finally, my first live show of 2010. and what better way to start out the new yea of live music than with the indie rock staple that is yo la tengo? it was especially exciting for me because i was really looking forward to seeing them at last years pitchfork festival, but we arrived just in time to miss their friday night set. the crofoot is a much more intimate venue for a band such as this anyway.
i arrived around 830 to see the openers times new viking about halfway through their set. i hadnt listened to any of their stuff before the show, but i was very pleasantly surprised. i snapped a few pics from the back of the venue, but sadly they all turned out way out of focus — im still learning here — but pretty interesting that it was another 2 male, 1 female crew. i really enjoyed their sound, full of lush and happy chord progressions, as greatly exemplified in the song below. my only complaint is that the recordings are a bit too lo-fi for me. i much more enjoyed hearing the clean sound of their live show. even though they are from columbus, oh, i would definitely go see them again if they came through town.
times new viking – no time no hope
buy it on 
or amazon
after the strongest double jack and coke ive ever had (completely worth the $12 i paid for it), it was time for the main event. jon, sarah and the others i met that night were hanging on the main floor but i decided to head upstairs for some photogs. as georgia, james and ira moved through their set (which i think lasted about an hour and a half), it became abundantly clear to everyone, fans and non-fans alike, that this three piece can rock out or slow things down with equal passion and intensity. after taking some pics in the balcony, i saw a young lady dead front and center snapping some shots and became determined to make way in that direction. as i moved down through the crowd, one unruly fan pushed me out of his way, but luckily i was shoved right into an opening dead front and center, right next to the aforementioned young female photographer, so that all worked out for the best.
just as i made it down there, georgia came up front and center to strum along with a few songs, what i believe ira called the “quieter portion of the night”. but make no mistake about it, the rockin was not over yet. the highlight for me was definitely the main set closer “pass the hatchet i think im goodkind”. i think it was because as soon as i heard that opening guitar riff, i knew we were in for a solid ten minutes of high energy madness. it was especially exciting to be standing directly in front of ira for that part of the show, flailing about and filling up the venue with the abstract guitar sounds that he does so well. hes such an animated performer, especially when creating these guitar-infused walls of sound.
after coming out for an encore and playing “gentle hour”, ira asked a guy standing next to me what he wanted to hear. after two suggestions from the fan (both of which ira said he would love to play, but that they would completely butcher the tunes), the fan suggested “autumn sweater”, a yo la tengo staple in my book, and the crowd loved it. next up was a cover of “some kind of wonderful” and “did i tell you”, followed by a second encore of “dreaming”. while i always like shows to end with a huge rocker, it seemed to be an appropriate ending to the night. the band was extremely gracious, and i was happy to have finally caught them live. it felt like a bit of my indie rock life was complete now.
after the show, a few of us headed out for some drinks, at which point i noticed dougs phenomenal tshirt pictured below. local humor tshirts rule. all in all an excellent friday night. my next live music dilemma is that st.vincent and kings of convenience are playing at neighboring venues on the same night. what a disaster. pre-show i was leaning towards kings of convenience, but sarah may have convinced me to catch st. vincent instead. decisions decisions.
as always, you can find all of the pictures posted here, plus many more, on the dailybeatz flickr page. and dont forget to catch a yo la tengo track below.
and now, for your listening pleasure, heres the great classic tune mentioned earlier. i dont know why i love this song so much.
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buy it on or amazon
buy this track on itunes
