14 March 2008
French Legation Museum
Austin, TX
Other Music party
acoustic
Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi (Jacques Dutronc)
Shaker
I Feel Like Going Home
Autumn Sweater
The Weakest Part
Right Track Now (Roky Erickson)
Sugarcube
The Story of Yo La Tango
13 March 2008
Austin Music Hall
Austin, TX
opening for My Morning Jacket
Cherry Chapstick
Little Eyes
Autumn Sweater
Mr. Tough
The Weakest Part
Beanbag Chair
Tom Courtenay
Decora
Watch Out For Me, Ronnie
Sugarcube
The Story of Yo La Tango
11 March 2008
The Parish
Austin, TX
opening for My Morning Jacket
IFC Crossroads Party
Mr. Tough
Beanbag Chair
Demons
Drug Test
Big Day Coming (fast) >
Watch Out For Me, Ronnie
I Heard You Looking (with Joe Puleo on organ)
You Can Have It All (George McCrea) (all on drums/percussion)
Please comment with all corrections/additions. (Thx, Neil.)
2 March 2008
WFMU Studios
Jersey City, NJ
no Georgia (home sick), Peter Walsh (ex-Hypnolovewheel) on drums, Bruce Bennett on guitar
Starry Eyes (Roky Erickson)
Badlands (Bruce Springsteen)
She's My Best Friend (Velvet Underground)
Run Run Run (Velvet Underground)
Can't Explain (The Who)
Baby's On Fire (Brian Eno)
Slow Down (The Feelies)
I'm In Love With A Girl (Big Star)
Critical List (The Fleshtones)
Sweet Leaf (Black Sabbath)
Tales of Brave Ulysses (Cream)
Green-Eyed Lady (Sugarloaf)
Shot Down (The Sonics)
These Boots Are Made For Walking (Lee Hazlewood)
Cowboy Song (Thin Lizzy)
Aba Dabba Do Dance (The Tradewinds)
Our World (Individuals)
What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love, and Understanding (Nick Lowe)
Bridget Because (Hypnolovewheel)
Mannequin (Wire)
Viva Las Vegas (Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman)
Teenage Kicks (The Undertones)
It's Only Life (The Feelies)
The Passenger (Iggy Pop)
With A Girl Like You (The Troggs)
Mystery Called Love (Ron Davis/Rodd Keith)
See My Friends (The Kinks)
Jesse's Girl (Rick Springfield)
If I Were A Carpenter (Tim Hardin)
California Sun (The Rivieras)
Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division)
Different Drum (Mike Nesmith)
Search and Destroy (Iggy and the Stooges)
Paint It Black (The Rolling Stones)
White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane)
Chantilly Lace (Big Bopper) medley, also featuring: Waterloo Sunset (The Kinks), Yo Yo Bye Bye (Why?), Afternoon Delight (Starland Vocal Band), At Last I Am Free (Chic), Now You Know You're Black (The Frogs), Girl Don't Tell Me (The Beach Boys), I'll Never Fall In Love Again (The Carpenters), I'll Keep It With Mine (Bob Dylan), Ode to Billie Joe (Bobby Gentry), MacArthur Park (Jimmy Webb), The Tra La La Song (Cal Tjader), Boogie Wonderland (Earth, Wind and Fire), Star Spangled Banner (Francis Scott Key)
 How This Works... |
Support Freeform Radio! |
Yo La Tengo at Rififi
Invite Them Up with Eugene Mirman and Bobby Tisdale
26 February 2008
no Georgia, Todd Barry on drums
Come On Up (The Young Rascals) (download)
Mr. Tough
Big Day Coming (fast)
Bobby's Girl (Lesley Gore) (download)
The Yo La Tengo Hanukkah mixes: part 1 and part 2.
Part 1: Georgia, Ira, James, Todd-O-Phonic Todd Abramson
Part 2: Yoshitomi Nara, Matmos, Eye, David Cross
If you enjoy the mixes, please consider donating to the charities for which they were intended. (See original setlists for more info.)
Happy holidays y'all. Check back in soon for my own holiday megamix.
"I Wanna Be Your Partner" - Bob Dylan (download)
from Dimestore Medicine bootleg, c. 1966
"Fourth Time Around" - Yo La Tengo (download) (buy)
from I'm Not There OST
(files expire December 21st)
(Re-entry continues...) Yo La Tengo's two Bob Dylan covers on the soundtrack to Todd Haynes' I'm Not There -- "I Wanna Be Your Lover" and "Fourth Time Around" -- constitute a tiny sub-category in Dylan's work: response songs to the Beatles. The former lifts its chorus from Lennon/McCartney so-cast-off-they-let-Ringo-sing "I Wanna Be Your Man" (supplanting Dylan's earlier draft, the proto-PC "I Wanna Be Your Partner"). "Fourth Time Around," meanwhile, is Dylan's rewrite of "Norwegian Wood," with a similar plot (cheekily oblique conversation about an affair) set to a similar melody in a similar mood. Dylan's version is way more sly, of course, with its wry put-downs ("your words are not clear, you better spit out your gum") and the snotty/Britty crutch/crotch double entendre at its end ("I didn't ask for your crutch, now don't ask for mine"). Intentional choice on YLT's part to mirror Haynes' meta-textual orgy? Only the nose knows for sure. The nose being Ringo.
