Leo

I dunno. Jeff seemed a little stiff and nervous. A little out of place. Or maybe its just that everyone on the show, including the cast, look out of place and nervous. It was strange.

Nudie suit with sneakers?

Just received my season tickets in the mail Thursday!! WoooHooo!

Hank Steinbrenner:

 

Steinbrenner, apparently trying to emphasize that he has no fear of the Yankees' American League competition, has amped up the rivalry between the two teams, intentionally or not.

 

"Red Sox Nation?" What a bunch of [expletive] that is," he said in an interview with The New York Times' Play magazine. "That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans.

 

"Go anywhere in America and you won't see Red Sox hats and jackets, you'll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We're going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order."

He better hope his 3, 4, and 5 SPs can pitch .500.

I hadn't seen any since this morning, but I just now got one (approx. 1:57 PM EST).

 

Unlike this morning, it only happened once. I figured I'd open a thread just in case others are seeing them too.

 

I'd also like to take this opportunity to once again thank Kyle for keeping this place up and running, along with anyone else who might help!

Yes. Thanks Kyle. Good seeing you at the Riv! Hope to see you soon.

The bullpen is a big question mark

Matt Mantei may be the wild card there. With Zumaya out (although ahead of schedule in his rehab) until after midseason, Rodney injured, and Jones being Jones, the addition of a healthy(?) Mantei may be huge. Inge caught him in a bullpen session the other day and claimed his stuff was electric, the best he's seen in years.

I cannot believe I missed the show last night! Jesus, what kind of fan am I? Look forward to it all day, then forget. In all fairness, I did my taxes last night. A miserable distraction.

53 pages!!! You guys are impressive.

Thanks for all the PKB love!

I'm streaming the show at work this afternoon. Maybe get a few converts.

No posts during the first few games of ST? The Marlins are playing the University of Miami and are up 7-2 right now. Miguel Cabrera went deep in his first ST at bat against Florida Southern College with the Tigers.

 

The "real" games begin tomorrow or the day after. Baseball season is getting close.

A 450 foot bomb!! HELL YEAH!

Granted, it was off a college pitcher. But, still . . . Let's GO.

Leo, you mean to tell me we hung out for a week straight and didn't even talk basketball? What a pity, greg

Not for a lack of subject matter though. Next time!

I've been out of the loop for a week or two and haven't followed the scores so closely. Last night I watched SC and holy shit I had no idea the Lakers were so good, 10-1 since they got Gasol and Bynum is still out. My question is are they the team to beat in the west now, or will their overall lack of experience catch up with them in the playoffs?

I think Gasol gives them enough to come out of the West. If Kobe can spread a little, they will be dangerous.

so the black keys thread has inspired me to pick up one of their cds. i think buying it new will best support the artist and the local indie shop, no. thoughts?

 

c

I think buying it new helps the label more than the artist. I understand the artist only receives a small percentage of retail sales.

Purchasing merch at a show probably is the best way to support the artist.

I am so sorry Chris, Bethany, and Josh.

She continues to live through you all and, now, all of us.

Peace.

Smashing!

 

Now, could you photoshop-in a spider monkey playing a monkey grinder atop an elephant being frightened by a cobra being charmed by an orangutan wearing a clown costume?

Uuuuh . . . no.

Awesome, please, please tell me I am wearing a top hat?

Doesn't this somehow effect your credibility?

Vulture19, welcome to the wonderful, frequently wacky world of Via Chicago! We hope you'll enjoy our community! Thanks to you and to Leo for your reviews! It's the next best thing to being there.

 

 

All the commentary and details paint such a nice picture for this slightly Wilco-deprived Californian! For vulture

 

and for dear Leo (Hiya Leo! )

Hey Donna!!!!

OK! I think I've finally recovered from 6 shows in 7 nights. What a run!

After seeing the Riv shows I was worried the Cleveland show would be a huge letdown, for me and the band. I was also worried the audience would not live up to the high bar set by the Riv audiences. How could they?

The venue was great - a high school auditorium for Chrissakes! A little over a thousand seats. We had second row behind the pit rows in front of Nels. Sounds good, but after having stood at or near the rail for the Riv shows, a bit of a letdown.

After an OK John Doe set, I walked up and asked Stan at the soundboard if he was going to continue playing Peaches before the "encore." He said probably not. We talked about the Saturday Riv encore which he confirmed was a real encore. They had no intention of returning but, because we wouldn't budge, came back out. We talked about the shows generally. He commented that Mikael finally let him turn up his keyboards in the mix and how great it sounded. Apparently, Mikael is shy about his place in the mix and prefers to remain as much in the background as possible. Stan showed me the setlist and told me to come back up after the show to get it.

