One of the great ironies of Yo La Tengo is how little they have changed as a band in the seventeen years since James McNew signed on as bassist, but how incredibly wide their range has become. Thursday’s set at the 9:30 Club showed off this range, covering the quiet, late-night introspection of 2000’s “And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out,” the heavy, near-psychedelic qualities of new album opener “Here To Fall,” and the stripped down covers that have consistently shown up in Yo La Tengo’s shows and albums since their original, McNew-less 1986 inception. Ira Kaplan still burst into long-but-never-too-long guitar solos; Georgia Hubley still played the drums better than she will ever receive credit for.
The lack of change to the trio’s set-up has been a boon if anything, leading to near-psychic connections between the band mates: When Kaplan turned the normally succinct “Let’s Save Tony Orlando’s House” into an extended jam, McNew and Hubley did not miss a beat, continuing the song and playing off of their guitarist’s improvisations, and when Kaplan made a passing reference to the group’s hometown of Hoboken and his marriage to Hubley in between songs, it was acknowledged that if you had paid to see Yo La Tengo, you were probably familiar with their history.
As is the case on their albums, Hubley and Kaplan’s voices were often overtaken by their instruments. Even during quieter, sparer songs like “Autumn Sweater,” where the only noises come from two drummers and an organ, Kaplan’s vocals were mixed so low that it was easy to wonder whether or not he was still singing. The decision to keep the vocals low seemed like a defense mechanism at times, especially when Kaplan was whispering out lyrics like “I try my best to hide in the crowded room; it’s nearly impossible.” When his more aggressive work kicked in during initial set closer “Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind,” though, there was no question that Kaplan was capable of being heard when he wanted to be.
Surprisingly, when James McNew sang lead vocals in a falsetto familiar to fans of his solo project, Dump, he was able to rise above the instrumentation, as was displayed during a cover of Black Flag’s “Nervous Breakdown.”
While the first half of the band’s two hour set was heavy on songs led by organ, the back half brought out Kaplan’s guitar hero ferocity, with highlights in the classic “Tom Courtenay” and “Sugarcube,” which was introduced with 30 seconds of random noise by each band member before revealing itself to be Yo La Tengo’s highest charting single and the song that tried to turn the band into a radio sensation. The song is still catchy ten years on, and when the small guitar solos that punctuate the chorus broke out, McNew was clearly smiling. “Sugarcube” led one man in the front row to take his earplugs out. If you’re going to lose your hearing, there are much worse soundtracks to a deafening than a Yo La Tengo song.
Toward the end, Hubley came out from behind her drum kit to play acoustic guitar, a move that Kaplan said was “quickly becoming [his] favorite part of the show.” It was clear that there was affection amongst the band members. The evidence was in every one of Kaplan’s smiles to his wife and in every nod to McNew that signified the introduction of an eight minute solo.
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