Bradley’s Almanac

Mp3s: The Freewheeling Yo La Tengo live in Boston

Posted on November 19, 2007 at 12:01 am | No Comments

Let us be very thankful for Yo La Tengo. It would be easy to take them for granted: A 22-year career of releasing consistently solid albums and playing wide-ranging venues, relatively drama-free, hype-free, and falter-free. And for the past 16 years, the same three talented people writing songs that are often shifting in style, shining a light on usually-obscure cover songs, all the while making everything they perform just so perfectly, well, “Yo La Tengo”-sounding.

If a visiting time-traveler had shown me each incredibly-varied setlist from the band’s just finished “The Freewheeling Yo La Tengo” tour, and allowed me to pick just one show to attend, it would have been exactly the one I ended up at: The early installment of their two-show visit to the Museum of Fine Arts here in Boston this past Thursday. So many personal YLT faves were performed, it was as if it was tailor-made for my ears, but really, I owe that mostly to fellow fans and their requests during the free-form Q&A sessions that happened between many of the songs. “Stockholm Syndrome“, “Decora“, “Big Day Coming“, “One PM Again“, “Today Is The Day“, “Pablo and Andrea“, “Deeper Into Movies“, “Detouring American With Horns“: all songs that would end up on my own “best of Yo La Tengo” mix. Throw in both a Bob Dylan and a Neil Young cover, and I honestly couldn’t imagine a better YLT show.

I’m also pretty thankful that I was even able to be there in the first place, after missing out on tickets when I wasn’t sure I’d be free that evening. Unsurprisingly, both shows sold out quickly, and there were more beggars than offerers on craigslist that day. I thought I’d struck a deal for a ticket that afternoon, but the impatient seller sold it out from under me after saying it was available and all mine. So in the end, I owe my attendance to a kind soul with an extra guestlist spot. Had I not made it in after coming so close, and then saw this setlist, well, I’ll just say I’m thankful it worked out…

Yo La Tengo

Live at The Museum of Fine Arts Boston
in Boston, Massachusetts
6:30pm show on Thursday, November 15th, 2007

01. Beanbag Chair
02. Stockholm Syndrome
03. freewheeling banter 1
04. Decora
05. freewheeling banter 2
06. Be Thankful For What You’ve Got (William DeVaughn)
07. freewheeling banter 3
08. You Tore Me Down (Flaming Groovies)
09. freewheeling banter 4
10. Big Day Coming
11. freewheeling banter 5
12. Mr. Tough
13. freewheeling banter 6
14. Gentle Hour (Snapper)
15. freewheeling banter 7
16. One PM Again
17. freewheeling banter 8
18. Today Is The Day
19. freewheeling banter 9
20. No Water
21. freewheeling banter 10
22. 4th Time Around (Dylan)
23. freewheeling banter 11
24. Pablo and Andrea
25. freewheeling banter 12
26. Deeper Into Movies
27. Emulsified (Rex Garvin & the Mighty Cravers)

encore…
28. Don’t Cry No Tears (Neil Young)
29. Detouring America With Horns

Some Yo La linkage…

  • Their official site, MySpace page, Wikipedia entry, and Matador Records page.
  • Additional Audio: NYCtaper recorded the next (and final) night of the Freewheeling YLT tour, and has offered lossless files over here.

    Some Mp3s from the Yo La Tengo site…

    There are more Mp3s to be had at the band’s own audio page.

  • Hip 2 Be Square was at the show as well, and you can read Kip’s write-up here.
  • Video: Official clips for Tom Courtenay and Sugarcube. Many, many live videos can also be found using a YouTube Yo La Tengo search.
  • Photos: My Flickr-hosted shots are here. Check out the full Yo La Tengo Flickr tag search. And as the band mentions above (thanks to an informed audience member), they played on (an unbroadcasted) Saturday Night Live over the weekend, performing “Mr. Tough” and another song. There’s visual confirmation of this happening right here, in the form of a New York Times photo.
  • Upcoming live dates:

    Yo La Tengo is once again performing their series of Hanukkah shows this year at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ, starting on December 4th and ending on the 11th. All eight shows feature special surprise openers, and all are already sold out.

