Last night, Yo La Tengo closed out their eight-night Hanukkah celebration at New York’s Bowery Ballroom. Long-running Chicago alternative band Eleventh Dream Day supplied support duties and Joe Pera served as the night’s comedic opener. This year’s holiday run marked the 20th anniversary of the group’s first Hanukkah celebration at Hoboken’s famed Maxwell’s.

The group kicked things off with a cover of The Beatles’ “From Me To You,” changing the lyrics to “from me to Jews.” Then, the members of Eleventh Dream Day emerged for a slow version of “Today Is The Day” and they remained onstage in various configurations for most of Yo La Tengo’s set. Of note, they helped out on covers of Carole King and Gerry Goffin’s “Goin’ Back” and The Fugs’ “Group Grope.” Yo La Tengo closed out their set with a guest-free version of “Our Way To Fall.”

As always, Yo La Tengo’s final encore was a family affair. After opening things up with The Only Ones’ “The Whole of the Law,” the trio invited out Bush Tetras’ Cynthia Sley and Pat Place for their own “Dum Dum” and “Too Many Creeps,” as well as Velvet Underground’s “Run Run Run.”Then, guitarist Ira Kaplan’s mother Marilyn Kaplan emerged to sing on Cat Stevens’ “Here Comes My Baby”–with YLT crew member Mark Luecke supplying some whistling–and her regular Bob Hilliard and Lee Pockriss’ “My Little Corner of the World,” which traditionally closes out the Hanukkah celebration.  


Yo La Tengo’s next scheduled stop is at Durham, NC’s Historic Durham Athletic Park US, opening for Sylvan Esso, on May 20. 

Here’s a look at last night’s setlist via Jesse Jarnow’s Frank & Earthy blog 

Yo La Tengo
Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
Dec. 5, 2021

Set:
From Me To You 
Today Is The Day (slow version) (with Janet Beveridge Bean/drums, Mark Greenberg/keyboards, James Elkington/guitar, Doug McCombs/bass)
Stockholm Sydrome (with Rick Rizzo/guitar, JBB, MG, DM)
The Crying of Lot G (with JE, DM, JBB, MG)
Avalon or Someone Similar (with RR, JBB, MG, DM)
Season of the Shark (with JE, JBB)
Two Trains (with JE, JBB, DM)
When It’s Dark (with JE, JBB, DM, MG)
Goin’ Back (with JE, RR, JBB, MG)
Group Grope (with JE, RR, JBB, MG, DM)
Some Kinda Fatigue (with RR, JB)
Autumn Sweater
Deeper Into Movies (with JB)
Sister Ray (with MG, RR, JB, DM)
Our Way To Fall

Enc.:
The Whole of the Law 
Dum Dum (with Cynthia Sley and Pat Place)
Run Run Run  (with CS & PP)
Too Many Creeps (with CS & PP)
Here Comes My Baby  (with Marilyn Kaplan/vocals & Mark Luecke/whistling)
My Little Corner of the World (with MK)