Yo La Tengo's Little Corner of the World
Modest stars of rock's flourishing, independent backwater, Yo La Tengo delivered another religious experience Sunday night. For five of the past seven years, the New Jersey trio has performed each of the eight nights of Hanukkah at Maxwell's, an illustrious indie-rock club in Hoboken, N.J.
YLT's Hanukkah shows are always completely different, yet ritualistically formulaic. Night six, for example, began with an appearance by reunited Los Angeles punk rockers Red Kross (all this year's openers were reunited YLT favorites), continued with comedian Heather Lawless (every YLT Hanukkah show includes a comedian—an excellent programming concept that more bands should embrace), and was highlighted by some hundred minutes of pure Yo La Tengo magic: romantic soft rock; smart economic hard rock; a couple of extended guitar freakouts; and cognoscenti-pleasing covers. Each night benefits a different not-for-profit endeavor, with Clean Ocean Action of New Jersey being Sunday's recipient.
Yo La Tengo is a family affair. Guitarist Ira Kaplan (whose mother concluded the evening with the frequent YLT cover, "My Little Corner of the World") and drumming spouse Georgia Hubley formed their band in 1984. It now embodies all the mostly unspoken connection and occasional (musical) flare-ups of any long and essentially harmonious relationship. Ira and Georgia both sing soft, unassuming, and beautifully nuanced songs, such as "Autumn Sweater" and "Sometimes I Don't Get You," whose simmering uncertainties make extended one-chord raveups such as "Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind" sound all the more gloriously abrasive. YLT began their set with the Beatles' "Eight Days a Week" (get it?), and encores included Red Kross-assisted covers of the Hollies' "Bus Stop" and previous guest Alex Chilton's "September Gurls." It was a party and a history lesson at once.
You can watch Chilton and YLT play the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale" on Saturday night right here.