Yo La Tengo to play all kinds of ‘Stuff’ at State College show

Yo La Tengo bassist James McNew found music at an early age when he found his mom’s folk guitar in the closet.

“I was maybe 8 or 9 when I started taking lessons as a little kid,” McNew said. “There were always records playing. I was always listening to the radio in the car. It just sort of seemed like air or food; something that went on all the time.”

A fateful concert attendance changed McNew’s outlook on music and performance.

“I never ever considered it (playing professionally) an actual possibility until I saw The Minutemen, and D. Boon especially, because I had never seen a person that looked like me doing that,” McNew said. “He was this great big dude playing a telecaster and pogo-ing all over the stage. I thought this music was only for like little tiny, skinny people. But, to see an actual physical manifestation of it right before my eyes, I think just changed my entire life.”

McNew knew his new view was true when he was invited to play with his favorite band, Boston-area Christmas.

“They saw potential as a bass player,” McNew said. “It’s like the guy who comes up through high school as an outfielder, and then somewhere some wise manager decides to have him try to pitch one day. That’s sort of how it felt.”

Yo La Tengo will perform Sept. 13 at The State Theatre. The band has split its current show into two sets to more fully accentuate its broad and diverse sound, McNew said.

“Lately we’ve been doing where we play two sets; a quiet first set and then a loud second set with a little, short break in between,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been a really satisfying feeling to do everything that we like to do within a span of a show. I’m looking forward to doing it again.”

Yo La Tengo’s latest album, “Stuff Like That There,” marks a return to an older sound and approach for the band.

“It was different from all of our previous records except for one,” said McNew. “It was a sequel to that record, ‘Fakebook,’ which came out in 1990, right before I joined the group. We had kind of toyed the idea with making another record like that for like 25 years, and when the 25th anniversary of that record came around we decided to go for it and kind of make a similar record only incorporating everything that’s happened since then.”

The album features cover songs, reworked arrangements of Yo La Tengo originals and some new songs. The band is in the early stages of writing new music, but McNew said they aren’t rushing to get another record done in the near future.

“I’m not sure how soon, but we’re already kind of working on a new record,” he said. “We’ve been messing around, and that’s a fun way to work — when there’s no plan yet, you’re just doing what feels fun and interesting.”

During the show at The State Theatre, Yo La Tengo will play music from throughout their storied career, and McNew believes attendees won’t regret buying a ticket.

“There’s nothing that good on TV that night,” McNew said. “The pennant race isn’t really heating up yet. We’ll treat you right, I think that’s a guarantee.”

This story was originally published September 8, 2016 at 11:50 AM with the headline "Yo La Tengo to play all kinds of ‘Stuff’ at State College show."