Yo La Tengo

Originally uploaded by tabi-mushi.

So I decided I'd give Yo La Tengo a miss this time around. I adore Yo La Tengo. I love them when they're loud and angry and I love them when they're quiet and sweet. I've seen them loads of times and have never been (really) disappointed - even when they played 40 minutes of noise while "co-headlining" with Stereolab.

But this time around I gave them a miss. My stated excuse was that I was not happy paying £17 to see them, but that's just not really true I can afford that much. What I really meant was that I felt uncomfortable paying that amount of money to see anyone - if I was fine with it Yo La Tengo would be very near the top of the list of bands that could have my money. There is a line I have to draw and currently that line occurs at £15 for a ticket and a venue of 1000+.

It was quite refreshing reading Jonathan Poneman's Q&A to find a record company boss, who jumped into bed with the majors, but still maintains an indie ideal (and admits that mistakes were made in the past and that he wouldn't have sold to Warners if he had the chance again).