September 27, 2006
Yo La Tengo: Fearless, But Harmless
Yo La Tengo’s latest record is confrontationally titled I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass. Last night at the 9:30 Club, they did seem like a band unafraid, comfortable in their skin, and enjoying being on the road again. Whether or not they’re going to beat anyone’s ass is less certain, even just musically.
The set was heavy on new material. During one of the band's few audience interactions during the main set, Ira Kaplan joked that only with the six bonus tracks on the 8-track release of the new record could anyone get an idea of where the band was really at; the 77 minutes on the record just wasn't a full picture. The point is, even without those fictional bonus tracks, there were plenty of new songs to cover. Unfortunately, much of the new record seemed to fall a little flat in a live setting. It was not for lack of enthusiasm on the band’s part. But particularly during the mellower songs, the room seemed to take on a restless air, and people started casting glances around them rather than at the band. Even when they were paying attention to the stage, if one looked down into the audience from the balcony, one might as well have been looking at a crowd recreation at Madame Tussaud’s. Aside from the occasional bobbing head, there was a remarkable lack of movement even for a town renowned for its concert stoicism.
Photos by Kyle Gustafson. More photos after the jump.
When the band was playing the straightforward, smart rock it made its name on, they were great. Unfortunately, those moments seemed far too few and far between. They opened strong with the sweetly melodic Belle & Sebastian tinged “The Weakest Part”. Rather inexplicably, they then segued into the epic “Story of Yo La Tango” (misspelling intentional), which clocks in at nearly 12 minutes on record. Here it was stretched out into a slow-building spacey jam well over 15 minutes long. It’s a show closing sort of a song, yet the band trotted it out before anyone had really even settled into the set. Let it be said that it’s to Yo La Tengo’s credit that they’re still brave enough to try anything like this at all, let alone in such an oddball place in the set; when R.E.M. had reached this point in their history they were already headed firmly toward the narcotic irrelevance of Around the Sun. But how well they pull off material like this is questionable.
In the show’s brighter moments, YLT reminded everyone why they’ve been around so long. They’re a band that has always worn their influences proudly. It’s easy to pick them out: one moment you’ll swear they’ve found a lost Creedence track, and they’ll segue suddenly into something that sounds suspiciously like ELO before blasting you back against the wall with an all-out Sonics garage revival. Their skill is in avoiding becoming known only as Hoboken’s best cover band (though through their WFMU appearances, they are that, too), by creating something new out of all that encyclopedic music knowledge. This shone through on Tuesday night in fits and starts, but was largely obscured by the band’s more self-indulgent side, the meandering material that never quite engaged the audience.
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Nice review. I wasn't all that familiar with Yo La Tengo's material going into the show last night but had pretty much the same reaction. Some stuff was good, some stuff seemed flat and the slow songs didn't seem to go over too well.
It's a shame you went the entire review without mentioning the fanastic opener "Why?". They completely outplayed Yo La Tengo and did it when the place was barely half full.
Eric-
I wasn't able to make it for the opener last night; but you're the second person who's told me that Why? was well worth it. I'm sorry I missed their set, hopefully I can catch them when they come around again. It's too bad I had to leave them out of the review since it sounds like they kicked the ass YLT were only able to talk about beating.
Yo La Tengo have earned a certain degree of respect due to sheer longevity. Ira Kaplan will be 58 years old next month. How many near-senior citizens do you know who can rock out with their cocks out like Mr. Kaplan?
Why? were good, but in my opinion they didn't 'completely outplay' Yo La Tengo. I expected more from Why?--I like their music quite a lot, but they unfortunately came off quite a bit more flat than I expected. Probably opening band syndrome, but their music wasn't especially exciting to see performed live.
Last night, when Yo La Tengo was on (particularly during the three closers of the main set--From a Motel 6, Deeper into Movies, and Blue Line Swinger) they were impressive and powerful. When they played some of the newer songs, not so much.
You sure about that age, David?
I can't find an exact DOB for Kaplan online, but he went to college at the same time as Hal Hartley, who turns 47 this year.
Hardly "the occasional bobbing head"? From where I stood, right up front, the crowd was totally engaged and, during a couple songs, urged by a duo of would-be flappers into a beer-spilling frenzy.
The feedback-fueled songs like Pass the Hatchet and Deeper into Movies held the crowd transfixed. Did anyone have enough attention left for something as unnecessary as bobbing? But yes, during the newer piano-driven tunes, attention waned, to say the least.
Not mentioning the closing Paul Is Dead is completely remiss. Despite Ira's initial difficulty with the melody, it capped the evening well.
Overall, a fun night with America's ugliest rock band.
jesus, dcist needs new music writers. this was probably the most boring review i have ever read. YLT doesn't deserve a yawner like this.
Yawn.. write it yourself then, hater.
ira's 49 or 50 now. according to a christgau piece for the voice, he was 46 in april of 2003.
I loved Why? when I saw them open for Islands earlier this year at the Black Cat, but somehow the magic wore off last night. They were good, but I found myself thinking the songs felt underdeveloped, hints of musical ideas that needed more elaboration.
I loved Yo La Tengo and found this review a little odd. I thought the point of a music review was to review the music, not the audience's reaction to it, but hey, each to his own. Personally, I though the long jams (such as "Yo La Tango") were fantastic, though the one near the end that opened with the interminable organ drone and repetitive drum tattoo took a while to get started -- the crowd definitely got restless then, and with good reason, I'd say. But otherwise, great stuff. I could not BELIEVE people didn't shake their butts to "Mr. Tough," but then, I love that song to death and dance to it alone in my living room. I guess that's DC for you. Why do people here have no soul? Or do they, and they're afraid to show it? Or do they just not go to the 9:30 Club? That's probably the crux of the matter.
I used to live in Virginia where shows in DC or Chapel Hill, NC were the same distance. I would always choose Chapel Hill over DC because DC audiences are awful. They can never handle the slower songs, it doesn't matter who is playing (especially memorable was the discomfort at the Yo La Tengo show in February 2000 where there were seats at the 9:30 Club and the band mostly played slow, mellow numbers from the just released "And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out").
I've lived regularly attended shows in 5 larges cities in my lifetime and I can say that DC crowds are by far the worst everytime, it's not Yo La Tengo's fault, it's the large number of folks who forget to take their Ritalin before attending shows at the 9:30 Club or the Black Cat.
Ah, D.C. crowds...I have to drive up to a show in Baltimore every now and then to remember what kids having fun looks like.
I was standing immediately behind the dancing fools on Tuesday, though; they were a little over the top.
Agree with the opinion about the strange choice of opening numbers; thought they might lose people right off the bat. I've seen better and worse YLT.