Moving this over from the Tech thread:
Going to see Yo La Tengo tonight. Please Lord, don't let me one of those doofuses holding up his phone taking pics for half the evening!
OMG - Just downloaded the TuneIn Radio app. I don't have to carry around my portable radio for 10@10 anymore!
Ha! I'm going to see Yo La Tengo next Tuesday at The Fox. Let me know your thoughts on tonight's show! I kinda wish I'd known about Prince's concerts next week sooner. Would've gone to see him instead. Oh, and you're only allowed 2 photos during shows.
YLT was half-great, half not so much. If you haven't heard, they're letting fate (and a wheel of fortune) determine what theme the first set of each night's show will be. Here's a more detailed explanation of how it works:
http://www.yolatengo.com/news/november-3-2010/
I was hoping for the Condo Fucks or a Freewheelin' YLT set, but Portland drew the short straw and got The Sounds of Science Part 2, which is kind of an instrumental free jazz thing that they created as a soundtrack for some underwater films from the 40s, 50s and 60s by Jean Painleve--sort of a predecessor to Jacques Cousteau. It was kinda cool in places but it also dragged on in others. If you ever saw the Grateful Dead, it'd be like if they opened the show with space, and it lasted for the entire first set. For an Friday night audience that was primed to get their indie rock on, it did not fill the bill.
The second set however, was great, about 90 minutes that was everything the first set wasn't. Poppy, rockin', quiet and introspective, and several cool covers, most notably a Brian Wilson song I didn't catch the name of, and Neil Young's Barstool Blues.
So assuming the Wheel smiles on you, you should have a great night. If it doesn't, take a few extra bucks for a beer or two and head to the bar.
We landed on "Dump" last night. It was a-maz-ing! I was sooo regretting not being able to see Prince, but what do ya know? - Yo La Tengo covered His Purple Majesty's The Beautiful Ones and brought the hizzouse down. The second part of the show was great, too. They played Nothing To Hide, which is a fave of mine. Couldn't stay around for the encore, though.
The weirdest part of the show was when we got to the doors, they scanned our tickets and a supervisor was called over. He gave us an instant upgrade to the best seats in the house (center Loge). I had a fear that we were booby trapped and one of us would be called down to the stage to spin the wheel. Luckily, that was not the case. Still, no explaination as to why we were upgraded. I wonder if this is some kind of Fox Theatre thang.
Here's the setlist:
Set 1: Dump
Basic Cable
Slow Down
Hope, Joe
Secret Blood
A Plea For Dump
The Beautiful Ones @Cover (Prince)
Daily Affirmation
Superpowerless
Set 2: Yo La Tengo
Sugarcube
(Straight Down to the) Bitter End
Flying Lesson (Hot Chicken #1)
How To Make A Baby Elephant Float
Gentle Hour - Cover (Snapper)
Periodically Double Or Triple
Decora
Nothing To Hide
Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind
Autumn Sweater
Black Hole (With The Urinals, The Urinals Cover)
Rolling Stones Rice Krispies Jingle - Cover (Brian Jones) (As Condo Fucks)
Dog Meat - Cover (Flamin' Groovies) (As Condo Fucks)
Alyda