#yo-la-tengo

#yo-la-tengo

Night 2 of Yo La Tengo's 2025 Hanukkah run at Bowery Ballroom was pretty special. As we thought might happen, recent YLT tourmates Built to Spill, who are in the area for their own shows, were the surprise opener, and their set included a cover of R.E.M.'s "Laughing." Built to Spill drummer Teresa Esguerra joined Yo La Tengo for their whole main set on a second kit, and frontman/guitarist Doug Martsch came out for the second half of the set, which included "Last Days of Disco," "Barnaby, Hardly Working," "Nothing To Hide," and "Ohm," before closing with a cover of The Velvet Underground's "Heroin."

The 2025 edition kicked off Sunday night and the night's surprise openers were both YLT Hanukkah regulars: Sun Ra Arkestra and Jon Glaser. In fact, Sun Ra Arkestra - still under the direction of 101 year old Marshall Allen - are basically the only given each year and in a neat bit of symmetry, they and Glaser played the final night of last year's run, which was on New Year's Day.

Yo La Tengo and Jad Fair have announced a reissue of their rare 1998 collaborative LP Strange but True. Long out-of-print and unavailable to stream, the album will be released on vinyl, CD, and, for the first time, digital platforms. All versions are set to arrive December 12 via Joyful Noise and Bar/None. Listen to "Texas Man Abducted By Aliens for Outer Space Joyride" below.

"I see clearly how it ends / I see the moon rise as the sun descends," they sing during opener "Sinatra Drive Breakdown."