In about 1996 I was walking across Dunn Meadow—which is a green space adjacent to the Indiana University Student Union in Bloomington—where a small festival sponsored by a student environmental group was taking place. At the far end there was a small stage and on it Yo La Tengo playing, I think, "Blue Line Swinger." What I was told was that for some reason the student band that had been scheduled had had to cancel and through some series of unlikely conversations, Yo La Tengo had agreed to fill in for them. They happened to be in town that day for a show that evening. I doubt they were paid. So that's the kind of people they are. To date that's the only time I've seen them play. Though I did see George and Ira waiting in line virtually every time I went to see the Upright CItizens Brigade's free improv show in New York in the late 90s. My favorite YLT record is "And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out."
Love this story! Since it's 1996 in Bloomington, I gotta ask, any memories/knowledge of the start of Secretly Canadian? It's crazy what that label would go on to be in just a few short years!
I knew them pretty well. The early roster of the label was pretty much my extended social circle, most of them played in my basement. The scene was pretty tight, lots of basement shows. I remember when Jason Molina showed up in town, his talent just felt unworldly. I think that's when I, at least, picked up on the fact that Secretly Canadian was more than just some little project. Chris, Ben, and Jonathan were deadly serious about the label from the beginning. I remember when they'd just signed Damien Jurado, he was on tour with a friend of mine. So I hung out with them in New Hampshire and then about a week later, I heard a Damien song at a Barnes and Nobles on the PA system. That blew my mind at the time, I think that was about '98 or '99. I've been in business myself for about 20 years and they've been one of my biggest sources of inspiration.
The story of them driving to New York to pitch Jason Molina is a thing of legend! Damien Jurado, as well, still one of my favorites. I remember asking him about the difference between SC and the major quasi-indie label (we aren't naming names) he had just left around that time, and he had nothing but high praise for the attention SC gave their artists. As an indie label owner myself, they are a continuous inspiration. Thanks for sharing. So cool!
Punit, I know you aimed this at Kevin, and I'm sure he'll respond, but I'm gonna guess that little thing we like to call "a global pandemic" was one thing that kept many from both going to shows and even putting ON shows.
As for me (and keep in mind I've got at least 20 years on Kevin....at least!), I'm a concert-goer from way back (Led Zep in '70 when I was 15...floor seats, yet!), with the number easily in the hundreds (counting club dates as well as arena shows, etc), and frankly, I'm just tired of the whole experience...the hassle of parking, the prices, etc!
Chalk it up to age, granted, but every once in a while, I'll quiz myself as to who I'd actually endure the cost and trouble of going to see, and I literally come up empty with who, NOW, I'd care to see, live.
Anyway, Punit, pardon my intrusion, but your question got ME to thinking, which my therapist tells me isn't (necessarily) a bad thing! Cheers! Brad
Wow Brad, that's such a well thought-through answer! While I did consider the pandemic, I didn't consider it from the point of view of choice and effort. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experiences.
I'm curious to know more of your story! Led Zeppelin in the 70's!!?? What other fantastic adventures have you been on, my friend? 😀
You're a treasure, Punit! People are gonna think I paid you off for your considerate lob! OK, here's the spike over the net: "Why, what OTHER fantastic adventures, you ask??" My FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE Substack effort is my laying out of my '70s and '80s years in FM rock radio and the retail record biz! I'd love to have you "drop the needle" on some/many of my articles!
I don't think I've told the Led Zep story, yet, so with your (and Kevin's!), kind permission, here 'tis, briefly: My dad got me free floor tix (he worked in radio ad sales at Houston's CBS radio affiliate) for Zep's "An Evening with Led Zeppelin" at U of Houston's Hofheinz Pavilion, March 29, 1970 (I had just turned 15 eleven days before): https://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/hofheinz-pavillion-university-houston-march-29-1970
I took a girl (I was told "that's what you do"!), and I distinctly remember the Jimmy Page violin bow-to-the-guitar thing he did!
Zoom ahead to the turn of the century (this one), and I was selling all my promo items, records...everything, on eBay, from around 1998 thru 2008. Included in my "item dump" was the one-inch-square ticket stub from that concert (I KEPT EVERYTHING!). It ended up selling for $100!
Punit, thank you for listening! Kevin, you're a prince for allowing me to expound like this on your fab site! Feel free to drop Links Galore (I think she's a stripper) on my site anytime!😁👍
I'm just regular guy with lots of curiosity, haha! Front Row & Backstage looks fantastic, I've subbed immediately.
