Review: Yo La Tengo, SWX – ‘It’s about the music rather than the band’

I’m a firm believer that once bands reach a certain age, they should just retire. I saw Echo & The Bunnymen last year and it was clear that the band (or what was left of them) should have packed it in a while ago.

Yo La Tengo on the other hand are immortal giants. The band has been kicking about since 1984, their current lineup the same since 1992; and I’m convinced they’ll keep kicking it forever.

The American indie luminaries are notorious for their oddball gigs, always pushing the boundaries of what live music can be.

For their Reinventing the Wheel tour, each performance was dictated by the spin of a wheel of fortune, deciding whether they’d play a set of Yo La Tengo songs beginning with the letter S, do a Q&A, or even act out a classic sitcom.

At SWX they’ve gone for a simple play in two acts – the first half soundtracked by dreamy acoustic offerings from their latest release, the second leaning into the heavier side of their oeuvre.

Ira Kaplan (on vocals, guitar and piano) doesn’t speak until 45 minutes in, when he announces that there’s going to be an interval, before adding that it’s the bands second time in the ‘country’ of Bristol.

A classic American blunder, we laugh, but are also very grateful for the interval (normalise nipping to the loo and grabbing a pint in the middle of gigs please).

Yo La Tengo have moved past frills; there’s no set, just the band beneath mostly white stage lights that occasionally flash pink (crazy!).

It’s about the music rather than the band, and Kaplan seems almost possessed by each instrument he picks up. He somehow manages to play the guitar one handed, starts sliding the strings across his knees, and eventually just holds it upside down.

It looks as if he’s about to burst into tears at any given moment about how wonderful it all is, and we’re all about to burst into tears too.

The band take turns playing each instrument, and I count a total of six guitars shared between Kaplan and James McNew (who is also on vocals, guitar and piano). The trio ebb and flow around the stage, following the music.

For their encore, in true Yo La Tengo fashion, they take requests, the crowd reaching deep into their 30 year catalogue.

Everyone has their own special Yo La Tengo favourite (I’m hoping for I’ll Be Around), but there’s only two winners: the wonderfully janky and ironic Emulsify, and My Little Corner of the World; Georgia Hubley’s twee lilting and a surprise whistling solo from some tech crew weaves the most whimsical finale.

Yo La Tengo have still got it, and they’ll still have it forever and ever.

Main photo: Mia Smith

Read next:

• Review: Goat, SWX – ‘When the world ends you better hope that Goat are soundtracking it’
• Review: Morganway, The Louisiana – ‘A massive, stadium filling, country-rocking beast of a thing’
• Review: Bartees Strange, Rough Trade – ‘It’s all you can do not to crumble into a puddle of tears’

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