I Am Afraid of Yo La Tengo Cuz They Will Beat My Ass

I'm getting too old to withstand the impact of feedback squalls, especially when four of them buffet you over the course of 125 minutes. Besides that, Yo La Tengo's performance at Studio A last night overcame inaudible vocals (Georgia Hubley's "Little Eyes" was unintelligible) and poor acoustics to demonstrate how a noise trio can, in effect, test the limits of their imagination. It's been noted often how YLT's songs chronicle a happy marriage (a marriage that's essentially a triad, as James McNew is essential), a happiness forged no doubt from tension and conflict (you try touring with your spouse); but their musical chemistry renders songs like I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass' "Sometimes I Don't Get You" into full-bodied but unconvincing plaints*. Even this irony feels warmly reassuring: they're in the on the joke, and they know the audience knows (here's where Kaplan's rockcrit training helps).

Like I said, I wished they'd have canned the feedback, despite the ample pleasures of watching Kaplan yield to his guitar like he's just heard "I Heard Her Call My Name" at the soundcheck a few hours ago. I realize that it's impossible to concentrate when you're thinking about the eight o'clock class you must teach in a few hours. But YLT rewarded our patience with a superb encore, during which the band duly played audience requests (a lovely, squeaky "Autumn Sweater," its Farfisa tones warm and reassuring; and "Decora") and joked with a crowd which had never seen YLT play in Miami before. YLT are such nice people that they invited their painfully unfunny comedic opening act to drum on a superb T-Rex cover dedicated to Miami's "Jewish people."

*McNew actually looked younger than when I last saw them in 2003. Feedback – the elixir of youth!