Show review: Yo La Tengo, Endless Boogie at Avalon 10.15.2009

This isn't so much about the Yo La Tengo show at The Avalon as it is about what a FUCKING PAIN IN THE ASS it is to see shows in Hollywood.

I lived in Burbank for 6 years and RAREly saw shows, even with working at a couple of major record labels and being a huge fan of music, I wonder, what the hell did I do with all that time? Last night reminded me of WHY I didn't go to many shows during that time.

First of all, going from my work in Culver City to Hollywood, while geographically a short distance, took me an hour and a half to wade through the excruciatingly torturous rush hour traffic. Then, parking is $15 bucks and while I was able to score fee-less tickets for the show, I didn't dare buy any drinks because you and I BOTH know that drinks ANYwhere in Hollywood carry a premium. $12 for a gin and tonic? No. I'll stay sober, thank you.

Blaaaach! Ok. So my grumpiness is out of the way...

The show? Oh, it was awesome. Openers Endless Boogie were jammy, bluesy, Stonesy, psychedelic and scratched that trance-like fuzzed-out itch complete with extended stoned guitar solos. Really enjoyed their set.

Next, Yo La Tengo came out on stage and got down to business, running through choice cuts from their extensive catalog, rushing between songs to switch instruments. Ira, at certain moments, taking moments to address the crowd with personable and down-to-earth comments. The band is amazing. They have many influences from German 70's art-rock to doo-wop to 60's garage rock to Sonic Youth noise freak-outs, all contained in their superior songwriting skills.

A hearty set and two encores later and it was over. We were quickly shooed away from the balcony so the venue could prepare the after-hours disco complete with bubble machine and ice sculpture, as Ira described. Aw shucks, I think Yo La Tengo are worthy of a bubble machine and ice sculpture, no?

Thank you, Yo La Tengo. I'm honored to finally see you guys play. I hope I can catch you again.

After the show, I crawled down to Al Wazir Chicken for a bite to eat (not as good as Zankou, but still tasty...) and near the Music Box (Henry Fonda Theatre) on Hollywood Blvd. where Jesus Lizard was playing. Cool thing was they project the show and sound on one of the roof walls, so you can see what is going on from the street. Ah man, THAT's another show I would have liked to seen. Nice to see JL back in action. Brings back of crazy memories seeing them at the The Catalyst up in Santa Cruz back in the mid-90's. Manic fun.

If you haven't seen this video for Yo La Tengo's song, Sugarcube, you need to: