Yo La Tengo was the first event we caught at Big Ears 2016. The group took the Mill and Mine stage later into Thursday night. The Hoboken “indie rock” band completely abandoned their coined genre for an avant garde, experimental set focused more on noise and frequency than composition.
The group, who is infamous for cycling through members, was joined by Mary Lattimore, Danny Ray Thompson and Bryce Dessner of The National. They didn’t worry about playing songs, but more transitioned from piece to piece with improvisation. They definitely caught the attention of Big Ears attendees and were a great start to the festival.