Warehouse Live, one of Houston’s snazzy new music venues, recently played house to Jersey’s own Yo La Tengo. Originally set to tour with indie rock kiwi David Kilgour, the band switched gears and brought Ohio’s Times New Viking along for the ride. A modest crowd of devoted YLT fans waded patiently through the Viking’s meandering set. Though the music was somewhat interesting, the overall reaction to their set seemed to be a resounding shrug.
After what felt like hours, Yo La Tengo made their discreet entrance on stage and got right down to business. Each song they played ebbed and flowed with incredible veracity and soul. They started the set with the mellow tune “Double Dare” off their album Painful and immediately segued into something a bit funkier by abandoning the grittiness of guitars for the whimsy of bongos and keyboard strokes. Just as the audience was settling into the chilled out vibe, the trio threw another wrench in the musical machine and belted out ten minutes of prog rock excellence. Every drumbeat and guitar strum was executed with a truly distinctive combination of volume, verve, and vibrancy.
The evening was a roller coaster ride of tunes both past and present. Quite a few songs from their recent release I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass made their musical debuts and were played with the same level of care and respect as the favorites from the past. Older pop-infused songs like “Little Eyes” off Summer Sun helped round out the noisier moments, yet never disrupted the momentum the band set in motion at the beginning of their set.
After several minutes of “Yo La Tengo!” chanting, clapping and foot stomping, the band made their way back on stage for a stellar encore. They went old school playing songs off their 1990 release Fakebook while also taking audience requests. Drummer Georgia Hubley even filled one audience member’s call for a solo; reluctantly drumming away to give fans a small taste of her musical prowess before she called it quits.
The band’s interaction with the audience was lighthearted and created a unique dimension that seems to be neglected in many live shows today. During the final moments of the encore a random audence member, chosen by vocalist Ira Kaplan, requested the remarkably whimsical, jazz-like rendition of Sun Ra’s “Nuclear War.” The evening’s festivities were filled with oscillating waves of shoe-gazing, ambient rock madness fueled by almost two decades of musical innovation, proving that Yo La Tengo’s tunes are just as urgent and captivating as ever.
~ Brigitte B. Zabak
Photo: Tara Rollin
