Yo La Tengo Live

[Papillon Parade]

Going to see them on Nov. 15th at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. What kind of a show do they put on? I'm sure a few of you have seen them before.

 

Tks,

 

TBR&R

[jimmyjimmy]

You can expect a hell of a good time.

Those guys are fantastic live.

[PopTodd]

Depends on the night.

I've seen them twice.

First time was relevatory. Brilliant.

Second was absoloute shite.

[Oil Can Boyd]

They are indeed great live but you should know that this tour is a little different.

 

They are describing it is this:

 

"The Freewheeling Yo La Tengo Tour is a rare opportunity to see this ever-surprising band in a setting more intimate and interactive than any tour in their 23-year career. A little bit Storytellers, a little bit Unplugged, with a soupcon of their famously varied Hanukkah shows, it will feature the band playing an almost-acoustic set of songs from their entire catalog, with stories about their life as a band, and an encouraged back-and-forth with the audience. Already famous for never playing the same show twice, this fresh look at Yo La Tengo offers rare insight into one of the most important, unique, and beloved bands in American rock. Yo La Tengo's latest CD, I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass, will be the springboard for these shows, though anything can and will happen from there."

[MattZ]

"The Freewheeling Yo La Tengo Tour is a rare opportunity ...

 

I saw them on the first stop of this tour in Brooklyn as part of the New Yorker festival. It was a tad different than the other shows (I thnk) because there was a moderator there from the magazine, but it was very cool. It was an acoustic set up and they spent a bunch of time chatting about where they came from, taking questions and requests from the audience and having an all around good time. Even with an acoustic set up they found a way to rock out to Pass the Hatchet and The Story of Yo La Tenga, so they arent limited by the acoustic set up in any sense. Ira brings his pedals. As one might expect, Stockholm Syndrome was sublime.

 

In the end, I had a blast, and I was thrilled I went, but I'd still prefer Ira with an electric axe in his hands. The requests were cool, and it was nice to hear a bit of background on the band. But at the same time, I'd have preferred more playing and less talking. And since the audience got a chance to ask questions, there was a funny moment when someone in the audience stood up asked the band "Who is Tony Orlando?" So you have to deal with a bit of that.

 

I have seen them 3x now and I had a great time at each. I dont think you'll be disappointed.

[HighFives]

Saw em just a couple months ago they kicked tons of ass. The venue sucked though it was a free concert deal so there were tons of idiots there who had no idea who they were so there was a lot of audience talk durring songs. If it wasn't for that it could have been one of the best shows I've been to but the annoyance kinda brought it down.

[pnêyu]

I pray that no one will have to relive this dark hour.

[El Picador]

I saw them last fall and it ended up being the best show I saw all year. It was at The Fonda in LA and the band played a raucus set to a very warm crowd. I was impressed with the fact that they played some requests at the end and played until 2am. Most bands quit around 12:30.

[j4lackey]

[quote name='pn

[HighFives]

gotta love the onion.

[Venus]

Going to see them on Nov. 15th at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. What kind of a show do they put on? I'm sure a few of you have seen them before.

 

Tks,

 

TBR&R

 

Expect a really great show.

I saw them live this past summer at Detroit's Cityfest. It was my first time seeing them--I was blown away! Such an explosive sound.

[Papillon Parade]

Even with an acoustic set up they found a way to rock out to Pass the Hatchet and The Story of Yo La Tenga, so they arent limited by the acoustic set up in any sense. Ira brings his pedals. As one might expect, Stockholm Syndrome was sublime.

 

Most excellent. I'm new to the band, but absolutely love a good 10 minute rocker like Hatchet.

 

Thanks for the input everyone!

 

TBR&R

[bedbug]

In the end, I had a blast, and I was thrilled I went, but I'd still prefer Ira with an electric axe in his hands. The requests were cool, and it was nice to hear a bit of background on the band. But at the same time, I'd have preferred more playing and less talking. And since the audience got a chance to ask questions, there was a funny moment when someone in the audience stood up asked the band "Who is Tony Orlando?" So you have to deal with a bit of that.

 

I saw the Freewheeling tour in Bloomington, IN and that was exactly my take on it. For my 7th YLT concert, it was really cool to see a different setting, but I don't know how it would work for an initiation. Still though, it was sweet when Ira looked at James and told him not only were they were doing a song he had never heard before, but it was a Chesterfield Kings song written by Dee Dee Ramone, recorded for Fakebook, and then abandoned (!!!!!). James said "you had me at hello," and they launced into it. They also told a really cool story about psychedelifying the Simpsons theme song and meeting Dan Castellaneta.

[MattZ]

James said "you had me at hello," and they launced into it.

 

Absolutely - James stole the show for me. He was hilarious. Someone asked him if he likes being in a band with a husband and wife and he shot back "I love it -- it means I always get my own room on the road." He also told the story of how his 8th(?) grade teacher really turned him on to rock music, and how he joked with him/her (?) that "you know this means that I have to fail your class now, right? It's all your fault."

 

It was great for a one night thing. I'm with bedbug that I appreciated it more (I think) because I had seen them already.

[PopTodd]

Okay, so forget what I said earlier in the thread.

This format sounds amazing for a long-time fan (like me).

IWANNAGO!IWANNAGO!IWANNAGO!IWANNAGO!IWANNAGO!

[MattZ]

The Hannukah shows at Maxwell's go onsale today (12/4-12/11). I am a (relatively) new convert. To the band I mean, not Judaism. Anyone have any suggestions? I obviously can't go to all 8 nights. Does it matter which ones I go for? What can I expect?

[bedbug]

From Yo La Tengo's myspace:

 

As in the past, each show will begin with an opening band, followed by some comedy, and then a Yo La Tengo set. And perhaps more. That's all we're going to tell you, so don't ask who's playing. We can guarantee that it'll be great, and that no matter what night you're there, you'll wish you had come another night instead. That's just the way you are; there's nothing we can do about that.

[MattZ]

From Yo La Tengo's myspace:

 

I saw that before I asked here, but I figured what the heck.

Ok, so let me rephrase -- what have the Hannukah shows been like in the past? Do they light a menorah or something? I am sure it will be a blast either way.

[victor79]

Going to see them on Nov. 15th at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. What kind of a show do they put on? I'm sure a few of you have seen them before.

 

Tks,

 

TBR&R

 

You're in for a treat. As I mention on this board somewhere before, my band supported them last november for 2 shows in France and they blew our mind. They are a bunch of very nice people as well.

[bigshoulders]

I saw them back in the spring of '07 at the Cat's Cradle, in Carrboro.

Blown away. They put on a phenomenal show!

 

kevin

[Guest Golyadkin]

When I saw them a couple of years ago they went off on some pretty good JAMS and some pretty spaced out JAMS that were not so good.

 

But overall a worthy show to hear / see.

[Oil Can Boyd]

I saw the Freewheeling show in Boston last night and thought it was great. I have seen them a bunch of times over the years but it was fun to see them in such a relaxed and intimate environment. I don't have a set list but it seemed like it was about half songs they had planned and the other half was requests. They did a Roky Erickson song, a Volcano Suns song, two Sun Ra covers (including Nuclear War), and even one of James' songs from Dump. I definitely recommend seeing this tour if you are a fan.

[MattZ]

I saw the Freewheeling show in Boston last night and thought it was great.

 

Cool thanks. Was the show acoustic? Electric? Combo? How did they handle requests? People shouted them from the crowd or they had a line set up with a mic? (that was how they did it when I saw them do it a couple of months ago but it was a much smaller venue than the place they are playing in Brooklyn tonight).

[fortuneinmyhead]

you can expect people making noise and then some soft velvet undergroundy ballad stuff ... i'd so go

[Oil Can Boyd]

Cool thanks. Was the show acoustic? Electric? Combo? How did they handle requests? People shouted them from the crowd or they had a line set up with a mic? (that was how they did it when I saw them do it a couple of months ago but it was a much smaller venue than the place they are playing in Brooklyn tonight).

I'm not very technically minded but Ira played an acoustic guitar and once in a while he'd stomp on a pedal and crank it up. James played his electric bass but it was very quiet. And Georgia had a snare dum (that she mostly played with brushes), one cymbal, and a floor tom. The questions were funny. Most people just shouted them out but some people put up their hands and were called on by Ira. At one point he asked if anyone in the back had questions because the people up front were dominating the conversation. People were very quiet in between songs so it was easy for them to hear things being said.