Rusty Shackleford

DC tickets still coming up available, but you have to keep refreshing. I've been spoiled by buying singles for years and getting primo seats. My wife's coming with me this time (first Wilco show for her) so we're sitting in the back at DAR. But we're in the middle so sound should be great.

R.E.M. - Live Some would point to "Around the Sun" as R.E.M.'s rock bottom, but they're wrong. Rock bottom was when they put the ATS songs on an inexplicably packaged double live album.

I've seen SV twice and Jay "solo" twice (once with Mark Spencer and once with Gary Hunt). I certainly understand the "boring" rap. All the shows had spots where they lagged, in part because so many Jay songs have similar tempos and melodies that they get a little repetitive when played all in a row. The fact that Jay doesn't talk much doesn't help. But all four shows also had moments of pure magic, and I'll never get tired of hearing Windfall live. Looking forward to the Birchmere show. It'll be interesting to see if they really start out with Trace in its entirety, since Windfall has

Sounds like there's a new Jayhawks record coming, with the Sound Of Lies-era lineup. Count me in. https://www.facebook.com/notes/gary-louris/gary-louris-and-friends-72715-setlist/10153442544249827

Looking forward to this. I never really got into their last few records for some reason. Maybe hearing the songs live and interspersed with some older classics will make them click for me.

5 (1979) - Who knows? Probably the Bee Gees 10 (1984) - Michael Jackson 15 (1989) - Aerosmith 20 (1994) - R.E.M. 25 (1999) - R.E.M. 30 (2004) - Wilco 35 (2009) - Drive-By Truckers 40 (2013) - Jason Isbell

Rhino is re-issuing the re-issued albums, this time in box set format: http://pitchfork.com/news/58746-the-replacements-reissuing-entire-catalog-as-eight-disc-box-set/

Just picked up a ticket for DC. Not cheap, but they sold out in minutes anyway.

I got the Hitchhike to Rhome re-issue. The packaging was a little disappointing--the "liner notes" consists of a single page of text from Ken, and not a lot of detail or insight. That said, the reissued album actually does sounds better than the original to my ears, which isn't usually the case, and the demos are a nice addition. It's worth picking up if you're a fan.

It definitely has a 1980s-era sound to it. And yet I kind of like it.

My mom got involved with her bridge partner (also married) and decided that she'd rather not stay married to my dad. I can't say they ever seemed all that happy together but they also never seemed particularly unhappy, and other than the affair (which I found out about after the fact) there was no obvious precipitating event. She just decided not to be unhappily married any more.

I'm unlikely to buy a greatest-hits collection either, but if it serves as an entry point for new fans, great. If packaged well, it might get new folks interested in the band.

Indeed. I wish I'd seen Olson and Louris when they did their acoustic tour a few years back. Seems unlikely there'll be another one.

The divorce rate among old folks is surprisingly high, although it seems to be more common that the women initiate it than the men. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/fashion/weddings/divorce-after-50-grows-more-common.html I learned about this a few years ago when my 65-year-old mom divorced my 67-year-old dad out of the blue. That sucked.

Echoing what others have said, this show was special. The crowd was (for the most part) super-quiet during the acoustic numbers, especially the encores. Just rapt with attention and living in the shared moment. The "Misunderstood" singalong was utterly magical. You don't get that at every show, so I'm grateful to have been there for this one.

Thanks for the report. Who's in the Minus 5 these days? Is Peter Buck playing with them?

Looks like the Meyerhoff in Baltimore might not sell out tonight, and they just released some very good seats up front.

I was excited about the Lincoln Theatre show when it was just supposed to be Jeff and a guitar. Now there's a new band and the Minus 5? Awesome.

Thanks for posting. I would love to catch them live, although I too never saw the original lineup.

Holy hell, I didn't know Television was touring! Hope they come to DC.

Stephen Malkmus was on the WTF podcast last week. Frankly it wasn't one of Maron's better episodes, as he spent the whole time just geeking out over his guest. But Malkmus comes across as a decent fellow, and he talks a little bit about the making of the Pavement records.

Funny--I was listening to the Wellmont, NJ show from a few nights after the Strathmore show, which I attended. Jeff remarks about how great and energetic the Wellmont crowd is, and jokes that the audience in "Bethesda, Maryland" a few nights ago was old. "It was like they took the people who normally go to shows at the 9:30 club and sent their grandparents," or something to that effect. I would have felt insulted, except he was totally correct.

Paid $100 for the Americanarama tour last summer.

Wilco's presale doesn't have a password. Just your own Frontgate password that you need to create an account.

Wow! That's a big hall for a solo show. The Lincoln sold out pretty quick; it'll be interesting to see if this one does too.