I wondered whether the Cleveland crowd would remain in the comfy seats or stand. When they took the stage everyone stood and remained up the entire show! They opened with Germany and Nels killed the solo - better than any I had previously heard. Then they went into Mountain Bed, You Are My Face, Seeds and PKB (hell yeah!!). An excellent beginning.

Jeff's voice was hit. He sounded raspy and was unable to hit the highs without breaking. Fortunately, a tired, raspy vocal works well in most of Wilco's numbers.

About midway through the show, the energy seemed to plateau. I don't know if it was me or the band or both. The Theologians, Walken, I'm The Man, Kingpin, HMD run was fairly pedestrian.

Jeff was funny throughout. He spoke as much as I've ever heard him. Almost before every song. As he was raising the harmonica to put around his neck at one point, he appeared to pause to give the crowd a chance to respond as we did at the Riv. No response. So he told us that he had been walking around the school all day with it on and, because of that, was placed in the special ed class. Soon after that he launched into the wrong number and, after being corrected by Nels, claimed because he never learned how to count, he was 5 songs ahead. He said he never went to college, "because I was working." At another point he asked if this was an elementary school. The audience informed him it was a high school, to which he responded, "probably on the same level as our elementary schools," and quickly retracted. He referenced the no alcohol situation, saying "you look painfully alert." All in all he was very friendly and funny.

After the show, Bryan, Chris, Mary (my daughter) and I stood out at the bus to see about talking to the band and getting the setlist signed. I had the good fortune of being given the setlist from the final Riv show (the best show I have ever attended!) and brought it on the chance that we could meet the band and get it signed. John was the first to emerge, but went back in to get a Sharpie. He came back and accommodated everyone's requests. I handed him the Wednesday night list and he commented on how much fun they had during the Residency. I thanked him for playing It's Just That Simple in Chicago. He said that he wondered whether the Cleveland crowd appreciated the AM numbers as much as the Riv crowds had. I commented that the Mermaid songs were enthusiastically received. He agreed.

Jeff was the next to come out. Still all smiles and full of gratitude, he happily signed and posed until everyone was accommodated. When I handed him the Riv setlist he said he remembered seeing me there up front for the shows. I was shocked! I felt like a geeky teenage rock and roll fan. Well, except for the teenager part, I suppose I am! He said they were most likely doing more Residency shows, but maybe not for a couple years.

Nels and Glenn followed Jeff. Nels wasn't feeling well and apologized for not being able to stay and talk longer. Glenn said, "hi Chris, it's been a long time," and then asked Bryan about his band classes.

They do have a way with the fans! It's no wonder we are such devoted followers of this band.

Pat was the last to come out. No Mikael. He was sick.

It was another great night.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3262747

 

Colon to the Red Sox?

Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Wins the Cy in '05, has to settle for a minor league deal 3 seasons later.

" . . . just like sister ray says . . ."

Thank you!!!

It's no Poor Places, but certainly not the "polished-up piece of dog crap" Jeff proclaimed it to be on Tuesday night.

[quote name='Tweedy's Gurl' date='Feb 17 2008, 08:36 PM' post='1061376'

i nearly cried during 'dash 7'

Me too. The crowd's respectful quiet for the song was almost as impressive as the heartfelt appreciation shown John after It's Just That Simple. And the encore . . . And the crowd . . .

Cannot wait for tomorrow night. Having such a great time with everyone.

Damn. Very sorry Gary. My heart goes out to you and your son.

Happy birthday Allison. Hope to see you at the shows next weekend/week.

Aw, cool to see a review of the show. I wanted to go, but ended up seeing Buffalo Tom instead. Did he play anything off Trampoline? That's one of my favorite records of all time. And it's nice to see an endorsement of his new record; I'll have to check that out.

 

I thought Joe Henry was from the Detroit area originally?

He played Trampoline last night. I didn't recognize any other tracks from the album.

It was a special show. The Ark in Ann Arbor has to be one of the finer venues in the country.

Huh. I just might have to get tickets for the Kalamazoo show.

 

Wendy, Leo, you goin'?

Definitely! Maybe some dinner before?

I think Wilco is a much better band than they were in 1995, or even 1999. I'm not trying to take anything away from A.M., Being There or Summerteeth, all of which are great, but they became something more in the process of making YHF. Something able to deliver a much richer, more nuanced and more sublime experience. They went from being classifiable to transcending categorization. I'm kind of burned out on SBS for the time being, but when I was not, I liked it quite a bit.

Sums it up perfectly for me. You must be a writer/mind-reader (journalist) or something.

Hey! Happy birthday!