Yo La Tengo

The latest gig on our A to Z Musical Tour was ……

In this post we review Yo La Tengo, with a couple of very special guests making a late appearance, at SWG3. The band ticked off the letter Y in our A to Z Musical Tour. At the beginning of the evening I thought this might be the only thing to remember the gig by. How wrong I was. It comfortably reaffirmed how important live music can be for many of us.

Yo La Tengo descended on SWG3 to an adoring crowd of followers. This wasn’t any old gig though. More a performance akin to a play.

It began as scheduled, 8pm sharp, please note other artists.

Act 1, and the three main characters of our review meander on to the stage to take their positions. Georgia Hubley takes her seat beside the drum kit, James McNew readies his bass behind a set of keyboards and Ira Kaplan with a notional wave to the crowd, continues across the stage to pick up a handily placed electric guitar.

Sinatra Drive Breakdown opens the set with bass and drums forming a steady rhythmic beat. The guitar itself seems to be in the middle of its own breakdown as Kaplan thrashes every sinew available from the fretboard. As an opening statement, it’s dynamic, energetic, maybe even fearsome. Is this how the rest of the night will unfold?

Well no. Tonight’s Episode, Ashes, The Point of It and the rest of the set take you on a number of musical journeys that are sometimes full of wistful harmonies, often characterised by discordant notes, each actor moving around the equipment on stage with ease. Rehearsed. Muscle memory at play. Seamlessly executed.

When Georgia wasn’t keeping the beat she could be found centre microphone, the audience hushed to hear her angelic voice. Not singing this song, then try the keyboards or even the spare electric, multi talented is this lady!

James was equally at home on keyboards and even the odd ‘rest’ on the drummer’s seat. When lead vocalist, he brought a measure of calmness to the songs being played.

Within a song Ira could be manically teasing every note he could from an electric guitar, or tenderly plucking notes from the acoustic. Singing, playing keyboards? All in a night’s work for him. He even, though comically, hit the symbols once or twice to get his instrument bingo card complete.

40 years or so together and nine songs into the night, it was maybe not surprising an intermission was required. Time for a wee cuppa to rejuvenate the body?

Act 2 followed much the same pattern, sweet melodies one-minute, screeching guitar the next. Nobody could ever accuse Yo La Tengo of being a one trick pony and, with 17 albums to choose from, they were keeping the crowd on their toes as to what would come next.

As the ‘Play’ wound its way to a final conclusion, Act 3 provided the biggest cheer of the night, and by far and away one of the best endings to a set this year.

The song I Heard You Looking can best be described as a driving force of indie rock music at its most mercurial. Played live, with Ira at the helm, it provided a visual and aural explosion that will live long in the memory.

The cheers that resonated across SWG3 though resulted from the addition of two ‘local’ actors to the stage.

Guitars thrust around their neck Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley, Teenage Fanclub luminaries, added the flourishes that complemented the manic preaching of Ira’s own performance. As the song grew in ferocity, we stood in awe of the musicianship on display by five people playing as one.

Act 4, the short encore ending the evening’s performance ahead of the city curfew, was sweet in comparison to the sonic end to the main show. Black Flowers, Can’t Seem to Make You Mine and the appropriately named Feel a Whole Lot Better closed the gig.

A gig defined by a band at ease with the world, a back catalogue that deserves exploration and a fond farewell until the next time.

As Norman and Raymond played I was reminded of my favourite Teenage Fanclub song which has a similar structure with a great instrumental bash that drives it through to its own conclusion.