Michael Azerrad (@michaelazerrad) December 7, 2024
3/4 of Sonic Youth reunited on stage at The Stone in NYC last night pic.twitter.com/nd5VSdjonQ
— BrooklynVegan (@brooklynvegan) December 7, 2024
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Moore formed Sonic Youth in New York City with bassist Kim Gordon in 1981 and they soon recruited Ranaldo as a second guitarist. The band had a number of drummers in their early days, including Richard Edson, Jim Sclavunos and Bob Bert, but Shelley eventually joined in 1985, playing on their third album ‘EVOL’ in 1986 and all subsequent releases.
In other Sonic Youth news, a rare live recording of the band from 1987 is being released next year. ‘Hold That Tiger’ was recorded at a show in Chicago and has only existed until now as a bootleg, but from February 7, fans will be able to purchase it via Superior Viaduct. Pre-order it here.
Moore released his ninth solo album ‘Flow Critical Lucidity’ in September via Daydream Library Series. The record included the single ‘Sam Limites’, which featured Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier, as well as ‘Isadora’, ‘Hypnogram’ and ‘Rewilding’.
He also released his memoir Sonic Life in 2023, which he told NME was a retelling of his “history of coming to New York City as a teenager and finding my footing as a musician”.
He was forced to cancel book tour dates due to “a longstanding health condition.” In October last year, he revealed that he had been struggling with atrial fibrillation for several years but is doing better now.