So last night's Yo La Tengo show at Pappy & Harriet's was pretty damned phenomenal. I'd never seen them (shamefully), so I don't have anything to compare it to, but being outside, in the desert, under the stars, was very special. As it always is at this venue.
They've been playing 2 sets lately on this tour with no opener, and our show was a little curtailed by comparison; we got 4 less songs than the previous L.A. shows at the Teragram Ballroom. Not a big deal, as the Pappy's tix were cheaper and it's more intimate.
With such a huge discography, I feel like most setlists would fail to totally satisfy, but I don't have many complaints. They played 5 songs off the new There's A Riot Going On, and played 5 covers, so out of 19 songs that might seem unfair to the other albums, but when the band is this good musically, you really don't care that much. It's amazing how they can go toe-to-toe with Sonic Youth's dissonant jamming, but they have the added gift of being amazing songwriters who can come up with delicate, touching melodies and various guises of catchy pop-rock (unlike SY).
Here's the full setlist, with album designations:
1. You Are Here (new)
2. The Kid With The Replaceable Head (Richard Hell cover)
3. Today is the Day (Summer Sun)
4. For You Too (new)
5. Ashes (new)
6. I'll Be Around (Fade)
7. Shades of Blue (new)
8. She May, She Might (new)
9. Autumn Sweater (I Can Hear The Heart...)
10. Mr. Tough (I Am Not Afraid...)
11. How She Boogalooed It (Beach Boys cover)
12. Time Fades Away (Neil Young cover)
13. Drug Test (President Yo La Tengo)
14. Decora (Electr-o-pura)
15. Ohm (Fade)
16. Pass The Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind (I Am Not Afraid...)
Encore
17. Sugarcube (I Can Hear the Heart...)
18. How Much I've Lied (Gram Parsons cover)
19. Yellow Sarong (The Scene Is Now cover)
So yeah. I would have loved to have heard something from Popular Songs, but two from I Am Not Afraid... was cool, and I was REALLY excited the played the somewhat atypical Mr. Tough. We also got both of the big tracks from I Can Hear The Heart..., whereas they only got one per night at the Teragram shows. Sugarcube is one of my favs. I also was beaming when they started Ohm, my favorite from Fade.
The Neil Young cover shredded, and Ira mentioned that they were intentionally doing more California songs for this show. During the encore, he said they were discussing whether or not they were the kind of band who would cover Gram Parsons at a show like this, and that they concluded they were. So he harmonized with Georgia for a beautiful cover. Ira in general was funnier than I would have expected with the stage banter.
Anyway, I really regret not seeing them for every tour since I got into them in 1997. But I will definitely go again if they come back, and they seem to have a decent amount of variety between shows.