"I'll Keep It With Mine" - Yo La Tengo (download)
recorded 30 December 2005, Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ
(file expires December 20th)
Sleep. Soon. In the meantime, to aid in the ever-so-gradual reentry, the Georgia-sung "I'll Keep It With Mine" from the stunning sleeper show the night before New Year's, 2005. Purdy Nico arrangement (superior to Dylan's clunkier demo, oddly), aided by Rolling Thunder/sessionman stringdude David Mansfield. Sleep. Now. But first, maybe headphones. (Thx to Neil & Brandon for the tunes.)
(My now-complete Maxwell's reports: part 1, part 2.)
Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's
11 December 2007
*(Hanukah, night 8)*
Times New Viking and David Cross opened.
Mix disc by Ira.
Night Falls on Hoboken
Eight Day Weekend (Gary "U.S." Bonds)
Double Dare
Cone of Silence
Shadows
The Weakest Part
Mr. Tough
Paul Is Dead
Stockholm Syndrome
I Should Have Known Better
Autumn Sweater (organless version)
Watch Out For Me, Ronnie
Blue Line Swinger
Love Power (Herb Hartic/Norman Blaoman) (with Hanukah shout-outs)
*(encore)* with Howard Kaylan of the Turtles/Flo & Eddie
Hungry Heart (Bruce Springsteen) (with Beth Murphy of Times New Viking on keyboards)
You Baby (P.F. Sloan/Steve Barri)
One Potato, Two Potato (The Crossfires)
Love Songs in the Night (Michael Brown)
Metal Guru (T-Rex)
She'd Rather Be With Me (The Turtles)
(Please post all corrections, etc., in comments.)
Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's
10 December 2007
*(Hanukah, night 7)*
The New Pornographers and Andy Blitz opened.
Mix disc by Yoshitomo Nara.
TV Party (Black Flag) (sung as "Dreidel Party")
Everyday
From A Motel 6
The Room Got Heavy
False Alarm
Beanbag Chair
Mr. Tough
Magnet (NRBQ) (with Jon Wurster of Superchunk on drums)
Saturday (with JW)
Sugarcube
The Story of Jazz
We're An American Band
Mushroom Cloud of Hiss
You Can Have It All (George McCrea) (all on drums)
*(encore)* with Roy Loney of the Flamin' Groovies on vocals and Bruce Bennett on guitar
Have You Seen My Baby (Randy Newman)
High Flyin' Baby (Flamin' Groovies)
Teenage Head (Flamin' Groovies)
Slow Death (Flamin' Groovies)
(Please post all corrections, etc., in comments.)
(also: my reviews so far.)
Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's
9 December 2007
*(Hanukah, night 6)*
Redd Kross and Heather Lawless opened.
Mix disc by Eye.
Eight Days A Week (The Beatles)
I Should Have Known Better
Autumn Sweater
Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind >
Last Days of Disco
Today is the Day (fast)
Sometimes I Don't Get You
The Weakest Part
Demons
Out the Window
Drug Test
Tom Courtenay
I Heard You Looking (with Joe Puleo on organ)
Our Way To Fall
*(encore)*
September Gurls (Alex Chilton) (with Redd Kross)
Bus Stop (The Hollies) (with Redd Kross)
Who Loves the Sun (Velvet Underground) (with Redd Kross)
Calling Dr. Love (KISS) (with Redd Kross)
My Little Corner of the World (Bob Hilliard/Lee Pockriss) (with Ira's mom)
(Please post all corrections, etc., in comments.)
Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's
8 December 2007
*(Hanukah, night 5)*
Dew-Claw, Sarah Vowell, and Amy Poehler opened.
Mix disc by Georgia.
Barnaby, Hardly Working
Shaker
Stockholm Syndrome
Tears Are In Your Eyes
Season of the Shark
Don't Say A Word (Hot Chicken #2)
Song For Mahlia
The River of Water (with Dave Rick of Dew-Claw/ex-YLT on guitar)
Sometime In The Morning (Carole King/Gerry Goffin) (with DR and Stephen Hunking on vocals/guitar)
E.T.I. (Blue Oyster Cult) (with DR and SH)
Mr. Tough
Big Day Coming
Watch Out For Me, Ronnie
The Story of Yo La Tango
*(encore)* with Alex Chilton on guitar and vocals
I've Had It (The Bell-Notes)
The Oogum Boogum Song (Brenton Wood)
Let Me Get Close To You (Carole King/Gerry Goffin)
Femme Fatale (Velvet Underground)
Baby Strange (T-Rex)
Hey Little Child (Alex Chilton)
Government Center (Modern Lovers)
(Please post all corrections, etc., in comments.)
Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's
7 December 2007
*(Hanukah, night 4)*
Endless Boogie and Todd Barry opened.
Mix disc by James.
Cherry Chapstick
Evanescent Psychic Pez Drop
Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind
Little Eyes
The Crying of Lot G
The Summer
The Weakest Part
Beanbag Chair
Detouring America With Horns
I Should Have Known Better
Sugarcube
Tom Courtenay
Heroin (Velvet Underground, Roky Erickson arrangement) (with Jesper Eklow of Endless Boogie on guitar)
Take Care (Alex Chilton)
*(encore)* with Alex Chilton on guitar and vocals
Let Me Get Close To You (Carole King/Gerry Goffin)
'Til The End of the Day (The Kinks)
Time Is On My Side (Jerry Ragovoy) (with Tammy Lynn Michaels on vocals)
Femme Fatale (Velvet Underground)
Hey Little Child (Alex Chilton)
Jeepster (T-Rex) (with Todd Barry on drums)
(Please post all corrections, etc., in comments.)
Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's
6 December 2007
*(Hanukah, night 3)*
The dB's and Eugene Mirman opened.
Mix disc by Todd Abramson.
Nuclear War (Sun Ra)
Five Cornered Drone (Crispy Duck)
The Race Is On Again
Autumn Sweater
The Weakest Part
Mr. Tough
No Water (with Chris Stamey of the dB's on guitar)
I Wanna Be Your Lover (Bob Dylan) (with CS on organ, Gene Holder on guitar, Will Rigby on 2nd drums)
Cast A Shadow (Beat Happening) (with GH and WR on drums)
Don't Have To Be So Sad (with WR)
Tom Courtenay
Styles of the Times
Watch Out For Me, Ronnie
I Heard You Looking (with Joe Puleo on organ)
*(encore)*
Heart Full of Soul (The Yardbirds) (with CS)
The Question (Will Rigby) (with WR)
Solitary Man (Neil Diamond) (with Jim James of My Morning Jacket on vocals and guitar)
Secret Agent Man (P.F. Sloan/Steve Barri) (with JJ)
Hard Luck Woman (KISS) (with JJ)
(Please post all corrections, etc., in comments.)
Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's
5 December 2007
*(Hanukah, night 2)*
The Clean and John Oliver opened.
Mix disc by David Cross.
Green Arrow
Eight Day Weekend (Gary "U.S." Bonds)
Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind
Stockholm Syndrome
The Room Got Heavy
Beanbag Chair
Winter A Go Go
Nowhere Near
This Diamond Ring (Gary Lewis)
Decora
Upside Down
Deeper Into Movies (with Hamish Kilgour of the Clean on 2nd drums)
Big Day Coming (fast) > (with HK)
Little Honda (The Beach Boys) (with HK)
*(encore)*
Blitzkrieg Bop (instrumental) (The Ramones)
Easy Action (T-Rex) (with David Kilgour and Bob Scott of the Clean on vocals)
Seemingly Stranded (David Kilgour) (with DK, BS and Mac McCaughan of Superchunk on organ)
What Am I Gonna Do? (The Dovers) (with DK, BS, and MM)
Blitzkrieg Bop (The Ramones) (with BS)
(Please post all corrections, etc., in comments.)
Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's
4 December 2007
*(Hanukah, night 1)*
Versus and Jon Benjamin and Jon Glaser opened.
Mix disc by Matmos.
Carnival Time (Al Johnson) (sung as "Hanukah Time," with Mike, Jeff, and Steve on horns)
Mr. Tough (with Mike, Jeff, and Steve on horns)
We're An American Band
Damage (with James Baluyut of Versus on guitar)
Madeleine
She's My Best Friend (Velvet Underground)
Flying Lesson (Hot Chicken #1)
Alyda (Georgia on keys)
I Feel Like Going Home (Georgia on keys)
From A Motel 6
Sugarcube
Sudden Organ
Watch Out For Me, Ronnie
The Story of Yo La Tango
*(encore)*
Autumn Sweater (with Jon Glaser as "Kim" on vocals)
What's My Name (The Clash) (with Mark Arm of Mudhoney on vocals)
Operation (Circle Jerks) (with Mark Arm)
Too Animalistic (Angry Samoans) (with Mark Arm)
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love (Van Halen) (with Mark Arm)
Cabaret (Fred Ebb/John Kander) (with Mark Arm)
(Please post all corrections, etc., in comments.)
"Ripple" - Yo La Tengo (download)
recorded 19 October 2007, Landmark on Main Street, Port Washington, NY
(file expires October 29th)
Yo La Tengo at Landmark on Main Street
Port Washington, NY
19 October 2007
Chris Brokaw opened.
