Eighteen years ago today, we performed at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. Films were projected on us, Phil Morrison and Bill Mooney go-go danced, and we played “Damage” for the first time. And Sari was there:
I’m also part of the set that played a Yo La Tengo song as the first dance at their wedding. It seemed apt as we met at a YLT show in 1995 (Opera House, Toronto).
But what I really want to tell you about is the time I found myself on a road trip to Pittsburgh to check out the Andy Warhol Museum’s first anniversary celebration. Yo La Tengo played a gig in the parking lot and after the show my friends and I walked slowly away. We could hear someone shouting “Derek! Derek!” and turned to see James running after us. I wasn’t dating Derek yet but my crush swelled as not only was this guy smart and good looking, apparently he was in with indie rock celebs. Our stop at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame Museum the next day sealed the deal and we began dating. We married in 2000.
Speaking of “indie rock celebs,” last year in Seattle, the Baseball Project’s Peter Buck joins us during our encore for “The Queen of Eyes” and “Tell Me When It’s Over,” and M. Ward helps us pay tribute to June Carter Cash in Malmö. Klaus from Berlin witnesses one of those: 11 years ago I saw you in Malmö, being an exchange student in nearby Lund. I was in the front row enjoying every minute. I didn’t really know what to expect beforehand, having gotten to know you just two years earlier (“And then nothing” was album of the month in German music magazine “Musikexpress”) and downloaded a few of your albums enjoying fast Swedish internet (I now do own all your albums – if possible on vinyl). But it was great, one of the greatest concerts I’ve been to. Not being able to really go into details, I was really amazed by the curve of dynamics you created. Starting really quiet (I got a setlist from one of your crew members, which he produced neatly folded from his breast pocket, I posted it on setlist.fm (and if you click on who created the setlist (Zues), you can see most of the other concerts I’ve been to, YLT is on place 3)), you really rocked out later and then really managed to calm the whole thing down with “Nuclear War”. I am unsure about the encores, I do remember “Madeline” and I think you did “You Can Have It All”. Thanks for your music.
