‘We put out another record; it’s our hundredth,” deadpans Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan. Last year’s This Stupid World was, in fact, their 17th LP, but it’s been 40 years since guitarist Kaplan and drummer Georgia Hubley founded the band, and 30 since bassist James McNew joined for good. Certified indie-rock royalty, this tour is a celebration of that almighty back catalogue and a display of the questing musical curiosity which has made them so beloved.
For two and a half hours, without a support act or flashy showmanship, the trio turn over old songs and new like pebbles in a rockpool, unearthing surprises every time. Divided into two sets by a polite intermission, the first hour is a slower, intense sampling from that “hundredth” album. An extended, absorbing roll through the already seven-minute Sinatra Drive Breakdown sets the pace; Kaplan’s metallic guitar writhing around McNew’s driving bass and Hubley’s nuanced, bone-rattling percussion. The song rises and falls, expands and contracts, and the trio remain fixed, firmly, on each other.
Rotating between instruments without ceremony, Hubley takes the lead on hushed Aselestine, a quiet triumph, while McNew fronts the swinging, surreal Tonight’s Episode. Revisiting the far older track My Heart’s Reflection, Kaplan’s strings squeak and his voice cracks, just a little – enough to make it feel intimate and raw, all over again.
They return invigorated for the second set. Recent song Fallout is an easy high; its whirring groove and evergreen melody sits easily next to decades-long fan favourites such as Sudden Organ (a magnificently unhinged carnival of synthesised harpsichord), the delicious comic timing of Moby Octopad and the tender shoegaze of Decora. Until now, Yo La Tengo have been a closed circuit on stage, eyes only for each other – but when they invite Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley for a radiant, frenzied, guitar-filled I Heard You Looking, the show finds a tantalising new openness. “We have time for more, right?” urges Kaplan. After a career-spanning double set, and 40 years on the road, it’s obvious that Yo La Tengo are still in this for the thrill.
