Yo La Tengo took the stage to a sold-out crowd at the 9:30 Club not once, but twice for Friday nights performance. An Evening with Yo La Tengo, as it was billed, was broken down into two parts, or acts if you will, and came complete with an intermission.
The club sold out well in advance, and it’s no surprise why. Yo La Tengo, which translates to “I have it” from Spanish, has been collecting fans for the last thirty years. The iconic band formed back in 1984 in Hoboken, New Jersey, and has consisted of the same three members since 1992: Ira Kaplan (Guitars, Piano, Vocals), Georgia Hubley (Drums, Piano, Vocals), and James McNew (Bass, Vocals).
For the first act, Yo La Tengo played a full-blown acoustic-style set. In fact, they played so soft and intricate that every now and then you could hear the whispers of people far across the room ordering drinks. The entire club welcomed the soothing percussive swagger of band and everyone seemed to listen intently. Just before guitarist and vocalist Ira Kaplan left the stage for a brief intermission, period he gently and humorously stated to the crowd, “We’ll be right back, and we heard some of you wanted us to get loud.”
When the trio took the stage for the second half of their show, something magical happened. It wasn’t just a volume adjustment or a change of amplifier, it was a change that hung heavy on the entire room and introduced an entirely new dynamic to the stage that night. The trio looked the same but wasn’t. They stood in the same spots as they did before but played with more vigor. They were seemingly a trio of evil twins who had murdered their sibling musician counterparts from just moments before.
The Yo La Tengo that stood on the stage for Act Two was angry and wanted to all of DC to hear them. The trio stood playing in a haze of glory and transformed into electric-loud right before our eyes. The percussive backbone still stood in place but was played a little faster and with a ton more volume. The rhythm section was now was bombarded with the swirling, airy, retro-style grunge guitar work that only Ira Kaplan can produce. When Kaplan left the stage and said they would come back loud, the band made sure to deliver on his promise. It was really fun to watch the exuberance of this band, with an almost cult-like following, come through to their on stage performance.
