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ACL: Yo La Tengo
The only thing better than ice coffee to get the last day of ACL started? A good jolt of feedback from Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan. The artfully sculpted squalls that swept through opening numbers “From a Motel Six,” “Stockholm Syndrome” and “Pass The Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind” were enough to blast away any lingering fog of fatigue.
Fans had to feel a little indignant at first to see a schedule with Yo La Tengo relegated to a 12:30 p.m. slot. The trio has been around a lot longer and made a lot more great records than most of the headliners, and will probably outlast most of them, too. But artistic justice aside, it was great to see the band early, before the crowd got too thick to worm your way up front.
The group’s certainly not visually flashy, but it’s always thrilling to watch Kaplan wrestling with his guitar in the midst of a feedback blitz, when it seems like the roar is trying to pull the instrument right through the floor of the stage, and him with it.
Drummer Georgia Hubley and bassist James McNew anchored and subtly shaped the mayhem. Hubley, one of the most underappreciated drummers around, is unassuming even when absolutely walloping the kit. She’s also an underrated singer. She may not have a “Rock Star: Supernova” range, but with a tone as pure as rainwater, who needs it? The crowd was silently rapt when she sang the melancholy “Tears Are In Your Eyes,” over skeletal fills from Kaplan.
Kaplan played jaunty keyboards on “Beanbag Chair,” from the new “I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass,” throwing in a few dissonant bars reminiscent of NRBQ pianist Terry Adams. Kaplan and McNew delighted the crowd with their falsetto harmonies on the ‘60s R&B-flavored “Mr. Tough.”
The crowd was amazingly quiet for Kaplan’s long, contemplative, softly shimmering intro to the final “I Was a Fool Beside You for Too Long,” which built and built with hypnotic power until it exploded in a feedback fireball, over which Kaplan wailed “Too long, too long.” After that, most of the afternoon would feel anti-climactic, but Yo La Tengo is at Stubb’s The Parish Monday for longer excursions into both guitar madness and quiet pop splendor.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: ACL Festival
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By Nitpicker
September 16, 2007 3:57 PM | Link to this
YLT is at the Parish on Monday, not Stubb’s.