According to Brooklynvegan.com, we are now halfway through Hanukkah 2025 and Yo La Tengo‘s annual run at Bowery Ballroom. Night four had lot of great surprises and the first of them was the night’s musical opener, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, with Will Oldham on acoustic backed by Eamon O’Leary on bouzouki. That was followed by comedian Wyatt Cenac, who told the crowd this was his first stand-up performance since before the pandemic.
Yo La Tengo’s main set was different than most they do during their Hanukkah runs in that they played as a trio, no guest joining them, and also no covers. Their set included “Green Arrow,” “From a Motel 6,” “Tonight’s Episode,” “Pablo & Andrea,” “False Alarm,” and this would be the evening when we got “Sugarcube” and “Pass the Hatchet, I’m Goodkind,” which closed out the set.
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy came back for the encore, joining Ira, Georgia and James for a cover of P!NK’s “Trustfall.” He left the stage and then, they welcomed The National’s Matt Berninger to sing Fred Neil’s “Little Bit of Rain.” He then stayed for the rest of the night, performing his own solo song “Inland Ocean” and The National’s “Bloodbuzz Ohio.” Then, another surprise was Lenny Kaye, who came out on vocals and guitar for a cover of Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction.”
Photo Credit: Nathan Edge
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