Yo La Tengo live!

Yo La Tengo
Lakeshore Theater, Chicago
Thursday, October 11, 2007

Having never seen one of Yo La Tengo’s Hanukkah-in-Hoboken residencies, I can only imagine the randomness of the covers and arrangements they choose. A window was opened, however, on Thursday night, during the first of two stripped-down-and-tossed-in-the-air gigs at the intimate Lakeshore.

With James McNew, Georgia Hubley, and Ira Kaplan seated boy-girl-boy, the “Storytellers” format was skewered through in-jokes Kaplan refused to reveal and a flurry of covers that didn’t point to serious influence but, in the case of Neil Young’s “For The Turnstiles,” perhaps put a stamp on the close of the baseball season.

The last thing Yo La Tengo wanted was a reverent atmosphere, and at times the show threatened to venture into the comedy Lakeshore Theater shares on its non-music nights. Hubley tested her timing by interjecting an answer to a fan question halfway through the rejoinder Kaplan offered for another. McNew had the audience doubled over through their version of Sun Ra’s “Nuclear War,” soulfully inquiring, “Whatcha gonna do without your ass? Whatcha gonna do without no ass?”

Half-versions of NRBQ’s “Magnet” and their own “Danelectro” were offered, and McNew cameo’d as Isaac Hayes to foil a shimmering interpretation of Hubley’s “Summer.” Visions of the indie rock kingpins’ normal guise appeared in Kaplan’s wild guitar solo on “Sugarcube” and a sweetly rendered copy of Sandy Denny’s “By The Time It Gets Dark” to close.

But otherwise Yo La Tengo came to playfully spin themselves, a “Chicago-style” version of “Mr. Tough” and an appropriately sweater-less “Autumn Sweater” winning out. It’s unfortunate the days of a live album making a band famous are over (Hey Frampton!). It’s assured the more serious, art-driven compositions of YLT albums have kept the masses away — it’s a crime so many people aren’t privy to this American treasure and their random fucking sense of humor.

— Steve Forstneger

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly