0 Yo La Tengo @ Showbox Sodo

October 22nd, 2009 - Yo La Tengo, Jackie-O Mutherfucker @ Showbox Sodo

Last Thursday, everyone’s favorite long running indie rock band Yo La Tengo, spent two hours showing why they have endured and flourished for the last 25 years. The founding husband and wife team of guitarist/vocalist Ira Kaplan and drummer/vocalist Georgia Hubley, as well as long time bassist/vocalist James McNew took the Showbox Sodo crowd on a roller coaster ride of their mellow elevator shoegaze, fuzzed out pop, and ear drum perforating experimental noise rock.

Ira Kaplan looked like a kid in a candy store, wowing the crowd with his guitar distortion acrobatics. He has perfected the art of guitar distortion effects, and was a hoot to watch while he maniacally and methodically twisted, turned, banged, shook and any other verb you’d care to insert his guitar all the while creating a deafening and purely awesome wall of reverberation. Kaplan also took turns on a keyboard and banged on an old Hammond organ, which was also running through any number of crazy effect pedals.

The set list included fan favorite after fan favorite such as Stockholm Syndrome, I Heard You Looking, covers like “Little Honda”, and “Popular Songs” -- "Here to Fall", and "Nothing to Hide", all which provoked a pretty good little dance party near the stage. I have to say that the crowd for Yo La Tengo was probably one of the oddest mixes of individuals I’ve seen at a show in recent memory. Everyone from Jackie-O Mutherfucker revenge of the nerd lookalikes, to the just left the office and still wearing their fancy leather jacket and tie yuppies were enjoying the show. I suppose the wide ranging personalities and styles at the show is a testament to Yo La Tengo’s wide range of appeal and vast cult following, at least I hope that’s the case anyway.

Yo La Tengo’s final 2009 US tour stop in support of their 12th studio album “Popular Songs” resulted in a fun surprise for the people who made it out to their first Seattle show since 2006. Earlier in the day it was announced via Twitter that the show would include a “very special guest” appearance. Who would it be?

Every year since 2001, Yo La Tengo has headlined a concert at the Hoboken nightclub Maxwell’s for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah. Thursday’s mystery ticket was extra special because it was only the second time the special guest had performed with the band. The first time was in 2007 as part of one of their famous Hanukkah shows. After the encore, Seattle native Howard Kaylan, vocalist of 60’s psych/pop band The Turtles was called to the stage. Kaylan and The Turtles got their start by covering Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe”, and eventually penned the classic tune “Happy Together”. At 62, Kaylan looked like someone’s grandpa and not the energetic showman he proved to be. His voice was still exceptional as he and YLT banged out a few classic Turtles songs to end the night.

In the opening slot were the geek squad space rock extraordinaires Jackie-O Motherfucker, whose members each sported thick rimmed bifocals and looked like they came straight from the Lambda Lambda Lambda house instead of a Portland’s experimental music scene. Since 1994, guitarist and vocalist Tom Greenwood along with a rotating cast of over 40 musicians has been making music that draws from folk, psych, drone, and jazz influences. While the sparse early bird crowd didn’t know how to react to JOMF’s killer psych drones, I for one loved every minute of it.