Jim Jarmusch Joins Yo La Tengo For Night Three Of Their Hanukkah Run

Yo La Tengo continued their eight-night Hanukkah stand last night at the Bowery Ballroom on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in New York City. The seminal indie-rock act, who keep the full bill for each night a secret until showtime, were joined on night three by Canadian country-rockers The Sadies, Jon Benjamin (who voices Archer and Bob on Bob’s Burgers) and Jon Glaser (best known as Councilman Jeremy Jamm on NBC’s Parks & Recreation) performing as the Brothers Italiano and filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, who sat-in for the majority of the show with his SQÜRL band mate Carter Logan.

The Hoboken-based band of Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley and James McNew opened the night with arguably their most well-known song “Sugarcube,” from 1997’s I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One. As per tradition the band also took some liberties with song lyrics changing them to reference the Festival Of Lights singing Doc Pomus’ “Seven Day Weekend” as “Eight Day Weekend.” Kaplan & Co. are also using the run to slowly roll out material from their new studio album, which is set to be released next year. Last night the trio debuted their second new tune of the run – “Blowing Ashes” – a quieter number that was sung by Hubley and featured Kaplan on keyboards.

Yo La Tengo next invited out indie-film director Jim Jarmusch, who fronts his own band SQÜRL. Jarmusch and his bandmate Carter Logan helped out for a majority of the set that kicked-off with a cover of Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” which they would revisit later in the night. The now five-piece act also served up takes on “Two Trains,” from 2013’s Fade, “Shaker” from 2003’s Painful and “Out The Window” from 1992’s May I Sing with Me. The augmented band got jammy and psychedelic towards the end of the set as they delivered “Ohm,” and an extended cover of the Beach Boys “Little Honda,” that saw Kaplan create a wall of feedback as he manipulated his guitar’s tuning and at points swung it around like a windmill in front of his amplifiers.

For their encore YLT were joined by Travis and Dallas Good of The Sadies, as they offered up their second Bob Dylan cover of the run with “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues.” Afterward Kaplan asked the band to play the song’s last verse again jokingly saying that he was a bit disappointed that the final line referencing New York City didn’t get a big enough response. The Good brothers stuck around to sing lead on a cover of Love’s “A House Is Not A Motel,” from the band influential 1967 album Forever Changes. The band closed things out with “Tom Courtenay,” which was request from Jon Glaser from earlier in the night.

Yo La Tengo return to the Bowery Ballroom for night four of their Hanukkah run tonight, check out the full setlist below courtesy of Jesse Jarnow.

Setlist (via Frank & Earthy / @bourgwick)

Set: Sugarcube, Seven Day Weekend (Doc Pomus cover) (sung as “Eight Day Weekend”), Awhileaway, Song For Mahlia, new song #2 (sung by Georgia, “Blowing Ashes”), I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (Hank Williams) (with SQÜRL: Jim Jarmusch on guitar/vocals & Carter Logan on electronics), Two Trains (with JJ & CL), Shaker (with JJ & CL), Out the Window > (with JJ & CL), I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry > (Hank Williams) (drone version) (with JJ & CL), Ohm (with JJ & CL), Little Honda (The Hondells) (with JJ & CL)

Encore: Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues (Bob Dylan) (with Travis & Dallas Good of the Sadies on guitars/vocals), A House is Not A Motel (Love) (with TG & DG), Tom Courtenay (Georgia version)