Live At Columbiahalle, October 21st 2009 2xCD

Shortly after the release of their final album, 2009's The Eternal, Sonic Youth played an inspired show at Berlin's warehouse-like venue Columbiahalle to an audience of several thousand awestruck onlookers. Even at this later stage of the band's run, there's an undeniable charge in the air at this gig. With Mark Ibold on bass, the band plays the majority of the songs from The Eternal (the set list only leaves off "Thunderclap for Bobby Pyn") and barrels through several back-catalog classics like they were written earlier that week. This reading of Sister's "Stereo Sanctity" has as much power as the original, and the final encore of "Death Valley '69" leans into chaos and abandon, exploding in all directions and unraveling into screams and feedback that push the envelope even for a band whose creative language was born of those elements. It's a stunning capture of a special night, and highlights a phase of Sonic Youth's history that's deeper into the story but no less important.

This show was recorded to digital multi-track and later professionally mixed by Aaron Mullan. Rather than a rough-cut audience tape or a mix grabbed from the soundboard, Live in Berlin 2009 is a studio-quality capture of the band in prime stage form.