Your Dad gave you an amazing gift. I am so happy to read your story. Taking a decade to sell out your item dump sounds like a huuuuuge item dump, and that sounds like a loooooot of memories. What a guy...
Kevin DOES have the best subbies, PT...you're proof of that! Thanks, huge, for subscribing! I think you'll find we're all over the map, era-wise and genre-wise at FR&B! I've got new artists like Roosevelt and SG Lewis, as well as all the decades of the rock era!
Dad was the best, and the most hilarious man my bro and I ever knew! He started my career in radio (as many thought he would!)...that story's been told, early on (scroll down to around fall '21...we started in August '21)! Be sure to pick up on the 20 articles written by a living, breathing, honest-to-goodness singer/songwriter/guitarist/actor, recording artist Stephen Michael Schwartz (RCA Records solo album in 1974), sprinkled thru the site!
I write one fun, thought-provoking poem every week, and celebrated my 104th week (2 years) of writing just yesterday. Hope you'll check it out along with my Hello Universe playlist mentioned in the latest post.
I also write about AI tech over at Future Telescope ( https://futuretelescope.substack.com ) - and I start each post with a nice track to listen to. In fact, today I featured an AI music generation tool on this newsletter as well!
I love the idea of reading about all the artists you mentioned because I often find myself being a man wandering in a musical world. Music is the great connector, and it brings people like us together.
The easy answer is “real life got in the way,” but here are a few reasons:
•My kids were younger and had full schedules.
•Some day, I’ll write full time, but until then I have a day job with a 4AM start. That means either taking the next day off or pulling an all-nighter.
•More than a few cancelled shows for weather.
•I kicked off 2020 by blowing my knee out. I thought that would be the biggest story of the year. Silly me. Most clubs closed soon after, but I messed a couple.
•I overslept and missed one
•I straight up missed Alvvays coming through (a free show!)
•I was halfway out of the house for another when I realized I’d had the date wrong and it was the night before. Lol.
That IS a long hiatus! And it sounds like you broke it in exemplary fashion. Bizarrely enough, I've never seen YLT in concert but it is a box I wouldn't mind checking off. Will keep an eye out for NYC opportunities. I've never been a super fan but I do like them a lot and their new album is their best since I Can Feel The Heart Beating As One, my all-time favorite by them.
Great piece, Kevin! I'm impressed by how you presented (with your pix, a playlist set-list) your review of the show so completely for fans of YLT! I'm not one, in full disappointing disclosure, but that's only because I never took the time to actually listen to them! I'll use this (your assembled playlist, mainly) as my opportunity to see if I can become a fan! In otro palabras, gracias!!😁
It can be hard to get back into the swing of going to shows after time off. For me it was the pandemic crossed with becoming a Dad that made getting out to shows more difficult. Hopefully, we'll all get out to more shows in the coming months. Yo La Tengo is always fantastic. Such a solid band for a long stretch of time. It's been quite a long time since I've seen them in person, but I should really make it happen the next time they're in town. Thanks Kevin!
I Heard You Looking is the be all end all YLT for me but this concert sounds amazing nonetheless! I saw them when they toured for Painful, back in the 120 Minutes glory days. I'm not sure which I heard first, YLT's version or Teenage Fanclub's cover of IHYL which they had as a b-side on one of their singles. Happy you got to see a bona fide show after a 4.5 year drought, and a top band at that <3 Btw just subbed today, glad I did :)
In about 1996 I was walking across Dunn Meadow—which is a green space adjacent to the Indiana University Student Union in Bloomington—where a small festival sponsored by a student environmental group was taking place. At the far end there was a small stage and on it Yo La Tengo playing, I think, "Blue Line Swinger." What I was told was that for some reason the student band that had been scheduled had had to cancel and through some series of unlikely conversations, Yo La Tengo had agreed to fill in for them. They happened to be in town that day for a show that evening. I doubt they were paid. So that's the kind of people they are. To date that's the only time I've seen them play. Though I did see George and Ira waiting in line virtually every time I went to see the Upright CItizens Brigade's free improv show in New York in the late 90s. My favorite YLT record is "And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out."
Love this story! Since it's 1996 in Bloomington, I gotta ask, any memories/knowledge of the start of Secretly Canadian? It's crazy what that label would go on to be in just a few short years!
