by jon bosworth jaxvillain@yahoo.com
What: Yo La Tengo Live with The Sun Ra Arkestra
Where: The Florida Theatre
When: February 2nd
You may have thought it was another uber-chic inside joke, calling the band some obscure Spanish phrase, and that would be in line with Yo La Tengo’s M.O., but there is actually a pretty good baseball story behind the name. According to Wikipedia: “During the 1962 season, New York Mets centerfielder Richie Ashburn and Venezuelan shortstop Elio Chacón found themselves colliding in the outfield. When Ashburn went for a catch, he would scream, ‘I got it! I got it!’ only to run into the 160-pound Chacón, who spoke only Spanish. Ashburn learned to yell, ‘¡Yo la tengo! ¡Yo la tengo!’ which is ‘I’ve got it’ in Spanish. In a later game, Ashburn happily saw Chacón backing off. He relaxed, positioned himself to catch the ball, and was instead run over by 200-pound leftfielder Frank Thomas, who understood no Spanish.”
EU Jacksonville caught up with a founding member of Yo La Tengo, Ira Kaplan, at home during a brief break from the road, to ask a few questions about the eternally touring three-piece and their backup band on this tour, the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra.
EU: What inspired the title I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass?
IK: Well, I don’t really answer that question. To me what inspired it is less important than that it seemed to be a good title. Where it’s from distracts from why it seems to fit this record.
EU: Why does it fit this record?
IK: That’s for other people to decide. I think that things these days are just over-explained. I don’t remember reading a detailed explanation of Sargeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, it was up to people to decide for themselves. Record reviews make you feel like you’ve already heard the record. Like movie previews. Once you know what’s going to happen in the movie, why go see it?
EU: Will Oldham is starring in Old Joy, a film you participated in scoring. Does Oldham have anything to do with the music and have you collaborated with Oldham musically before?
IK: We have not collaborated with him and he had nothing to do with the music. We have done shows with him before. On a prior film by the same filmmaker he did the score and we appeared on the soundtrack, but again we didn’t work with him. Old Joy is a beautiful film and he’s great. His performance is terrific. I was happy to be a part of that film.
EU: You are in a unique place when you play the Florida Theatre, it is usually reserved for the artists like Willie Nelson, BB King, and Styx. As indie-rockers of almost legendary status, but too young to mix with this particular crowd, how do you feel about falling in that category?
IK: I love the care that goes into the show at a place like The Florida Theatre. I don’t want to complain about anything, but when you go to most clubs and there’s a calendar, it’s easy to feel like you’re just the next day on the calendar. When you are brought into The Florida Theatre with Sun Ra Arkestra, you know that it means something. That elevated the experience for me right from the start.
EU: Does Matador treat you all like kings?
IK: (laughing) Well, they treat us fine. If we get out of line we might be beheaded.
EU: What can fans look forward to in this performance?
IK: Our shows are all different from each other. I think people should come to more than one show in Florida. On this tour I’d be surprised if each show doesn’t have a couple of songs that we don’t play anywhere else on tour.
EU: Do you go out about town after the show?
IK: We don’t go out much after the shows. I don’t know, is there something going on? Is there Jai Lai?
EU: No, not in Jacksonville. There’s mudding.
IK: Mudding? Is that what it sounds like?
EU: All you have to do is go to the Winn Dixie parking lot and look for the guy drinking beer in the back of the biggest, dirtiest 4x4.
IK: They do this in the middle of the night?
EU: We do it anytime in Jacksonville.
IK: Maybe that’s where we’ll be.
Yo La Tengo and The Sun Ra Arkestra perform at the Florida Theatre on February 2nd. Tickets range in price from $22.50 to 27.50, which is a steal when you consider how legendary both of these acts are. Call the Florida Theatre at 355-2787, or go to floridatheatre.com to purchase tickets.
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