It’s the season of goodwill for most folks. But for local indie rock fans, the winter of discontent threatens. After 12 years of Yo La Tengo’s famous Hanukkah shows — which saw the indie band playing all 8 nights of the festival of lights at Maxwell’s in Hoboken — the demise of their hometown venue means the event is no more.
“The Hanukkah shows were really site-specific,” singer/guitarist Ira Kaplan tells The Post. “We may or may not find a way of doing them in the future, but for this year at least, it seemed inconceivable to do it anywhere else.”
Instead, this Friday, the band (completed by drummer Georgia Hubley and bassist James McNew) arrive in Brooklyn to begin a four-night residency at the Bell House.
It’s a definite silver lining, even though there won’t be any special guests, skits or opening acts.
With the past concerts, you could expect all kinds of secret surprise guests. During the band’s 2002 residency, both David Byrne of Talking Heads and Ray Davies of the Kinks turned up. Comedians like Todd Barry and Wyatt Cenac opened shows with stand-up routines. And in 2007, Amy Poehler made a famed appearance performing a skit in which she pretended to be Kaplan’s aunt and talked about her latke recipes.
“When Amy Poehler appeared with us, she was on ‘SNL’ and already famous,” remembers Kaplan. “I think everyone in the audience was pretty shocked to see her.”
Kaplan has his own favorite memories. “Getting Chris Elliott to participate was a dream come true. We admire his work, but he also doesn’t perform live very much. David Johansen (of the New York Dolls) was also so generous. He did all the cover songs we threw at him. And having my mom singing ‘My Little Corner Of The World’ as the last song of the night was pretty fun!”
Last year, there were even wild rumors going around that the Rolling Stones (who were in town performing) might stop by. It didn’t happen, but it shows the reputation Yo La Tengo’s concerts have built since the first run in 2001.
This year, the trio will play both an electric and acoustic set as they round off a world tour to support “Fade,” which was released at the start of the year. Their thirteenth album, it’s a subtle and often beautiful collection of melodies that landed this cult group at No. 26 — their highest position to date — on the Billboard album chart.
Next year also marks Yo La Tengo’s 30th anniversary as a band and, although there are no immediate plans to bring back the Hanukkah shows, Kaplan admits next holiday season might see a different kind of celebration. “We played our first show in December 1984 so we always use that [date] as the start of the band,” he recalls. “I think anniversaries are overhyped to a certain extent. You’ll always hear ‘it’s been 100 months since . . . something!’ But this time, we’re discussing what we could do.” Until then, let the special guest rumors begin. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for Mama Kaplan again.