yo la tengo
november 8, 2001 • the guild theatre, portland or • review by janice


review: WOW WOW WOW, and did I mention, WOW?! Forgive me if I brag a little here, but I just feel so damned lucky to have been able to see this special Yo La Tengo performance. You see, earlier this year, the Yo La's were approached by the San Francisco International Film Festival and asked to do a score for a silent film. So the band chose the short underwater documentaries of French director Jean Painlevé, whose filmography spans from the 1920's to the 60's.

I might be wrong here, but I think Seattle and Portland are the only other cities who have been blessed with the opportunity to see them perform to these films!!! We are SO LUCKY! : ) Have I mentioned lately how glad I am that we moved here???!!! : )

Sadly enough, we weren't able to get into the Seattle show. They sold out the 808-seat theater here. But that's okay, 'cause Portland isn't too far away, and frankly, I'm happier that we were able to see them in a smaller, funkier, more intimate theater. It just felt more appropriate.

Lady Luck was definitely watching over us that night: we've never been to Portland before, but we found our way to the theater without a hitch! And then we scored a parking spot directly in front of the theater! Right on! The wait outside the theater was a little annoying, though. After the first showing let out, the tiny sidewalk was packed with people, either on their way out or trying to get in. Everyone who came out seemed positively mesmerized though! "I wanna see it again!" I heard some guy say. Others were passing along some advice: "Don't sit in the first couple of rows...there're subtitles to the films and if you sit too close to the front, you can't read a thing..." and Mike actually heard some woman complaining, "The rock band thinks they're more important than the films!" "The rock band"?!?! I should've conducted a poll right then and there, asking those in line who were there to see Yo La Tengo, not the films. Then, as hands shot up around me in support of the Yo La's, I could've crossed my arms with satisfaction and laughed in that woman's face. (Oh, never mind. I'm too shy to do something like that anyway...but it's always nice to fantasize.)

Well, regardless of the advice we overheard, we sat in the front, near the band. (Like I said, we were there to see Yo La Tengo, not the films.) It's true, Georgia's music stand blocked the sub-titles from my view. At first, I was kinda straining to see beyond the stand, but then I just blew it off and sat back and watched the images instead. Every once in a while, the audience would laugh at something they read, and it was a little disappointing that I was left out, but it's okay.

I think Jean Painlevé's films were a great choice for the band, as the images were very surreal, hypnotic, dreamy, mesmerizing. I don't know if the band chose these films, or if the San Francisco Film Festival saw the films and then asked the band to score it. Either way, it's a great match.

For a short film featuring the lives of Seahorses, Georgia and Ira dueted on a sweet, delicate, plodding keyboard accompaniment. For another short film about Octopuses (Octopi?), the band played a low, chugging, churning guitar thing that, again, fit so damn perfectly with these images of the creepy, ominous-looking octopus. For a weird, abstract film of exploding crystals, the band did a totally explosive performance themselves, with tons of feedback and loud, noisy distortion. There were some more films, too, with jellyfish and crabs, and again, their music just fit it all so well.

As I mentioned earlier, sitting behind Georgia kinda blocked my view of the subtitles, but if given the chance again, I would definitely sit in the same location. It was so cool getting to watch her play drums from behind, since seeing them in concert, you usually only see her at the very back of the stage. And getting to really watch her play just made me appreciate her talent that much more! She is so freaking amazing! And her movements are soo fluid and soo graceful! I couldn't stop watching her, she just looks so beautiful as she plays drums, like a percussion ballerina or something! I was telling Mike about this on the drive home, and Mike said that must be what Ira feels. ; ) Awwww!

I know reading this review must bring up some pangs of jealousy among fellow Yo La Tengo fans, especially since there hasn't been a lot of press about this project, and also because they're not really "touring" with it. But Ira did say they were sorta thinking about maybe releasing the score independently, so hopefully someday everyone can delight in the music we got to enjoy that night.

related links


• check out yo la tengo live pics at photophonic.com!