Yo La Tengo Still Going Strong
Yo La Tengo - Erin Nicole Parisi
ARTISTS - Yo La Tengo
VENUE - Longhorn Ballroom
CITY - Dallas, TX
PHOTOS and RECAP Erin Nicole Parisi
Last night YO LA TENGO graced the stage at the famed Longhorn Ballroom, in Dallas, Texas, to promote their latest album release of THIS STUPID WORLD. They kicked off their concert with the song SINATRA DRIVE BREAKDOWN with its electric, droning beat provided by Georgia Hubley, James McNew, and Ira Kaplan. Up next, they sliced through the noise with their tender acoustic THE HOUR GROWS LATE to juxtapose the valley of sound that only YO LA TENGO can traverse. The concert was a perfect blend of new and old songs to get the crowd’s head in the right space. Playing together for over forty years, the band has gathered an impressive collection of tunes that covers all genres, styles, and tastes. The extremely talented Hubley, McNew, and Coleman swapped instruments throughout the night. The first half of the set was filled with a mellow tone before the band took a quick break. When YO LA TENGO came back on stage for the second half of the show, they engaged in a full on attack of the sonic senses which concluded with a three song encore. Highlights of the concert included watching McNew sing the tender song, BLACK FLOWERS, while taking the full pulse of Georgia Hubley’s criminally underrated, left footed, kick drum. Another highlight was the moment when Ira Kaplan dropped his detuned guitar into the front row so the crowd could join playing on the Sun Ra like collage of noise filling the hall. Kaplan took an encore request from an overjoyed patron and played FOG OVER FRISCO. With their diverse repertoire, something was to be had for their collection of all age fans. Between their gentle edge and joyful experimentation stood YO LA TENGO commanding the crowd with their Hoboken shy, proud, and comfortable demeanor.
