‘Reinventing The Wheel’ UK Tour

Making its UK debut this summer comes Yo La Tengo’s much talked about Reinventing The Wheel Tour. A show of two halves with no support act where anything goes. This tour holds one hell of a game show vibe, with lovely music dictated for the first 45 minutes by a spinning wheel of chance, "taking the advice of Blood, Sweat & Tears to 'ride a painted pony/let the spinning wheel spin.' "

So here goes: They’re going to split each performance into two sets. At the beginning of the night, They’ll bring a Wheel of Mystery.

Here are the possibilities...

1. Condo F*cks

Their Ziggy Stardust. If the wheel decides this then loud it is. Maybe they’ll be bringing the likes of Slade, The Kinks and The Troggs home? In one spin, we’ll find out.

2. Dump

As if two bands aren’t enough, James has his own thing going on too. Only the wheel knows if this is the night Dump finally plays your town.

3. The Freewheeling Yo La Tengo

You ask a question; they answer the question, and maybe follow up with a song.

4. The Name Game

Have you ever noticed how many Yo La Tengo songs include someone’s name? More than 45 minutes’ worth, that’s for sure, so who knows which ones we’ll do on any given night.

5. Sitcom Theatre

The lucky audience in attendance the night the wheel lands on this space will get to see band and crew act out a classic sitcom.

6. Songs Starting With S

The only thing more common than a Yo La Tengo song with a name is a Yo La Tengo song starting with S (only one song fits both categories). So many, in fact, that they cannot promise that all of them are on the table, as it were. But they do promise that there will be songs rarely, if ever, heard live.

7. The Sounds of Science part 1

8. The Sounds of Science part 2

All of the lovely sounds they create, but none of that pesky science. Leaving the movies at home, and dividing the 90-minute program in half.

JUNE 2011 UK Tour:

6th Edinburgh Queens Hall

7th The Sage Gateshead

8th Leeds Cockpit

9th Birmingham O2 Academy 2

10th Oxford O2 Academy

12th London Royal Festival Hall

(as part of the Meltdown Festival)