Coming from a place called Hoboken, which is either in New Jersey or some far off galaxy, the trio from cult punk rockers Yo La Tengo (translation: "more mayonnaise please") strolled casually onto the Olympia stage. They took up their positions as if manning their stations on the bridge of the starship indie, with singer and guitarist Ira Kaplan as captain, his wife, drummer and singer Georgia Hubley as first mate and bass player James McNew filling in for the rest of the crew.

Swapping instruments with ease, the trio travailed between the purest Americana and the filthiest noise. Atmospherics were everywhere - the entire gig seemed like a protracted jam - compared with actual songs. Insular, steady, and quiet moods melted into each other, occasionally bubbling over into noisy punk rock tunes, but everything seemed less than concrete.

On their latest album, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out, Kaplan and Hubley sing confessional, intimate lyrics over whispery guitars, brushed percussion, vibes and organ drones - but the record's fragile sentiments didn't translate well to the live setting.

Displaying a bewildering variety of styles, the trio put on a protean performance that had little substance underneath, though they occasionally redeemed themselves with flashes of improvisational brilliance. Yo La Tengo, though adventurous, unfortunately were a little short of new ideas. In the end, their much-praised music is really little more than dressed up Velvet Underground taken down the lo-fi, avant-garde noisefest route of bands like Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. As the say in New Jersey, what was needed was "less mayo, more meat".