  • Listen to all ‘Nac-hosted Mp3s at the Hype Machine.
  • the fine print… If anyone has an issue with these Mp3s being made available, just let me know (my contact info in the ‘nac faq). Live sets recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav, edited for leveling, then converted to 192kbps Mp3s w/Lame. Files are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.

    Comments

    Leave a Reply





  • BOSTON-AREA LIVE SHOW ACTION
    Wednesday, December 10th
    The Dream Syndicate
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Wednesday, December 10th
    Fully Celebrated Orchestra
    Thalia Zedek
    Andy California
    @ the Midway Cafe

    Wednesday, December 10th
    EARFULL series
    "Writers reading, songwriters playing"
    with authors Stewart O'Nan & Gish Jen
    and bands
    High Tea & Consuelo Candelaria-Barry
    @ Regattabar, Cambridge

    Thursday, December 11th
    The Ladybug Transistor
    Giant Day
    Gold Dust
    @ Deep Cuts

    Friday, December 12th
    Let's Rock Cancer 2025
    a benefit for the dana-farber
    cancer care access program
    hosted by DJ Henry Santoro
    with Vapors of Morphine,
    the Chelsea Curve,
    Muck & the Mires,
    The Ray Liriano Experience,
    and ... go! (+ guests)
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Saturday, December 13th
    Paula Poundstone
    @ the Mosesian Center, Watertown

    Saturday, December 13th
    The Strangeroos
    Tad Overbaugh & the Late Arrivals
    Hot Franks
    @ Underbones

    Saturday, December 13th
    Anachronist
    (added as opener for the
    J. Robbins Band doing
    Burning Airlines songs)
    @ Deep Cuts

    Saturday, December 13th
    Will Dailey
    @ the Paradise

    Saturday, December 13th
    Converge's SADDEST DAY Fest
    with Touché Amoré, Coalesce,
    The Hope Conspiracy, Soul Glo,
    Year of the Knife, Stress Positions,
    Wormwood, and more
    @ Roadrunner

    Saturday, December 13th
    A John Waters Christmas
    @ Berklee Performance Center

    Saturday, December 13th
    J. Robbins Band plays
    Burning Airlines
    @ Deep Cuts

    Sunday, December 14th
    Juliana Hatfield (full band)
    'Lightning Might Strike’ LP Release
    @ the Burren Backroom

    Sunday, December 14th
    Chris Brokaw
    Kathy Snax
    Kass Richards
    @ the Model Cafe

    Sunday, December 14th
    Cursive
    AJJ
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Monday, December 15th
    Algernon Cadwallader
    @ the Sinclair

    Wednesday, December 17th
    Patti Smith
    Book Tour Stop
    @ the Chevalier

    Saturday, December 20th
    The Del Fuegos
    early & late shows
    @ City Winery

    Sunday, December 21st
    Samantha Fish
    Cedric Burnside
    Jon Spencer
    @ the Wilbur

    Saturday, December 27th
    John Oliver
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Sunday, December 28th
    The Felice Brothers
    Charlotte Cornfield
    @ the Sinclair

    Monday & Tuesday
    December 29th & 30th
    The Disco Biscuits
    Monday @ the Sinclair
    Tuesday @ the Royale

    Thursday, January 8th
    Ms. Ezra Furman
    doing what she wants
    with Ryan Walsh
    (of Hallelujah the Hills)
    opening with a solo set
    @ the Rockwell

    Wednesday, January 14th
    Bishop Allen
    Mates of State
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, January 15th
    Cate Le Bon
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, January 15th
    Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
    "Piano & Voice" performance
    @ the MFA Boston

    Monday, January 19th
    Shame
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Thursday, January 22nd
    Bill Murray and His Blood Brothers
    @ the House of Blues

    Thursday, January 27th
    The Residents
    Eskimo Live! Tour
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Thursday, January 29th
    Bad Bad Hats
    performing "Psychic Reader"
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Friday, January 30th
    Greg Freeman
    Golomb
    @ the Red Room at Cafe 939

    Saturday & Sunday
    January 31st & February 1st
    Something In The Way Fest 2026
    with Explosions In The Sky,
    Sunny Day Real Estate, Citizen,
    Tigers Jaw, The Hotelier, Momma,
    Angel Dust, February, First Day Back,
    Glitterer, Glixen, Gollylagging, Guv,
    Graham Hunt, Horse Jumper of Love,
    How Much Art, No Warning, Pelican,
    Park National, Pool Kids, Sheer Mag,
    Wicca Phase Springs Eternal,
    and Teen Suicide
    @ Roadrunner

    Thursday, February 12th
    Brandi Carlile
    The Head and the Heart
    @ TD Garden

    Friday, February 13th
    Nine Inch Nails
    @ TD Garden

    Friday, February 20th
    Marissa Nadler
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Saturday, February 21st
    Margo Price
    @ the Royale

    February 28th
    Ratboys
    Florry
    @ the Sinclair

    Tuesday, March 3rd
    Spiritual Cramp
    @ the Sinclair

    Wednesday, March 4th
    Cat Power
    "The Greatest 2026" tour
    @ Roadrunner

    Friday, March 6th
    Michael Shannon,
    Jason Narducy,
    & friends play REM's
    "Life's Rich Pageant"
    with opener
    Eugene Mirman
    @ the Royale

    Friday, March 13th
    Quarters
    Paper Lady
    @ the Royale

    Friday, Saturday, & Sunday
    March 13th, 14th, & 15th
    Dropkick Murphys
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Tuesday, March 17th
    Dropkick Murphys
    @ House of Blues

    Thursday, March 19th
    Julianna Barwick
    & Mary Lattimore
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Friday, March 20th
    The Hives
    The Chats
    @ House of Blues

    Saturday, March 21st
    Cass McCombs
    Chris Cohen
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Saturday, March 21st
    Joyce Manor
    Militarie Gun
    Teen Mortgage
    Combat
    @ House of Blues

    Sunday, March 22nd
    Maria Somerville
    @ the ICA Boston

    Monday, March 23rd
    Westerman
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, March 26th
    The Format
    Piebald
    Adult Mom
    @ Roadrunner

    Sunday, March 29th
    Ladysmith Black Mambazo
    @ Sanders Theatre

    Wednesday, April 1st
    Wednesday (the band)
    @ Roadrunner

    Thursday, April 2nd
    On Cinema Live! with
    Tim Heidecker
    & Gregg Turkington
    @ the Wilbur

    Friday, April 3rd
    Patrick Watson
    @ Somerville Theatre

    Friday & Saturday
    April 3rd & 4th
    Hayley Williams
    Water From Your Eyes
    @ House of Blues

    Saturday, April 4th
    The Dirty Three
    @ the Sinclair

    Saturday, April 4th
    Puscifer
    Dave Hill
    @ the Wang Theatre

    Wednesday, April 8th
    Mclusky
    Pile
    @ the Paradise

    Thursday, April 9th
    Circle Jerks
    Gorilla Biscuits
    @ the Paradise

    Thursday, April 16th
    Rhiannon Giddens
    @ the Orpheum

    Saturday, April 18th
    The Last Dinner Party
    Florence Road
    @ Roadrunner

    Sunday, April 19th
    Heavenly
    Swansea Sound
    Jeanines
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, April 30th
    Oklou
    @ the Royale

    Monday, May 4th
    Yumi Zouma
    Ducks Ltd.
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, May 14th
    Melody's Echo Chamber
    @ the Royale

    Tuesday & Wednesday
    May 19th & 20th
    Belle and Sebastian
    play "Tigermilk" (19th) and
    "If You're Feeling Sinister" (20th)
    @ the Orpheum

    Thursday, June 11th
    Echo & the Bunnymen
    @ Roadrunner

    Tuesday, June 23rd
    Wolfmother
    @ House of Blues

    Wednesday, June 24th
    The Church
    The Singles Tour
    (rescheduled from 8/1/25)
    @ Somerville Theatre

    Tuesday, July 14th
    Joe Jackson
    @ the Chevalier

    Friday, September 4th
    Peter Hook & the Light
    play New Order's "Get Ready"
    @ House of Blues

    Saturday, September 12th
    Rush
    @ TD Garden