Over the last five nights, Yo La Tengo has been holding court at the tiny rock club/restaurant Maxwell’s, their home away from home in Hoboken, NJ, with their mostly annual Hannukah run. After taking 2009 off from the tradition, the indie-rock trio have made up for the lost year in a major way, by recruiting an impressive roster of heavyweight talent to open from them, ranging from singer-songwriter M. Ward to Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy, as well as comedians like Jim Gaffigan, Todd Barry and Eugene Mirman, with the details of who’s playing revealed just before showtime each night.
While ever the gracious hosts, make no mistake the reason these shows sell out almost instantly is the opportunity to see Ira Kaplan & Co. throw down in an intimate setting. The band reaches deep into their bag of tricks for these shows, mixing YLT classics, alongside rock geek recognizable covers, but it’s their sly nod to Jewish songwriters like Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan and Lou Reed that help tie the Hannukah theme together.
Let’s check out this blistering, ten-plus minute psychedelic freak-out take on The Velvet Underground’s Heroin from the second night…
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Yo La Tengo continue their eight-night run tonight at Maxwell’s, with only three more chances to catch the band before Hannukah ends.
