By Nicole Park
Daily Titan Staff Writer

The New York trio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, have been on the road since May in support of their latest album It’s Blitz!, released in March.

On Tuesday, Sept. 15, that road led them to the historic stage of the newly-renovated Fox Theatre in Pomona, where they played an hour-long set of an eclectic mix of old and new songs.

Also old-yet-new is the Fox Theatre itself.

When it opened in April 1931, the Fox became one of the preeminent entertainment destinations in southern California. Built to keep up with the boom of Hollywood, exclusive screenings were held and luxury was brought to Pomona through this ornate movie house. It boasted state-of-the-art sound and engineering equipment, along with the first refrigerated air conditioning east of Los Angeles. According to the non-profit organization’s Web site, Friends of the Pomona Fox, the theater changed, eventually for the worse, with its neighborhood’s decades and economy.

According to pomonafox.org, over the next few decades the theater fell into disrepair, eventually becoming the site of rave parties and gang related killings. In 2000 the city was finally able to close the venue and purchase the theater.

Purchased by its current owners in 2007, the Pomona Fox was painstakingly renovated to regain its operational use while retaining its charm and opened in April of 2009. The first live show on May 21.

The project is now running at full speed with many of its old features, including the Cinderella staircase, chandeliers, an art deco feel throughout and several bars tucked away in various corners, including The Tower, a terrace-level bar where drinks may be purchased under the neon lighting of a vertical, spinning “Fox” sign.

Just beneath that sign, the refurbished marquee, for Tuesday night, read: Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Otherworldly singer, Karen O, kicked off the show with the new single from It’s Blitz! called “Heads Will Roll” where she appropriately threatened concert goers to have fun, singing lyrics, “Off off off with your head!/Dance dance dance ’til you’re dead!”

One big blue eyeball hung from the backdrop, staring at the audience. Behind it, a psychedelic spiral of blue glitter.

Immediately following the dance-pop beat driven opener, the band performed a song beloved by early fans, “Black Tongue,” from the band’s debut full-length album, Fever To Tell, released in 2003.

Reaction to the classic song was one of widely agreed upon satisfaction, communicated through different tones of screams, whistles and cheer patterns, but the level of excitement soared when countless bits of confetti rained down upon the floor level of the audience in both the middle and the end of its performance.

Ten more songs, from a range of the three albums, came one after another with pauses in playing only for Ms. O to say, “Hello Pomona!” to the crowd.

YYYs did not fail in bringing Pomona the goods and KO was absolutely on point with her vocals.

The songs ranged from the well-known, like “Zero”, to songs from the first album, like “Date with the Night”. The songs also ranged in tempo, from the fast-paced “Dull Life” to the milder tone of “Soft Shock”.

At the end of the main set, the band walked away waving faux goodbyes. Everyone knew they were coming back for an encore. Still, YYY fans cheered with fervor and determination to ensure the extra couple of songs. The newly restored wood floor shook with feverish stomping and the three musicians reemerged to wild applause.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs led the encore with “Y Control”, followed by an acoustic version of “Maps,” a love song she dedicated to the recently deceased Patrick Swayze and to “young love.” At the closing of the tune, KO “stabbed” her heart with the powerful microphone and twisted it, for good, angsty measure.

The encore was concluded with the hysterical lyrics of “Tick” and the band waved goodbye for the last time.

Fans lingered in the auditorium, waiting to see anything at all. Ushers descended and fans were filed out.

University of California, San Diego psychology major, Donna Ayala, 21, ducked to the stage and was reprimanded, but still scurried away with a huge smile.

“I got it! I got the set list!” Ayala said. A group of 10 or more fans swarmed her just to take a picture of the list.

More fans waited outside, near the tour bus, long after the last song of the night, waiting to catch a glimpse of the band.

One longtime fan of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Melia Fernandez, 28, drove from Tustin to see the set live.

“Their stage presence is incendiary! I am stoked! Their transitions were subtle and when Karen would hold a pose, she was frozen like ice. It really helped make me feel like I was kept in that moment,” Fernandez said.

For five months, the band has been touring almost constantly, having made stops in Great Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Italy, to name a handful, and has a slew of more dates booked until early January 2010. The band headed East after their second and last southern California concert of the tour, at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles Sept. 16. Upcoming cities include New York, Washington DC and Boston. The band will then head overseas once again for another European stint and a finale in Australia in January.