Yo La Tengo Welcomes Original Member Dave Rick For Hanukkah Run Finale

Yo La Tengo’s Hanukkah run at The Bowery Ballroom in New York City concluded with a New Year’s Day concert. Among the guests participating in the eighth and final show of the annual residency was original member Dave Rick sitting in with his former band.

Dave Rick played bass on Yo La Tengo’s first singles that came out in 1985. The release was the only recording he made during his short stint as a member of Yo La Tengo. On Wednesday at The Bowery, Rick played bass and guitar throughout his extensive appearance that saw him performing with his old bandmates for the bulk of the concert.

The evening began with opening sets by comedian Emily Catalano and the band Antietam. Proceeds from the concert went to the HiTOPS non-profit organization.

The setlist pulled judiciously from across YLT’s deep catalog of originals, along with the typical sprinkling of choice covers, including the show opening “Surfin’ With the Shah” by Urinals. They also covered “Why Don’t You Smile,” which was written by Lou Reed while employed by Pickwick Records in the mid-1960s and originally recorded by The All Night Workers.

Antietam guitarist Tara Key emerged mid-set and remained for nearly the rest of its remainder. A cover of “I Know You Rider” performed in the Hot Tuna arrangement began Kay’s guest spot. The sit-in continued with Blue Öyster Cult’s “E.T.I.,” followed by “Today Is The Day,” “Tom Courtenay” and “The Evil That Men Do (Pablo’s Version).”

The current members of Yo La Tengo – founders Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley, and longtime member James McNew – were unaccompanied for the final song of the set, “Our Way To Fall.”

For the encore, Yo La Tengo tapped the husband-wife duo of Kimberley Rew and Lee Cave-Berry. Rew was a member of The Soft Boys and of Katrina and The Waves, composing the latter’s big hit “Walking On Sunshine,” which was played during Wednesday’s encore. The finale also featured Katrina and The Waves’ “Going Down to Liverpool,” Rew’s “Stomping All Over the World” and “Happy New Year,” as well as Nat King Cole’s “Straighten Up and Fly Right.”

Ira Kaplan’s mom Marilyn Kaplan made her customary appearance to bring the Hanukkah run to an end by helping to sing “My Little Corner Of The World.”

Setlist (via Frank & Earthy)

Set: Surfin’ With the Shah (Urinals), Five-Cornered Drone (Crispy Duck), We’re An American Band, Demons, 3 Blocks From Groove Street, Tears Are In Your Eyes, Why Don’t You Smile Now (Lou Reed), I Should Have Known Better, From A Motel 6, I Know You Rider (trad., arr. Hot Tuna) (with Tara Key on guitar), E.T.I. (Blue Oyster Cult) (with TK), Today Is The Day (fast) (with TK), Tom Courtenay (with TK), The Evil That Men Do (Pablo’s Version) (with TK), Our Way To Fall

Encore: Happy New Year (Kimberley Rew) (with Kimberley Rew on guitar/vocals & Lee Cave-Berry on vocals), Stomping All Over the World (Kimberley Rew) (with KR & LCB), Straighten Up and Fly Right (Nat King Cole/Irving Mills) (with KR & LCB), Going Down to Liverpool (Kimberley Rew) (with KR & LCB), Walking On Sunshine (Kimberley Rew) (with KR & LCB), My Little Corner of the World (Bob Hillard/Lee Pockriss) (with Marilyn Kaplan on vocals)

Notes:

• Opening act: Antietam
• Comedian: Emily Catalano
• Mix CD: Ira
• Benefiting: Hitops
• Whole set minus “Our Way To Fall” with Dave Rick on guitar/bass