On to day three of Meltdown and The Freewheelin’ Yo La Tengo, who performed an intimate gig at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank. The ‘Freewheelin’ was qualified by the band as “that which we’ve all agreed to term “acoustic,” although there is copious use of electricity. No set list; instead the audience is encouraged (if not required) to interact with the band, leading we’re never quite sure where. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll hear the occasional song.”
The set then worked as something of a jocular Q & A session between the ‘acoustic’ sound of a stripped down drum set, bass and guitar. The extremely charismatic and likeable Yo La Tengo opened with renditions of ‘Tom Courtenay’ and ‘Black Flowers’ before starting the open floor session with the ‘reticent’ London audience shouting out random requests and posing bizarre questions. Taking in enquiries regarding such varied topics as Antarctica, Judge Judy, the ATP set list superpower, baseball, Daniel Johnston, the band’s name, cricket, Ira and Georgia listening to Yo La Tengo while getting it on, and swinging; the band somehow managing to segway these often ridiculous, as well as humorous, anecdotes into songs. Read the rest of this entry »
