Yo La Tengo @ West Yorkshire Playhouse
By Gavin Miller
You gotta love the music industry. I arrive at the rather plush West Yorkshire Playhouse excited, yet a little nervous because of all this guest list stuff. I'm right to be nervous too, because no one from Leeds Music Scene is on the guest list, let alone me. After frantic phone calls to the undisputed hero of the hour, Dave 'LMS' Sugden, we finally get in after god knows what he did to get us a seat in there, but cheers Dave! I was all about to give up and go home after a while to, but I'm so glad I didn't, because I would have missed something very special indeed.
We get in after a long wait, but at a price. Not monetary, but the price we pay is that Gorky's are now half way through their set. We walk in on the stunningly morose 'Pretty As A Bee', all swirling organ and psychedelic soundscapes. Very trippy. After rapturous applause (honestly, I think it must be something to do with the theatre - I've never heard it so loud!) they go into one of my favourite Gorky's songs ever, the gorgeously lovely 'Cán Megan'. From their 'How I Long To Feel That Summer In My Heart' record from a year or two ago, and known to most people I know as 'that folk song on Gav's car stereo', it sounds as lovely as ever, with the band even doing the 'ba ba ba baaa's of the brass section which wasn't present this evening. After that they play the country-tinged hoe down of 'Country' from their latest album, 'Sleep/ Holiday'. It more than makes up for the hassle it took to get us in here, that's for sure.
After they finish that track, you start to realise that tonight is all about contrast. You realise this as they let rip a fierce sonic blast, smashing any key or string that is plugged into something. On the lines "Sweet Sweet Johnny!" they break down and totally mash it up. And trust me, there's nothing quite so satisfying as seeing a crazy Welshman jumping up and down and attacking his keyboard. Afterwards, they settle down again, doing a sweet acoustic number before leaving. Blimey.
Yo La Tengo are an odd bunch. With Ira Kaplan they have one of the most charismatic front men I've ever seen. Unafraid to joke around a little, or play with the audience, he's genuinely a rare breed - a frontman with a sense of humour. What can I say about Yo La Tengo? They were awesome. Somehow those three words seem incapable of expressing just how good this show was. From the kraut rock style of jamming they do so well, to the laid back psychedelic wig outs that seem to belong to them and them alone, Yo La Tengo were on fire. Not literally, of course, although that would be the only thing that could've made this any better than it was.
From the bittersweet guitar melody of 'Little Eyes' to the hauntingly beautiful 'Nothing But You And Me', where in a tribute to the US Superbowl half time show, and the "talents of a Justin Timberlake and Christine Aguilera", they lip sync and do some terrific dance choreography. The crowd is in hysterics and the band seem content enough to parody both themselves and the mainstream music industry too.
After a few songs, the crowd is invited to sit on the extended floor of the stage, and so they do. In their droves, mainly kids come to enjoy the Yo La Tengo show from up close and personal. Some of them dance, others are happy just to be sitting there, and all of them are watching the band like school kids transfixed on a teacher, or teachers in this case. It's these little things that make a great show, and so when the driving rhythm of Georgia Hubley's drums finally come to a stop, they are greeted with tremendous applause. One guy gets a little excited and keeps yelling "YEAH!" really loud, even before the band are done with a song. Listen to German experimentalists Can, circa- 'Mother Sky', and you'll understand. That driving, relentless drumming, and the solid, repetitive bass riff, all complimented by Ira's guitar sounding like it's being molested. Hey, it works for me.
In a song "about interband politics", they play the jaunty piano led 'Georgia vs. Yo La Tengo', a bouncy little number, with some razor sharp organ noises being processed though about a million wah wah pedals at the same time. And there are a lot of pedals on the floor too. Ira can be seen messing with about 20 at a time, making that unique guitar noise that he does so well.
If you'd walked in as YLT were finishing up, you'd wonder what the hell has been happening in here. There's Georgia and bass player James both drumming, Ira on organ, Euros from Gorky's, and his drummer too, both jamming to the side of them, a stage full of kids sitting down, and a rather crazy young lady dancing on stage to the sound of some 70s soul jazz- funk. "It's a motherfucker" sings Ira, with the rest of the band echoing his words directly after. When the funk finally dies down, they leave the stage clapping, and singing "Goodbye, goodbye", walking through the legions of fans sitting on the floor. That was insane, and it only gets crazier (or maybe a bit more normal actually) when their sole encore song is a cover of 'Ant Music' by Adam & The Ants.
Miss this show, and miss out on something special. Something very special indeed. Go and book tickets now, they must be on Ticketmaster or something.