The Landmark being (as we discovered) across the street from Finn MacCool's, the watering hole of choice for the 1986 Mets, many of who resided in Port Washington, we naturally had to toast Danny Heep en route to the show. Via Jeff Pearlman's The Bad Guys Won:
Strawberry did much of his damage at Finn MacCool's, a tavern in Port Washington where many of the Mets hung out. One night Henry Downing, the bar's manager, concocted a drink for the Mets that he named The Nervous Breakdown. It was a potent combination of vodka, cranberry juice, tequila, and schanpps, and the twelve Mets sitting around the table eagerly devoured pitcher after pitchers. Among the participants were Ojeda, Mitchell, Dykstra, and Backman -- guys who could hold their own. Yet the one who drank the most was Strawberry. 'I remember he really took to that,' says Connie O'Reilly, MacCool's owner. 'I guess he liked the taste.' ... 'The next afternoon we were watching the game from the bar, and the broadcaster said Darryl wasn't playing,' O'Reilly says. 'They showed him sitting on tbe bench... something about a twenty-four-hour virus.'
Tom Courtenay
Beanbag Chair
Let's Save Tony Orlando's House
Fog Over Frisco
Mr. Tough
Ripple (Grateful Dead)
Surfin' With the Shah (The Urinals)
Cone of Silence
Sloop John B (trad/Beach Boys)
Black Flowers
Luci Baines (Arthur Lee)
Decora
I Found A Reason (Velvet Underground)
Oklahoma USA (The Kinks)
Story of Yo La Tango
Detouring America With Horns
Speeding Motocycle (Daniel Johnston)
You Can Have It All (George McCrea)
*(encore, with Chris Brokaw on guitar)*
A House Is Not A Motel (Arthur Lee)
Tell Me When It's Over (Dream Syndicate)
I Feel Like Going Home
"Autumn Sweater" - Yo La Tengo (download)
"This Man He Cries Tonight"- Yo La Tengo (download)
recorded 6 October 2007, Brooklyn Lyceum, Brooklyn, NY
(files expire October 15th)
Yo La Tengo at Brooklyn Lyceum
6 October 2007
New Yorker festival
between song Q&As moderated by Ben Greenman
The Cone of Silence
Stockholm Syndrome
Story of Yo La Tango
Magnet (NRBQ)
Madeleine
Autumn Sweater
I Heard You Looking
Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind
This Man He Cries Tonight (The Kinks) (live debut)
Sugarcube
"End of an Era" - Yo La Tengo (download)
from Old Joy OST (2006)
unreleased
(file expires September 23rd)
I'm not sure what the proper name of this tune is, but it's one of a few extended Yo La Tengo instrumentals in Kelly Reichardt's Old Joy. The voice at the top is Bonnie Prince Palace himself, Will Oldham, playing the role of Kurt with perfectly burnt detachment. With little overt drama, just submerged tensions rippling the surface, the picture plays like a short story -- no surprise, given that it was based on one by Jonathan Raymond. Like this YLT's contributions to the score, Old Joy is an extended mood piece, the whole reflected patiently in each of its parts. Absolutely worth seeing.
Yo La Tengo at Winter Garden, World Financial Center
2 June 2007
Bang on a Can Marathon
Ira: keyboards/piano, James: electronics/drums, Georgia: keyboard/crutches (?!), with: Pat Gubler (PG Six, harp), Matt Heyner (No Neck Blues Band, upright bass), Elson Nascimento (Sun Ra Arkestra, percussion), and Britt Walford (Slint, drums)
Set was 20-30 minute improvisation, possibly including bits from one of The Sounds of the Sounds of Science songs ("The Sea Horse," maybe?). Mostly free and abstract, save for a pulse in the middle when James switched to drums, at which point it became rhythmic and abstract. But also pretty free.
Yo La Tango: sic'cest ever!
Yo La Tengo at Webster Hall
29 April 2007
Oneida opened
I Feel Like Going Home
From A Motel 6
Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind
Last Days of Disco
The Room Got Heavy
The Weakest Part
Beanbag Chair
Mr. Tough
Song for Mahlia
Don't Say A Word (Hot Chicken #2)
Sugarcube
Styles of the times
Big Day Coming > (fast version)
Watch Out For Me, Ronnie
The Story of Yo La Tango
*(encore 1)*
The Race Is On Again
Dreaming (Sun Ra)
Tom Courtenay (acoustic version)
*(encore 2)*
Gates of Steel (Devo)
My Little Corner of the World (Bob Hilliard & Lee Pockriss)
Yo La Tengo at Skirball Center, NYU
25 April 2007
Billed as 'Around the Campfire with Yo La Tengo.' Ira on acoustic guitar, Georgia on snare/hi-hat, James on bass. Q&A between each song.
Tom Courtenay
Our Way To Fall
You Can Have It All (Harry Wayne Casey)
Tiny Birds
Rocks Off (Rolling Stones)
Better Things (The Kinks)
Now 2000
Nowhere Near
Stockholm Syndrome
Autumn Sweater
Speeding Motorcycle (Daniel Johnston)
"1999" - Dump (download here)
from That Skinny Motherfucker With the High Voice? (1998)
released by Shrimper
(file expires March 29th)
Yo La Tengo's James McNew reimagines "1999" as an oddly grooved drum machine chill-out. It works, too, mostly thanks to McNew's boyishly sweet voice. His album of Prince covers, That Skinny Motherfucker With the High Voice? (note the question mark) was sued out of existence by the Purple One himself. I wonder if he ever listened to it. I hope so, if only because I dig the idea of Prince feeling threatened by James McNew. Apparently, Amazon Japan has copies.
