Yo La Tengo w/ Girl Talk, Gordon Field House, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH - 4/24/2009

"If the venue is a 'field house,' I think it's not worth it." - Noelle, my special lady friend, paraphrased/speaking much wisdom
Oh, Yo La Tengo. You make such (and so many) beautiful records yet can be so, so spotty live. I have seen you scorch the earth and have also seen you just not quite bring it. Chalk this night up to the latter, though there were significant hurdles to be overcome.

Talk about weird bills ... Yo La Tengo + Girl Talk playing at a small Ohio college's fieldhouse for their Springfest. Delaware, Ohio is only about 20 miles from Columbus, so I had to check this out. We grabbed dinner at Northstar (spotting a trend) and headed up, thinking that YLT went on at 7. Well, there was some other dude opening at 7, as we found out on arriving, so we had about 90 minutes to kill in Delaware. Nice, small midwestern town with the gorgeous Ohio Wesleyan University at the center of things. We grabbed a drink at a dive bar with slow service and then headed in.

Yes, the fieldhouse was a big gym with huge, echo-y, reverb-y, terrible sound. We caught the opener's last song (I honestly don't remember his name) and waited for YLT as Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombones played in its entirety. So YLT finally comes out and opens with, of all things, "Tom Courtenay," arguably their most well-known song. And the sound is complete mud. And it is LOUD. My Bloody Valentine-level loud. People holding their ears and walking out loud. Noelle made it to the second song and had to wait outside, as did many others. I had my earplugs in and was still shocked at the volume.

They played a pretty killer setlist with a slew of classics, but it never really came together. The venue was a big part of that, I think. By the time it was over, I was pretty done, as was Noelle. As we walked out after deciding to forego Girl Talk altogether, a rush of young folks (I think mainly high school, she thinks mainly collge) decked out in neon and generalized rave attire pushed their way in. That dude has officially left the tipping point in the rearview mirror.

Tom Courtenay
???
Stockholm Syndrome
Pass the Hatchet I Think I'm Goodkind
The Summer
???
Beanbag Chair
Mr. Tough
The Weakest Part
???
Autumn Sweater
Big Day Coming (fast)
Decora
Watch Out For Me, Ronnie
I Heard You Looking