How do Yo La Tengo make their decisions? Mankind has wondered this for years. Here’s the answer: it’s a wheel. A giant Wheel of Fortune-esque wheel. Unsure of their next move, the New Jersey indie rock institution consulted the wheel by giving it a big ol’ spin. After a few spirited rotations (Ira Kaplan’s stronger than you think), the spin began to peter out around the area of “Early 2011 Tour.” But what looked like another average Yo La Tengo tour changed considerably when the wheel nudged over to “Early 2011 Tour Featuring Wacky Sets Determined By Magical Wheel of Fate.” Yo La Tengo drummer Georgia Hubley was reported to have remarked “Oh maaaaayne, this is going to be craaaaaaazy!”.
And she’s right, it is going to be crazy! Every night on their upcoming tour, the group will spin the wheel to determine exactly what kind of set they’re going to play for the show’s first 45 minutes. Yo La Tengo’s website lays out the actual custom sets the band may end up performing. The range of possibilities runs from pretty normal stuff (a reprise of their Q&A-heavy Freewheeling Yo La Tengo tour) to sort-of-weird stuff (a set comprised only of songs starting with the letter “S” — guess fans of Popular Songs are out of luck) to really weird stuff (reenactments of classic sitcoms).
After the initial 45 minutes, the band will hop backstage to figure out the rest of their show. Something tells me they’ll probably play regular ol’ songs at that point. Perhaps that’s not quite as exciting as the wheel business, but just imagine a show in which you can witness a Charles in Charge reenactment AND “Blue Line Swinger.” Good lord, that is beautiful.
Yo La Tengo dates:
01.20.10 - Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero
01.21.10 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
01.22.10 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
01.23.10 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
01.25.10 - Orlando, FL - The Social
01.26.10 - Jacksonville, FL - Freebird Live
01.28.10 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
01.29.10 - New Orleans, LA - Tipitina’s
01.31.10 - Birmingham, AL - Workplay
02.01.10 - Nashville, TN - Exit In
02.03.10 - Indianapolis, IN - Vogue
02.04.10 - Chicago, IL - Metro
02.05.10 - Pittsburg, PA - Mr. Smalls
• Yo La Tengo: http://www.yolatengo.com
