Author: Ira

Our swing state tour of 2004 is in its phase of resembling an MLB playoff tour, having just left Kansas City and arriving, 10 years ago today, in St. Louis.  William Tyler has returned to the lineup, and in the standup slot, we bid farewell to Eugene Mirman and welcome Trevor Rosenthal fan (like me, he goes for all the players with Jewish names) Todd Barry.  James sings “Psycho” in honor of the late Janet Leigh, and David Kilgour–the only non-YLT singer in the combo–takes the lead on half a dozen numbers.  The next day we caravan to Ted Drewes, where David waits too long to test his concrete’s non-spillability, creating a bit of a mess and a wonderful photo op in the parking lot.

 

In 2010, Matador celebrated their 21st anniversary with a three-day blowout in Las Vegas.  In between trips to Lotus of Siam and the Liberace Museum, we were able to find time for a brief performance,  the centerpiece of which was “Nuclear War.”  Reworded as “Matador Records,” James called and Georgia and I responded with every staff member past and present (I know we missed a couple, but not many).  Special guests included Hamish Kilgour on percussion (same as he did 13 years earlier in Charlotte, NC), and Guided by Voice’s Mitch Mitchell on . . . we never did find out what led him to wander on stage during our set.

Before we go, let’s wish a happy anniversary to David G., who writes:  My wife and I are huge fans. Or actually, she was a huge fan who more or less changed my life by forcing me to listen to I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One start to finish in 2004 shortly after we first met. There was no turning back.  So . . . on October 3, 2009, we got hitched.  The processional music for walking down the aisle was “Our Way to Fall.”  And then, when she appeared to walk down the aisle solo, it shifted to “Return to Hot Chicken.”

 

 

 

A couple of shows in Canada on this date: Toronto’s Phoenix in 2006 with Why? and Montreal’s Club Soda the following year with The Horse’s Ha.  Demonstrating the unpredictability that’s been our hallmark for nearly 30 years, not only do we play a Neil Young song during both encores, it’s the same one: “Prisoners of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”  (At least we add a French-language “Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi” for the Québécois.)  No Neil Young number at our 2004 swing state show in Kansas City, despite a multitude of his fans on stage: Rick Rizzo, Doug McCombs and David Kilgour (and perhaps Eugene Mirman, though I think he leans more towards Jethro Tull).  But we only missed by a day–“Hey Babe” was part of the previous night’s set in Ames, Iowa.

 

I was in Los Angeles last weekend for the Big Star tribute show at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre and the Cinefamily’s Magnificent Hubleys program, which kept me so busy that when I found out the Aislers Set were doing a show in town, I could get no closer than reminiscing about our date together in Lexington, Kentucky, 11 years ago today.  All tour Joe has ceded the Ace Tone chair on “I Heard You Looking” to Dan Lee, and tonight Dan–and Wyatt Cusick–also tickle the plastics on “Emulsified,” and the whole group adds to the cacophony on “Nuclear War.”  Speaking of Kentucky, on this date in 1991, we play with Anitetam at the Bluebird in Bloomington, Indiana for the second time that year.  I wonder when’s the last time we played ANY club other than Maxwell’s twice in a year?

 

 

 

Completing our special two-part series devoted to the events of September 29, we start by returning to our swing state tour of 2004.  The estimated five-hour drive to Madison from Grand Rapids ends up taking hours more, thanks to hardly atypical traffic en route to Chicago, and unexpected traffic even after we escaped O’Hare.  We barely arrive in time to set up and play, and somehow incorporate new members Rick Rizzo, Mark Greenberg and David Kilgour into the proceedings.  And the show is outdoors, which may not have been the wisest strategy for Wisconsin in the fall.  Or was it?  Kerry wins the state in November.  In 2006, we drive overnight from Boston to our next date in Jersey City, at the beautifully restored Loew’s Theatre.  Others arrive in more spectacular fashion, like Qbertplaya of Brooklyn (might not be his real name): For the Yo La Tengo show in Jersey City on Friday, September 29, 2006, I won a prize package from Matador Records via Stereogum: a helicopter ride from Manhattan to Jersey City, and a pair of nice tickets to the concert for me and my brother.  The two of us had never been in a helicopter before, and we certainly weren’t going to let our overprotective parents know of our plans that evening.  It was a thrilling way to kick off the weekend, especially as my birthday is on the 30th.  We got to see you guys in a majestic old venue in our home state, and meet you afterwards.  One of my best concert experiences ever, and with a band I love.  Happy birthday, Q!  The following year, we did a one-off opening for Bright Eyes at the Hollywood Bowl.   Just an amazing night–M. Ward also on the bill, Bright Eyes backed by an orchestra, outdoor concert weather the envy of Wisconsin promoters, and holy shit Hollywood Bowl.

Maybe it’s sunspots, but we’ve had too many memorable shows on September 29 to fit into one post, and oddly I can devote tomorrow’s dispatch to part 2 because nothing comparable happened on the 30th.  In 1993, we play a record release event for Painful at midtown’s SIR studio.  Giddy on show-business fumes, Georgia goes to retrieve our station wagon for the drive home, and thinks she sees one of our friends on the street, waves hello, and when he waves back, she realizes it’s Paul Shaffer.  Seven years later, we have a contender for our most fun show ever, at Austin’s La Zona Rosa, the last of three southern dates with Chris Knox opening.  We’ve already invited Jad Fair, recently relocated to Texas, to join us on a few songs, and then just a couple of days before the show, we’re asked if Daniel Johnston could be added to the bill, to which we instantly agree.  Chris, Jad and Daniel spend their offstage time at the merch stand, creating art for any and all, and the three of them end up onstage with us before the night is through, including a hastily thrown together version of the Ohio Express by way of Toy Love‘s “Yummy Yummy Yummy,” sung by Chris.  Final one for today: two years ago, we played two shows in Ithaca: a performance of The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller with Sam Green, followed by a Freewheeling Yo La Tengo set.  I’ll admit that I don’t consider that especially noteworthy, but Omar from Lima sees it differently:

1. First memory.  I’m in Lima (Peru), trying to find a new album.  Internet is not as great as it is these days, so I necessarily have to go, every weekend, to the same place to find some new music. It’s 2006, and I walk around with my best friend–who turns out to be my
lifelong partner–and I find Prisoners of Love.  I’m 20, and I have never listened to YLT.  And I play “By the Time It Gets Dark.”  I bought the album immediately.  And I became a fan.  And that’s my favorite song.

2. Second memory.  I’m in Ithaca (NY).  It’s 2012, and I just started a PhD.  I’ve never been in a concert there before.  (In fact, it’s just my second month living in the US!)  And I have a lot of work to do.  But I read that YLT will play at Cornell.  Two blocks from my place.  Have to go.  Second memory,  first American concert.  And you guys play “By the Time It Gets Dark.”   And I smile as . . . as I was at a YLT concert.

Elsewhere on the same day, Ned tells us: mary and ned walked down the aisle to your cover of “the whole of the law” on september 29th, 2012.