Yo La Tengo played a nostalgic set at
Roseland Ballroom last Friday coming off their most successful album release
Popular Songs earlier this month with host John Oliver, and performances by
The Black Lips and
Susquehanna Industrial Tool and Die Co (in the lobby). The show was backlit with a psychedelic light show by Joshua White and Gary Panter, and "Here to Fall" and "If It's True" were accompanied by a full string section. The set list covered the band's long ever changing landscape with pop driven songs like "Periodically Double or Triple" and "Tom Courteney", the feedback guitar busting epic "Blue Line Swinger", and quiet introspective pieces like "When it Gets Dark". All in all despite some sound issues, Ira and the gang put on a really great show, and the night was a fantastic trip through indie of the ages.
The Black Lips opened the night with a much subdued adaptation of their on stage beer spewing make out session exploits, which seemed appropriate considering the venue and crowd for the evening. The set list included "Hippie Hippie", "Short Fuse", "O Katrina" and ended the set with their popular jaunt "Bad Kids". -
amelia trask
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Pictures: Yo La Tengo at Roseland Ballroom
Yo La Tengo on Myspace