Yo La Tengo

Stuart and I went to see the fantastic Yo La Tengo on Tuesday. Over the 16 or 17 years I've been seeing Yo La Tengo their live shows can best be desribed as unpredictable...

sometimes too "angry" as when they supported Stereolab at the Shepherd's Bush Empire and played 40 minutes of noisy guitar rock (I think the 40 minutes was maybe 2 or three songs!) and...

sometimes too gentle - the sweet songs are lovely but ocasionally there can be just too much - lat time I saw them (also at the Empire) it was probably half an hour before Ira even touched a guitar!

Tuesday night they got the balance spot on and never lingered too long on either side of the Yo La Tengo divide. The songs from the new album, I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass sounded good and the oldies sounded exceptional - particularly "Stockholm Syndrome" and an awesome "I Heard You Looking". They played a couple of Arthur Lee tunes in tribute and finished with a lovely take on Sandy Denny's "By The Time It Gets Dark".

I've said it before but I'll say it again - I (heart) Yo La Tengo