(Oh, yeah: and YLT will be on WFMU tomorrow night doing their annual request-a-thon/benefit, though it probably won't be as good as this.)
"The Weakest Part" (slow version) - Yo La Tengo (download here)
from iTunes Session EP (2007)
released by iTunes (buy
(expires January 17th)
Though you wouldn't know it by checking YLT.com (at least, as of tonight), there's a new four-song Yo La Tengo EP this week, available for $4 via the iTunes store. Along with a vaguely surfy instrumental, "El Es Gay" (like "El Es Dee"?), a by-the-books rerecording of "Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind," and a delighted cover of Love's tribute to LBJ's daughter (and "Twist and Shout" rewrite) "Luci Baines," there's also a rearrangement of Beat Your Ass's "The Weakest Part."
Sufficently damn understated in its original incarnation, "The Weakest Part" is now practically invisible. As a solo piano ballad (with dab of feedbacky guitar), the slow motion melody stretches to a near flatline. It's just atmosphere, Georgia Hubley's voice disappearing into the sound of itself. It's not much to sing (or even hum) along with, but it is lovely nonetheless.
Well worth the $4 (if only to burn to CD & re-rip to mp3), the iTunes Session EP is a nice addition to the two b-sides Yo La Tengo put out last fall.
"I'm Your Puppet" - Yo La Tengo (download here)
from Mr. Tough 7-inch (2006)
released by Matador
1. Here's the newest obscura, a literal B-side from the "Mr. Tough" single: a cover of Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham's "I'm Your Puppet." Presumably a Beat Your Ass leftover, it's got lovely strings (David Mansfield?), and is a welcome addition to the late-night playlist.
2. To reach the resources of the old YoLaTengo.net, one now has to use the Wayback Machine at archive.org to consult a mirror of the old YLT.net via the now-old version of sunsquashed.com. The URLs get pretty hilarious. It is here (no graphics, so just, like, wave your arrow over the links to find what yer looking for).
3. So, apparently, there was a BBC session, recently? I seemed to have missed this. Some curious covers on the setlist. Anybody end up with a copy?
4. YLT played in Jersey City on Friday.
Yo La Tengo at the Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre
29 September 2006
Why? opened
Sugarcube
Pass The Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind
Flying Lesson (Hot Chicken #1)
The Weakest Part
Sometimes I Don't Get You
Winter A Go Go
Mr. Tough
Beanbag Chair
I Feel Like Going Home
Stockholm Syndrome
I Should Have Known Better
Watch Out For Me, Ronnie
Tom Courtenay
The Story of Yo La Tango
I Heard You Looking
*(encore 1)*
Oklahoma USA (The Kinks)
Lewis
Rocks Off (The Rolling Stones)
*(encore 2)*
Cast A Shadow (Beat Happening)
Did I Tell You?
"Meet the Mets" - Yo La Tengo (download here)
from Yo La Tengo Is Murdering the Classics (2006)
released by Egon
(file expires on May 31st.)
Every one of the 30 tossed-off covers on the terrible-by-any-objective-standard Yo La Tengo Is Murdering the Classics will be endearing to somebody; the only question is which one. It's kind of a neat effect, and it makes the band seem that much more personal. For me, it's "Meet the Mets," the closest the team (from whose lore YLT drew their name) ever came to a theme jingle. Though it was recently replaced -- officially, anyway -- by the metallic shit-pop production "Our Team, Our Time," "Meet the Mets" still gets an early inning airing and sing-along. Young Manhattanite recently posted a delightful mp3 history of the Mets' various songs over the years.
(Visible under the 7-train tracks is the Casey Stengel bus depot.)
("Take Me Out to the Ballgame," 7th inning stretch.)
Yo La Tengo played their annual all-covers pledge drive for WFMU tonight.
Please comment with corrections. Thanks to Google for the help.
