The dice were stacked against Yoni Wolf from the start. First of all, his excellent band, Why?, was nowhere to be seen. In his explanation, they had dispersed all over, one member heading to Berlin, another running off to join up with the Taliban. And then Yoni's sustain pedal for his organ either disappeared or just quit on him. Through it, though, he kept his humor, and came onstage asserting he was willing to play "the few songs I can do without [the pedal]."
Yoni made do with an admirable assist from the vibe dial, and managed to excite the crowd of mostly young, X-handed followers enough that he could exhort them to clap the snare parts in some of the pieces. He announced that there would be a new album in September and proceeded to play some great stuff off of that. Yoni's lyrics are top-notch, his storytelling and use of simile exceedingly well developed, and, alone on that Red 7 stage, he captivated the venue.