Watch Yo La Tengo Begin 2022 Hanukkah Run With Members Of Lambchop, Pavement & More

Yo La Tengo held the opening show of their annual Hanukkah run in New York City on Sunday night. The first of eight straight nights at The Bowery Ballroom was an expected guest-filled concert that featured appearances by members of Lambchop, Pavement, Barrence Whitfield & The Savages and more.

The show opened with a customary run-through of “Seven Day Weekend” with lyrics augmented to “Eight Day Weekend.” Trumpeter/french horn player CJ Camerieri of yMusic and saxophonist/clarinet player Mike McGinnis joined the band for the first song and remained on stage for “Moby Octopad” and “Before We Run.”

After “She May, She Might” and “Tiny Birds,” Camerieri came back for the live debut of “Aselestine,” an unreleased song from their upcoming 2023 album This Stupid World. McGinnis then returned for a cover of Sam Elwitt’s “Eight Candles,” the latter of which YLT recorded in 2019.

The horn players stuck around as Lambchop primary member Kurt Wagner came out to lead a rendering of “Or Thousands Of Prizes” from the Lambchop 1994 album I Hope You’re Sitting Down / Jack’s Tulips.

The members of Yo La Tengo – guitarist Ira Kaplan, drummer Georgia Hubley and bassist James McNew – played most of the rest of the set without guests, rolling through “Season of the Shark,” “The Ballad of Red Buckets,” “Styles of the Times,” “Some Kinda Fatigue,” “Sugarcube” and “Ohm.”

For the final song of the main set, Pavement bassist Mark Ibold came on for a cover of The Clean’s “Point That Thing Somewhere Else.” The Clean co-founder Hamish Kilgour recently passed away in his native New Zealand at age 65.

The encore started with The Customs’ “Long Gone,” and Peter Greenfield of opening act Barrence Whitfield & The Savages on guitar and vocals. Singer Barrence Whitfield and saxophonist Steve Lagrega then emerged to join Greenfield on a trio of Leiber/Stoller classics, “I Smell A Rat,” “One Bad Stud” and “Shopping For Clothes.”

Yo La Tengo’s concert Sunday benefited the Attic Youth Center and featured an opening set by Barrence Whitfield & the Savages and comedian Liz Miele. The mix CD was compiled by Nick Lowe. The band returns to The Bowery for tonight for show two of eight.

Setlist (courtesy of Frank & Earthy)

Set: Seven Day Weekend (Doc Pomus) (sung as “Eight Day Weekend”) (with CJ Camerieri & Mike McGinnis on horns), Moby Octopad (with CJC & MM), Before We Run > (with CJC & MM), She May, She Might > Tiny Birds, Aselestine (with CJC), Eight Candles (Sam Elwitt) (with CJC & MM), Or Thousands of Prizes (Lambchop) (with Kurt Wagner on vocals, CJC & MM), Season of the Shark, The Ballad of Red Buckets, Styles of the Times, Some Kinda Fatigue, Sugarcube, Ohm, Point That Thing Somewhere Else (The Clean) (with Mark Ibold on bass)

Encore: Long Gone (The Customs) (with Peter Greenfield on guitar & vocals), I Smell A Rat (Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller) (with Barrence Whitfield on vocals, Steve Lagrega on saxophone, & PG), One Bad Stud (Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller) (with BW, SL, & PG), Shopping For Clothes (Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller) with BW, KW, SL, & PG)

Notes:

• Opening Act: Barrence Whitfield & the Savages
• Comedian: Liz Miele
• Mix CD: Nick Lowe
• Benefiting: Attic Youth Center