Ah, Yeah Yeah Yeahs - sexy, hip, noisy rockers. I am a fan and my wife an even bigger one. She wants to be Karen O when she grows up - traveling around the world, rockin' peoples' brains out of their heads and simply oozing cool in all the best ways.

So it was funny that we got to see a glimpse of two of the three YYYs just as they may have been in high school.

It was a benefit concert for the Colonial Theater all the way up in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. This quiet town nestled in the Berkshires just happens to be the home of Karen O's dad, and, while attending a high school reunion, the idea was hatched to have his daughter's super-cool New York-based band play a fund-raiser for the local theater.

It is a neat old theater, each ornate detail beautifully restored. I am sure it would be a great place to see a play, or a chamber orchestra, or a choral performance.

But this night it was Karen O, Nick Zinner, and a small group of acoustic musicians, playing normally bombastic, soaring rock 'n roll in a quieter, more subdued way. 

I don't know if it was because her parents were in the audience, (or maybe her parents' friends) or because it was an all acoustic show or what, but Karen O was nervous and actually acted - quite adorably - shy. She was awkward and lovely at the same time, in an adolescent sort of way. In fact, maybe it was the familial atmosphere, but the whole thing really did feel like watching the really talented but somewhat off-beat kids in your high school class put on a show. Like a little home-produced gig before everyone graduates and goes off to college. All of this sweetness helped make it one of the best events I have seen in a long, long time.

And there we were, sitting not 20 feet from the stage, feeling like teenagers. We developed crushes, we sighed a lot, we clapped like mad and we kept saying things like "I think I am going to die".

It turns out the next night they did the whole show again, as a benefit for MoMA, in Manhattan. There is a clip of it below. From what I can see the MoMA show was terrific and well worth the price of admission. But I am glad I saw the show in Pittsfield, before the kids had grown back up.