Yeah Yeah Yeahs at All Points East: Karen O takes Victoria Park crowd back to 2003

It’s been five years since Yeah Yeah Yeahs last played in the UK – and they were out to enjoy themselves for their comeback at Victoria Park.

Frontwoman Karen O, queen of the New York-led garage rock revival of the early 2000s, rolled back the years in a set that borrowed heavily from their debut Fever To Tell, recently reissued for its 15th anniversary.

And for those in the packed-out crowd who weren’t around the first time around, O’s stage presence, ability to work the crowd and vocals – sharp as a razor – would have brought a thrill matched by few others.

For those of us who were there in 2003, it was a euphoric nostalgia trip that brought back memories of sweat-drenched gigs at Carling academies.

O looked and sounded as if she’d never been away, and appeared to love every minute of it, from the frantic, scuzzy, riffs of opener Y Control to the filthy, disco-tinged set closer Date With The Night.

Hit songs from the band’s three later albums all drew huge applause, particularly Heads Will Roll, the dancefloor gem from 2009’s It’s Blitz!.

With no new tracks in sight, the set was more of a celebration of one of the most exciting bands to come out of the early 2000s than a comeback show. And there’s nothing wrong with that.