Fred Armisen Joins Yo La Tengo For Night 2 Of Hanukkah Run At Bowery Ballroom

Yo La Tengo returned to The Bowery Ballroom in New York City on Thursday for night two of their 2024 Hanukkah run. The band welcomed actor/musician Fred Armisen on drums for the entirety of the show.

The support for the evening came from renowned comedian/actress Janeane Garofalo. An opening set of music was provided by the trio of William Parker, Mixashawn Rozie and Michael Wimberly, who would also join YLT — Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley and James McNew — during their set. Night two of the Hanukkah run benefitted Arts For Art.

Check out Janeane Garofalo’s set below:

With Armisen on the kit, Parker on bass/reeds, Mixashawn Rozie on saxophone and Michael Wimberly on percussion, Yo La Tengo broke out “Beach Party Tonight” to open their set. The band had not played the cut off their 2003 album Summer Sun since 2005, as per SetlistFM stats.

Parker, Rozie and Wimberly were also aboard for “Let’s Be Still” and “This Stupid World,” the latter a slowed-down acoustic version of the title track from YLT’s latest album, which they performed in its regular format on night one. The string and horn trio would stay on for “The Story of Jazz” and “Outsmartener.”

As per usual, the band dipped evenly from their extensive catalog. However, YLT returned three times to 2006’s I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass, performing “Black Flowers” and “Mr. Tough.” Following the latter, YLT paired up “Before We Run” and “Autumn Sweater.” The band would continue to play with tempo on a sped-up rendition of “Big Day Coming.”

Watch “Mr. Tough” and “Big Day Coming” below:

After wrapping the main set with I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass cut “Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind,” the band took a breather ahead of an encore full of choice covers including Black Flag’s “Nervous Breakdown,” the Velvet Underground’s “Candy Says,” “My Heart’s Not In It” (co-written by legendary songwriter Gerry Goffin and included on YLT’s 2015 covers album Stuff Like That There) and Flo & Eddie’s “Keep It Warm.”

Check out the encore below:

Night three of Yo La Tengo’s Hanukkah run continues tonight at Bowery Ballroom. Scroll down for YLT’s itinerary and ticket info.