New Jersey indie band Yo La Tengo play an annual run of eight shows to account for every night of Hanukkah. For those gigs, they bring in special guests and perform special covers. Yo La Tengo have already teamed up with Lambchop, Sun Ra Arkestra, the Dictators’ Andy Shernoff, and the Frogs’ Jimmy Flemion, among many others. Last night, they shared the stage with the fellow Hoboken-based indie group the Feelies.
The Feelies played a brief opening set last night, covering he Velvet Underground’s “Sunday Morning,” Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” and the Beatles’ “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey.” During Yo La Tengo’s set, different Feelies members joined the band on stage. Eventually, the full Feelies lineup joined Yo La Tengo, and they played even more Velvet Underground and Bob Dylan covers.
As the last song of the main set, Yo La Tengo and the Feelies performed the Velvet Underground’s classic “Sister Ray,” with three drummers playing onstage. During the encores, Yo La Tengo and the Feelies covered “The Empty Pool,” a song from the Feelies side project Yung Wu as well as Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.” Frontman Glenn Mercer stayed to join Yo La Tengo on a cover Jefferson Airplane’s “Good Shepherd” and the Psychedelic Furs’ “Pretty In Pink.”