Marc Ribot & Swamp Dogg Join Yo La Tengo At Hanukkah Show In New York

Yo La Tengo returned to The Bowery Ballroom in New York City on Monday for night six of their 2024 Hanukkah run. The trio welcomed renowned guitarist Marc Ribot for the full main set and soul legend Swamp Dogg for the encore.

Famed comedian/author David Sedaris warmed up the audience along with a musical opening set from NYC’s own Love Child. Yo La Tengo — Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley and James McNew — honored the late former president Jimmy Carter, who passed away at 100 on Sunday, by taking the stage to Gene Marshall’s funky “Jimmy Carter Says Yes.”

The band kicked off their set with “More Stars Than There Are In Heaven,” off YLT’s 2009 album, Popular Songs. The first half of the set included a cover of Fred Neil’s “The Other Side of Life,” done in the style of Jefferson Airplane.

The main set also saw YLT offering a cover of “The Kid With the Replaceable Head” from punk purveyor Richard Hell. Following “Moby Octopad,” YLT brought out Love Child’s Alan Licht to add guitar to a rendition of The Hondells’ “Little Honda” to seal the set.

The encore saw the appearance of Swamp Dogg (Jerry Williams Jr.) and MoogStar, both manning keyboards and vocals. Swamp Dogg’s “Synthetic World” got the encore off and running. The collab then delivered “She’s All I Got,” a 1971 song Williams co-wrote with Gary U.S. Bonds. Williams’ “What Do You Plan To Do About It” counted as the penultimate song of the evening ahead of Swamp Dogg’s “Total Destruction to Your Mind.”

Watch the encore:

Yo La Tengo returns to The Bowery Ballroom for a New Year’s Eve edition of their Hanukkah run. Scroll down for the band’s itinerary and ticket info.