This is the kind of thing you love to see, and the kind of thing that doesn't happen often enough (except with jam bands, that is). An independent rock band with an engaging post-punk sound, a clutch of terrific songs, and an enigmatic frontman whose brattish drawl simultaneously channels David Byrne and Tom Verlaine makes it -- big -- on its own terms.
This is exactly what has happened to Brooklyn's Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (even the awkward name hasn't derailed their success). After selling more than 200,000 copies of its debut album without the help of a record label, and having last night's scheduled show at the Paradise moved to the larger Avalon and still selling the space out, CYHSY is officially a grass-roots phenomenon. That the quintet is a sensation armed with wiry, kinetic songs isn't up for debate. But the attention that's been paid to the band's Do-It-Yourself ethos is only part of the story. Equally, if not more, important was whether the band could possibly live up to the hype.
