Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo, right, with Bill Million of The Feelies, at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, in 2010.
The Hoboken rock club Maxwell’s returned this year, under new ownership and with a different booking policy, after closing last year. It will not, however, be hosting the Chanukah shows by Hoboken band Yo La Tengo that had become a nearly annual event in the original club.
The custom was for the band to play charity shows — which usually sold out pretty quickly — on all eight nights of Chanukah, with different guests on each night opening the shows and, often, jamming with the band.
Below is a clip from one of the 2010 Chanukah shows: Yo La Tengo covers The Modern Lovers’ garage-rock classic “Roadrunner” — a love song, in a way, with the medium of radio being the object of the singer’s affection. Bill Million and Glenn Mercer of The Feelies (a Jersey band that had a huge influence on Yo La Tengo) join the group on guitar. Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo adds some lyrics of his own, and everyone looks like they’re having a great time.
New Jersey celebrated its 350th birthday from Sept. 2014 to Sept. 2015. And in the 350 Jersey Songs series, we marked the occasion by posting 350 songs — one a day, for almost a year — that have something to do with the state, its musical history, or both. The complete list is here.
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