7 March 2006
WFMU Studios
Jersey City, NJ
Batman theme
Bertha (Grateful Dead)
City Hobgoblins (The Fall)
The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man (The Rolling Stones)
Instant Karma (John Lennon)
Zig-Zag Wanderer (Captain Beefheart)
Something In The Air (Thunderclap Newman)
Laugh at Me (Sonny and Cher)
Egyptian Reggae (Jonathan Richman)
Rock and Roll Love Letter (Bay City Rollers)
Starry Eyes (The Records)
You Don't Miss Your Water (Craig David)
Girl of the North Country (Bob Dylan)
Dead Flowers (The Rolling Stones)
Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes)
Lay Lady Lay (Bob Dylan)
Suspect Device (Stiff Little Fingers)
I Can't Make It On Time (The Ramones)
Gut Feeling (Devo)
Holiday (The Bee Gees)
Suzanne (Leonard Cohen)
Don't Cry No Tears (Neil Young)
I Fought the Law (Bobby Fuller Four)
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love and Understanding? (Nick Lowe)
Happy Birthday to Bruce Bennett
Pay to Cum (Bad Brains)
Do It Again (Steely Dan)
You Make Me Feel So Good (The Zombies)
Heart of Darkness (Pere Ubu)
Alex Chilton (The Replacements)
Jack and Diane (John Mellencamp)
California Girls (The Beach Boys)
Hello Lucille, Are You A Lesbian? (T. Valentine)
Re-Make/Re-Model (Roxy Music)
Should I Stay or Should I Go? (The Clash)
Slack Motherfucker (Superchunk)
Werewolves of London (Warren Zevon), as medley, with bits of Take Me To The River (Al Green), Life on Mars? (David Bowie), Like A Virgin (Madonna), Dr. Robert (The Beatles), Uptown Girl (Billy Joel) and others.
"Barnaby, Hardly Working" - Yo La Tengo
27 December 2005 :: Maxwell's - Hoboken, NJ
(file expires on February 16th)
It's a good week (for me, anyway) when there are announcements of new projects from Bob Dylan, David Byrne, and -- now -- Yo La Tengo. Over on ylt.com, Ira reports that the band is working on a new album in Nashville (presumably once again with producer Roger Moutenot). Beauty, eh? Ira also mentions a bunch of movie soundtracks. It'd sure be nice to see some EPs come outta those. And, while we're on the topic, Brooklyn Vegan posted a few weeks back that YLT will be returning to the Prospect Park Bandshell on July 13th.
Above is "Barnaby, Hardly Working" from the third night of the 2005 Hanukah run. I've dorked about it elsewhere, and it's worth a listen, totally different from the versions on Fakebook and the President Yo La Tengo EP. The band really milks the transitions, stretching out via a long Ira solo in the middle and turning the ending into two separate sections -- a reprise of the verse, and finally a dreamy glide through the "face down beside the water" coda. There are all kinds of nifty arrangement touches throughout, too: Tortoise drummer John Herndon's just-right shaker entrance (around the three minute mark), his drum-off with Georgia coming out of Ira's solo, James' sudden organ (pun only slightly intended) during the ending. For all I know, this is how they've been playing the song for years, but I'd sure never heard it. For BitTorrenters, the whole show is (hopefully) still available here. Thanks to yltfan for taping.
My mind is on the blink. One more night in Hoboken kept 2005 in suspended animation, so the New Year doesn't really begin 'til I wake up tomorrow. So it goes. One more night, a few more bust-outs (finally got "Tiny Birds"), one more version of Serge Gainsbourg's "Je T'Aime." Happy Hanukah. Thanks, YLT.
Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's
1 January 2006
*(Hanukah, night 8)*
Lois and FruitBoots opened.
Mix disc by Cornelius.
Holiday (Madonna)
Eight Day Weekend (Gary Lewis)
Cherry Chapstick
Decora
Season of the Shark
The Summer
Autumn Sweater
Satellite
Tiny Birds
Nowhere Near
Sudden Organ
Styles of the Times
Tom Courtenay
Blue Line Swinger
Eight Days A Week (The Beatles)
*(encore)*
Matter of Trust (Billy Joel, with, ahem, Matter of Trust, featuring Jons Benjamin & Glaser, Todd Barry, etc.)
Rocks Off (The Rolling Stones)
Don't Make My Baby Blue (Cynthia Weill/Barry Mann, with Lois on vocals and Bruce Bennett on guitar)
Je T'Aime (Serge Gainsbourg, with Lois and Gaylord Fields)
Dream A Little Dream of Me (W. Schwant/F. Andre/ G. Kahn, with Lois on vocals)
Never thought I'd be so glad to spend New Year's in Jersey. Probably some holes below, but so it goes. Lotta strands in ol' Duder's head. Fun stuff -- falsetto overdrive after midnight ("1999"); costumes; thin, wild mercury music ("I Wanna Be Your Lover"); Georgia balladry ("Gee, the Moon is Shining Bright"); New Year's resolutions ("Sugarcube"), and the infinitely charming Wreckless Eric eating an apple while crooning Serge Gainsbourg ("Je T'Aime," untranslatable to tape). Happy New Year's.
Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's
31 December 2005
*(Hanukah, night 7)*
The Scene is Now and Fred Armisen opened.
Mix discs by James and RJD2.
(much of set with various members of The Scene is Now and/or Fred Armisen on drums.)
1999 (Prince, Fred Armisen as Prince.)
When U Were Mine (Prince, with Armisen)
Stockholm Syndrome
Upside Down
Tears Are In Your Eyes
I Wanna Be Your Lover (Bob Dylan)
As the Hour Grows Late
Center of Gravity
Xmas Trip (Run-On)
Gee, The Moon is Shining Bright (The Dixie Cups)
Little Eyes
Sugarcube
The Story of Jazz
Big Day Coming (fast version)
Deeper Into Movies
Mushroom Cloud of Hiss
instrumental (Georgia on guitar)
Our Way to Fall
*(encore)*
False Alarm tease >
Let's Compromise (Information, with everybody)
Red Rubber Ball (Paul Simon, with Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby)
Je T'Aime (Serge Gainsbourg, with Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby)
Yellow Sarong
An utterly surprising set, featuring former Rolling Thunder Revue multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield on violin ("the boy with the Botticelli face" -- Allen Ginsberg) and all the quiet folkiness and obscure covers that've been conspicously scarce for much of the run. Nearly every selection felt like a forgotten (or newly remembered) treat, from the Camp Yo La Tengo "Tom Courtenay" to a random-ass T-Bone Burrnett cover to Georgia's beautiful, beautiful, beautiful take on the Blonde on Blonde outtake "I'll Keep It With Mine."
Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's
30 December 2005
*(Hanukah, night 6)*
The Volcano Suns and Raisin opened.
Mix disc by Ira.
(entire set with David Mansfield on violin)
Night Falls on Hoboken
Tom Courtenay (quiet version)
Did I Tell You?
Griselda (Peter Stampfel)
Pablo and Andrea
Black Hole (The Urinals)
Something To Do
We're An American Band
I'm Coming Home (T-Bone Burnett)
Alyda
From Black to Blue
How Much I've Lied (Gram Parsons)
Little Eyes
For Shame of Doing Wrong (Richard Thompson)
Sugarcube
I Heard You Looking
I'll Keep It With Mine (Bob Dylan)
*(encore)*
Autumn Sweater
Can't Make It On Time (The Ramones, with Volcano Suns guitarist)
Definitely Clean (Steve Wynn, with Volcano Suns guitarist and Peter Prescott on vocals)
I wasn't there, but thanks to the help of Christopher, Neil, OneLouderNYC, and Ira's diary, I think I've reconstructed the setlist for last night's show. Looks like fun, with a nice seasonal clump in the middle. (No "I Live in the Springtime," though.) All corrections welcome, of course.
Also, yesterday, the New York Times featured Laura Sinagra's very nice review of night 3. (Registration logins here.)
Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's
29 December 2005
*(Hanukah, night 5)*
Half-Japanese and Louis C.K. opened.
Mix disc by Pee-Wee's Playhouse designer Gary Panter
Beautiful World (Devo)
From A Motel 6
Today Is The Day
Detouring America With Horns
Season of the Shark
Winter A Go Go
Autumn Sweater
The Summer
Car Gears Stick in Reverse, Daring Driver Crosses Town Backwards (with Jad Fair)
Principal Punishes Students with Bad Impressions and Tired Jokes (with Jad Fair)
Little Eyes
Five-Cornered Drone (Crispy Duck)
Tom Courtenay
Heroin (Velvet Underground, Roky Erickson arrangement)
*(encore)* with David Johansen on vocals
After the Fox (Burt Bacharach)
Out in the Streets (Jeff Berry and Ellie Greenwich)
Doin' All Right (The Fugs, with Bruce Bennett on guitar)
Chinese Rocks (Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers)
Who Are the Mystery Girls? (New York Dolls).
(Thanks to Ariella for the posting title...)
It's just a wonder to me that I can see Tortoise and the Sun Ra Arkestra on consecutive nights, on a tiny-ass stage, playing both by themselves and with Yo La Tengo. The Arkestra was in fine form, digging deep and weird, and coming up with "I am Gonna Unmask The Batman," a cut from the cosmos-spanning Singles anthology that YLT has drawn from repeatedly.
Like the Arkestra, YLT's set was, by turns, sloppy, inspired, and joyous. Highlights included a gorgeous "Beach Party Tonight" opener, a half-dozen impromptu Stax-on-Saturn horn arrangements, an overdriven "Big Day Coming" (with trombone blowing a mutated Dixieland counterpoint to the two-note riff), and a full-charge segue into an even-more-overdriven "Little Honda."
I'm, er, skipping tomorrow. So, if anybody goes and wants to pass a aetlist along, I'd be happy to post it.
Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's
28 December 2005
*(Hanukah, night 4)*
The Sun Ra Arkestra and Jon Glaser and Jon Benjamin opened.
Mix disc by WFMU's Small Change.
("Beach Party" through "Double Dare," and "Clumsy Grandmother" through "Nuclear War" with members of the Arkestra.)
