Yo La Tengo hit the penultimate show of their 8 Nights Of Hanukkah run at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom on Saturday. The three-piece indie-rock act once again welcomed guests throughout the evening, which included surprise appearances by Steve Gunn and Preservation Hall Jazz Band during their encore.
Yo La Tengo looked to “Dream Dream Away” from their most recent studio effort Riot to open up their seventh show their Hanukkah stand. Ira Kaplan & Co. welcomed their first guests of the night towards the back end of their 13-song main set as Meg Baird, whose band Heron Oblivion opened the night and drummer Kevin Micha emerged. Baird contributed vocals on a take on the Carole King and Gerry Goffin-penned tune “Goin’ Back,” which was originally recorded by Dusty Springfield in 1966. Yo La Tengo honored another Jewish songwriter to close out their set as they looked to Lou Reed for “Heroin.” The band offered up Roky Erickson’s interpretation of The Velvet Underground classic that he included on his 1986 self-titled album.
When Yo La Tengo returned for their encore they were joined by Gunn on guitar. The augmented ensemble continued to pay their respects, Jewish songwriters throughout the final stretch of the night. First up came a take on
“Puss N’ Boots” from New York City glam-punk legends New York Dolls. The Sylvain Sylvain-penned song appeared on the band’s 1974 release Too Much Too Soon. Next came “The Kid With The Replaceable Head” from Richard Hell (who was born Richard Lester Meyers) & The Voidoids’ 1982 album Destiny Street. Actor John Cameron Mitchell, who starred in the original stage production of Hedwig & The Angry Inch, emerged to sing lead on Lou Reed’s “Turing Time Around” from 2000’s Ectasy.
Preservation Hall Jazz Band helped finish off the night as they walked in the from the back in the venue second-line style. The legendary New Orleans act performed a brass band take of George and Ira Gershwin’s “Let’s Call the Whole Thing” as they made their way through the crowd to the stage. Yo La Tengo close out their 8 Nights Of Hanukkah stand tonight. Watch fan-shot video below:
Turning Time Around, Let’s Call The Whole Thing Captured by rintrah22Setlist (via Frank & Earthy Blog)
Setlist (via Frank & Earthy Blog)
Set: Dream Dream Away, Satellite, Here To Fall, Barnaby Hardly Working, Green Arrow, Moby Octopad, The Weakest Part, Mr. Tough, Nowhere Near, Goin’ Back* (Carole King & Gerry Goffin), I Should Have Known Better, Out the Window, Sudden Organ, Heroin (Velvet Underground) (Roky Erickson version)
Encore: Puss ‘n’ Boots^ (New York Dolls), The Kid With the Replaceable Head^ (Richard Hell), Turning Time Around^# (Lou Reed), Let’s Call the Whole Thing^$ (George & Ira Gershwin)
* with Meg Baird of Heron Oblivion on vocals & Kevin Micha on drums, ** with Charlie Saufley of Heron Oblivion on guitar, ^ with Steve Gunn on guitar, # with John Cameron Mitchell on vocals, $ with John Cameron Mitchell and Preservation Hall Jazz Band