I knew them pretty well. The early roster of the label was pretty much my extended social circle, most of them played in my basement. The scene was pretty tight, lots of basement shows. I remember when Jason Molina showed up in town, his talent just felt unworldly. I think that's when I, at least, picked up on the fact that Secretly Canadian was more than just some little project. Chris, Ben, and Jonathan were deadly serious about the label from the beginning. I remember when they'd just signed Damien Jurado, he was on tour with a friend of mine. So I hung out with them in New Hampshire and then about a week later, I heard a Damien song at a Barnes and Nobles on the PA system. That blew my mind at the time, I think that was about '98 or '99. I've been in business myself for about 20 years and they've been one of my biggest sources of inspiration.
The story of them driving to New York to pitch Jason Molina is a thing of legend! Damien Jurado, as well, still one of my favorites. I remember asking him about the difference between SC and the major quasi-indie label (we aren't naming names) he had just left around that time, and he had nothing but high praise for the attention SC gave their artists. As an indie label owner myself, they are a continuous inspiration. Thanks for sharing. So cool!
I love it! Talk about right place/right time! “And Then Nothing…” is one of my favorites too.
Wow, almost 5 years since your last music show! For a guy who loves music as much as you do. What caused such a large pause?
Punit, I know you aimed this at Kevin, and I'm sure he'll respond, but I'm gonna guess that little thing we like to call "a global pandemic" was one thing that kept many from both going to shows and even putting ON shows.
As for me (and keep in mind I've got at least 20 years on Kevin....at least!), I'm a concert-goer from way back (Led Zep in '70 when I was 15...floor seats, yet!), with the number easily in the hundreds (counting club dates as well as arena shows, etc), and frankly, I'm just tired of the whole experience...the hassle of parking, the prices, etc!
Chalk it up to age, granted, but every once in a while, I'll quiz myself as to who I'd actually endure the cost and trouble of going to see, and I literally come up empty with who, NOW, I'd care to see, live.
Anyway, Punit, pardon my intrusion, but your question got ME to thinking, which my therapist tells me isn't (necessarily) a bad thing! Cheers! Brad
Wow Brad, that's such a well thought-through answer! While I did consider the pandemic, I didn't consider it from the point of view of choice and effort. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experiences.
I'm curious to know more of your story! Led Zeppelin in the 70's!!?? What other fantastic adventures have you been on, my friend? 😀
You're a treasure, Punit! People are gonna think I paid you off for your considerate lob! OK, here's the spike over the net: "Why, what OTHER fantastic adventures, you ask??" My FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE Substack effort is my laying out of my '70s and '80s years in FM rock radio and the retail record biz! I'd love to have you "drop the needle" on some/many of my articles!
I don't think I've told the Led Zep story, yet, so with your (and Kevin's!), kind permission, here 'tis, briefly: My dad got me free floor tix (he worked in radio ad sales at Houston's CBS radio affiliate) for Zep's "An Evening with Led Zeppelin" at U of Houston's Hofheinz Pavilion, March 29, 1970 (I had just turned 15 eleven days before): https://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/hofheinz-pavillion-university-houston-march-29-1970
I took a girl (I was told "that's what you do"!), and I distinctly remember the Jimmy Page violin bow-to-the-guitar thing he did!
Zoom ahead to the turn of the century (this one), and I was selling all my promo items, records...everything, on eBay, from around 1998 thru 2008. Included in my "item dump" was the one-inch-square ticket stub from that concert (I KEPT EVERYTHING!). It ended up selling for $100!
Punit, thank you for listening! Kevin, you're a prince for allowing me to expound like this on your fab site! Feel free to drop Links Galore (I think she's a stripper) on my site anytime!😁👍
I'm just regular guy with lots of curiosity, haha! Front Row & Backstage looks fantastic, I've subbed immediately.
Your Dad gave you an amazing gift. I am so happy to read your story. Taking a decade to sell out your item dump sounds like a huuuuuge item dump, and that sounds like a loooooot of memories. What a guy...
Kevin, you have the best subscribers, man. 😀
Kevin DOES have the best subbies, PT...you're proof of that! Thanks, huge, for subscribing! I think you'll find we're all over the map, era-wise and genre-wise at FR&B! I've got new artists like Roosevelt and SG Lewis, as well as all the decades of the rock era!