Beach Party Tonight
Georgia vs. Yo La Tengo
Don't Have To Be So Sad
Out the Window
Double Dare
Tears Are In Your Eyes
Stockholm Syndrome
Walking Away From You
Can't Forget
Clumsy Grandmother Serves Delicious Dessert by Mistake
Deeper Into Movies
Big Day Coming (fast) >
Little Honda (Beach Boys)
Nuclear War (Sun Ra)
*(encore)*
I Dream of Jeannie (Hypnolovewheel, with Stephen Hunking on guitar and vocals)
(I Live For) Cars and Girls (The Dictators, with Todd Abramson of Maxwell's on vocals)
Dreaming (Sun Ra)
Splendid night in Hoboken, and kinda the reason I keep going back to Maxwell's. Seeing Tortoise on a tiny stage was a treat, and their additions to Yo La Tengo's set were exactly what guest appearances should be. Switching off on various basses, guitars, and drums, Messrs. Hendon, McCombs, and Parker strengthened the songs in all kinds of subliminal, unpredictable ways, from McCombs and Parker's spine-like guitar/bass groove underneath "Autumn Sweater," to McCombs' one-chord drone below "Last Days of Disco," to McCombs putting down his guitar altogether after seemingly deciding that "Barnaby, Hardly Working" was working just fine with the core YLT trio (and it was), to Herndon returning to help guide the song through a magnificent coda.
The appearance of Patti Smith Group mastermind and legendary rock scribe Lenny Kaye (on his 59th birthday, no less) was also glorious. The curator of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era -- the punk-era equivalent of Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music -- led by example, running the Tengos through a handful of, er, nuggets with passion and graceful humor. Happy birthday, dude.
Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's
27 December 2005
*(Hanukah, night 3)*
Tortoise and Demitri Martin opened.
Mix disc by El-P.
(First three-quarters of the set with various members of Tortoise.)
Bad Politics
Green Arrow
Everyday
False Alarm
Autumn Sweater
The Last Days of Disco
Barnaby, Hardly Working
How To Make A Baby Elephant Float
Madeline (false start)
Sugarcube
Artificial Heart
Decora
Tom Courtenay
I Heard You Looking
*(encore)* with Lenny Kaye on guitar and vocals
Night Time (Strangeloves)
No Time Like The Right Time (Blues Project)
Shock Me (Lenny Kaye)
Pushin' Too Hard (The Seeds)
Moulty (The Barbarians)
An effervescent Boxing Day at Maxwell's. First half of the set was particularly graceful. Precise "Pez Drop" opener (the "bah bah bah bah"s were still in my head waiting for the PATH), purdy-like "Our Way To Fall," neatly swinging "Tony Orlando," and delicious Acetone action/two-note riffage on "Big Day Coming."
Ira is also posting about the run on YoLaTengo.com.
Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's
26 December 2005
*(Hanukah, night 2)*
PG Six and Todd Barry opened.
Mix disc by Georgia.
Evanescent Psychic Pez Drop
Our Way To Fall
We're An American Band
Today is the Day (fast version)
Flying Lesson (Hot Chicken #1)
Let's Save Tony Orlando's House
Season of the Shark
Little Eyes
The Empty Pool
She's My Best Friend (Velvet Underground)
Big Day Coming (fast version)
Drug Test
Tom Courtenay
Blue Line Swinger
Flowers of the Forest (Fairport Convention, no drums, with Patrick Gubler and Bob Banister (sp?) of PG Six)
*(encore)*
Jeepster (T-Rex, with PG & BB, Todd Barry on drums)
Time (Richard Hell) (with PG & BB)
Burning For You (Blue Oyster Cult)
(thanks to Sam for plugging the holes in night 1, all help appreciated...)
Back from vacation just in time for Yo La Tengo's annual Hanukah run at Maxwell's. I'll be hitting a bunch of these in the coming week. Setlists to follow when I feel like it. Tonight's show was a lot of fun, with a little bit of opening night glitchery, and definitely a bitchin' way to spend Christmas.
Personal highlights included a quiet/shimmering "Crying of Lot G," a blistering false ending on "Styles of the Times," and the lovely acoustic campfire "Big Day Coming" (the third different arrangement of the song).
Also, the band is going to be selling limited run CD-R mixes each night of the run, $10 at the merch table. Tonight's was made by brilliant Motherless Brooklyn/Fortress of Solitude novelist Jonathan Lethem. I bought it, and will post a tracklist when I can decipher the liner card.
Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's
25 December 2005
*(Hanukah, night 1)*
The Mad Scene (with Georgia on guitar) & Eugene Mirman opened.
Band in costume for show:
Ira - Santa
Georgia - Robin (as in "Batman and...")
James - Hasidic Jew (James McJew?)
Holiday (Madonna)
Eight Day Weekend ("Seven Day Weekend" by Doc Pomus, covered by Gary "U.S." Bonds)
Little Eyes
The Crying of Lot G
Double Dare
Shaker
Stockholm Syndrome
Lewis
Don't Have To Be So Sad (James couldn't get the synth beat going right, so the guitar tech dude played drums)
Sudden Organ
Autumn Sweater
Styles of the Times
Decora
Deeper Into Movies (Hamish Kilgour from Mad Scene on snare)
I Heard You Looking (Kilgour on Acetone)
*(encore)*
Big Day Coming (acoustic, Georgia lead)
Je T'Aime (Serge Gainsbourg, with Kilgour and Lisa Siegel on vocals)
My Little Corner of the World (Ira's mother on vocals)