Month: January 2014

Over the years on January 25, we appeared at two different venues that we’d played before . . . when they had different names.  In 2011, our spinning wheel landed on S Songs at the Social in Orlando, formerly the Sapphire Supper Club; two years later we shared the bill with Calexico at the Buckhead Theater, the site of our 1994 Atlanta show with Johnny Cash when it was known as the Roxy.  I also want to mention our 2007 concert with Antietam in their hometown of Louisville–mid-encore we yielded the stage so they could play “Orange Song” (which we covered on President Yo La Tengo).

In 2004, we composed scores for Junebug and Game 6.  When both of those films ended up at the 2005 Sundance festival, so did we.  Georgia and I arrived a day before James, and hit Park City running, playing a few songs at a Junebug soiree at the Levi’s Ranch and yes, it was just about as uncomfortable as you’d think. But we had a good time and saw a bunch of cool movies too.

 

If my records are to be trusted, then Yo La Tengo has performed four times on January 23, and two of those shows were at Carrboro NC’s Cat’s Cradle.  Did I just blow your mind?  2011 and 2013 to be precise.  We did two songs on both nights.  I wish I could claim that it was something like the only two times we ever played “The Lie and How We Told It” (which in fact we’ve never played), but no, it was “Stockholm Syndrome” and “Tom Courtenay.”

 

No pencil necessary.

 

Take it away.

 

 

 

On this day in 2006, we each strapped an Ace Tone to our back and hopped a freighter, destination Nashville, where upon our arrival we commenced with the recording of I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass.  Speaking of Music City, one of their finest pickers, William Tyler, is accompanying us on our spinning wheel tour of 2011, today’s stop being Carrboro’s famed Cat’s Cradle (he joined us on “My Heart’s Reflection” and “Satellite”).

 

Rusty from Alexandria VA reminisces about where he was three years ago today: “I see Yo La Tengo for the 5th time and become the second person to ever spin The Wheel at the 9:30 Club to the tune of 1000 people chanting my name. It seems I’ve lost video evidence, but here’s a photo!”  And in the process, Rusty identifies a design flaw in our spinning wheel.  (Do I need remind you that in 2011 we toured with a wheel, the spin of which would select among eight possible formats our first set of the evening?)  As it turned out, Rusty was not only the second person to spin the wheel,  he was also the second spinner to land on The Sounds of Science Part 2.  Following the show, a team of NASA engineers dismantled and reassembled the wheel, restoring full random integrity in time for our next date in North Carolina.