Dad was the best, and the most hilarious man my bro and I ever knew! He started my career in radio (as many thought he would!)...that story's been told, early on (scroll down to around fall '21...we started in August '21)! Be sure to pick up on the 20 articles written by a living, breathing, honest-to-goodness singer/songwriter/guitarist/actor, recording artist Stephen Michael Schwartz (RCA Records solo album in 1974), sprinkled thru the site!
Thanks again, Punit!
Such kind words and such a cool newsletter. Such a lovely outcome from just one question. This really feels delightful. 😀😀😀
Also, I would invite you to check out my writing at Hello Universe ( https://hellouniverse.substack.com ) .
I write one fun, thought-provoking poem every week, and celebrated my 104th week (2 years) of writing just yesterday. Hope you'll check it out along with my Hello Universe playlist mentioned in the latest post.
I also write about AI tech over at Future Telescope ( https://futuretelescope.substack.com ) - and I start each post with a nice track to listen to. In fact, today I featured an AI music generation tool on this newsletter as well!
I love the idea of reading about all the artists you mentioned because I often find myself being a man wandering in a musical world. Music is the great connector, and it brings people like us together.
Cheers, Brad!
This is true. 😀
All factors I take into account now as well! Plus, a lot of the time a 75 miles trip to Milwaukee is in the equation too.
The easy answer is “real life got in the way,” but here are a few reasons:
•My kids were younger and had full schedules.
•Some day, I’ll write full time, but until then I have a day job with a 4AM start. That means either taking the next day off or pulling an all-nighter.
•More than a few cancelled shows for weather.
•I kicked off 2020 by blowing my knee out. I thought that would be the biggest story of the year. Silly me. Most clubs closed soon after, but I messed a couple.
•I overslept and missed one
•I straight up missed Alvvays coming through (a free show!)
•I was halfway out of the house for another when I realized I’d had the date wrong and it was the night before. Lol.
So yeah, a few reasons. 😀
That IS a long hiatus! And it sounds like you broke it in exemplary fashion. Bizarrely enough, I've never seen YLT in concert but it is a box I wouldn't mind checking off. Will keep an eye out for NYC opportunities. I've never been a super fan but I do like them a lot and their new album is their best since I Can Feel The Heart Beating As One, my all-time favorite by them.
Great pick! And definitely keep an eye out; they play deep cuts and hits alike (all relative, I know) from all over their discography.
Sounds like an amazing night. I wish I would have snagged a ticket and jumped in your trunk.
Next time!!
Great piece, Kevin! I'm impressed by how you presented (with your pix, a playlist set-list) your review of the show so completely for fans of YLT! I'm not one, in full disappointing disclosure, but that's only because I never took the time to actually listen to them! I'll use this (your assembled playlist, mainly) as my opportunity to see if I can become a fan! In otro palabras, gracias!!😁
De nada y espero uno o dos que canciones que te gusten!
(Man, I hope I got that right!)
I've seen them twice and so love their shows. Good for you, Kev!
Thanks! You might recall that your recap of one of their shows really got me back into them. Was hoping they’d play “From A Motel 6,” but no go.
It can be hard to get back into the swing of going to shows after time off. For me it was the pandemic crossed with becoming a Dad that made getting out to shows more difficult. Hopefully, we'll all get out to more shows in the coming months. Yo La Tengo is always fantastic. Such a solid band for a long stretch of time. It's been quite a long time since I've seen them in person, but I should really make it happen the next time they're in town. Thanks Kevin!
Congrats on the new(ish) addition! It can be hard to find time once kids are in the mix.
Last time I went to a concert was Mercy Me at The Scope on October 19, 2019. It was STUPENDOUS! (It was a birthday gift from The Husband)
IWatch?...is that like an Apple Watch?🤣
Haha. Yes. Oops. 😂
Sounds like if you're going to wait four years, YLT was a great choice (and I'm super jealous!). Great post; feels like I got to go too 😂
Thanks! Yeah, it was a really good show to end the drought with.
Yes!!! I remember and that was sad.
I Heard You Looking is the be all end all YLT for me but this concert sounds amazing nonetheless! I saw them when they toured for Painful, back in the 120 Minutes glory days. I'm not sure which I heard first, YLT's version or Teenage Fanclub's cover of IHYL which they had as a b-side on one of their singles. Happy you got to see a bona fide show after a 4.5 year drought, and a top band at that <3 Btw just subbed today, glad I did :)
IHYL is fantastic. Thanks for subbing! I'm glad you're here. :)