Rusty Shackleford

I can't speak to how early you have to get there to be right on the rail, because I've never done it. But I got in line at a GA show 20 minutes or so before the doors opened and was only about 10 feet back from the stage. It's all a matter of personal preference of course, but there are tradeoffs involved with where you stand. If you're right up front, you get a great sense of the energy of the band, but frankly the sound isn't always great. If you're further back in the room, the sound is much better but you're unlikely to make eye contact with the guys in the band. To each his own. As

I didn't get Neil Young until recently. I'm still working my way into the catalogue, but there's definitely some good stuff in there that I didn't appreciate at first.

I just saw that the "double CD" version of #1 Record/Radio City is available for download from Amazon for only $5. I'd buy it if I didn't already have the disc and the box set. That's a steal. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CAAJ7K/ref=s9_al_bw_tr12?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-6&pf_rd_r=17NQZGSTR8KJXAKEPFBM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=507166211&pf_rd_i=2240237011

The answer is to dump your girlfriend.

This. Leno got time to settle in, and Conan should get the same. NBC needs to figure out which guy they want and let the other one go. They're being spineless here.

Cheers The Office King of the Hill The Simpsons Curb Your Enthusiasm Arrested Development Seinfeld Family Guy Beavis and Butt-head (Mad Men) All you guys who are leaving off the Simpsons are either lying or have no soul. Myself, I loves the cartoons. And if they can splice in the occasional musical number, so much the better.

This is totally true. I went to one of the 9:30 shows 2 years ago and despite the fact that tickets were being scalped for over $100 (I tried to buy some for the other night but couldn't find a seller at that price), the crowd was pretty lame. Lots of folks who were clearly there to see and be seen, talking the whole time. I shouldn't let it bother me, but when Jeff comments about the chatters from the stage, I know it's not just me.

A few drinks, some dancing...Wilco will love you, baby.

Sounds like they're going to play longer (perhaps close to 3 hours, but with breaks) and mix up the set lists more. I'm looking for something kind of like the Residency shows, but probably not quite as long or as many true rarities. I suppose they might do the whole-album thing, but I kind of hope they don't. I like the surprises of a broad selection, like the Residency and post-residency shows. Oh, and I hope they bring the Total Pros, too. Horns are cool.

It's the home of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, so it is pretty upscale. I've only been once--took my then-three-year-old son to see Laurie Berkner (who puts on a very good show, BTW). I scored Right Orchestra row E--I'm all the way over on Nels' side, but should have a good view.

I have mixed feelings. Wilco usually brings a really good opening act with them, and since I don't go to too many shows, I like to see as many good bands as possible. But 2.5 hours of solid Wilco sounds pretty awesome to me. Okay, I don't really have mixed feelings. This is going to kick ass.

This is good advice. Also, be aware that presales don't necessarily have the best seats, so if you don't like the seats that come up, you might wait for the regular sale and do better. The Strathmore show will almost certainly sell out, but probably not immediately. It won't all go in under 4 minutes like a 9:30 show does. Good luck.

1. Drive-By Truckers at the 9:30 club, 2/21/09. The second of a 2-night stand in DC minus Patterson Hood. I missed seeing Patterson there, but getting a show full of Mike Cooley tunes was pretty awesome. That, plus a cover of "Rockin in the Free World" that featured about 7 guitars. 2. Son Volt at the 9:30. My first time seeing Jay, and I was blown away. A much better show (and showman) than I'd expected from others' reports. The new album has really grown on me. 3. Jason Isbell at the Birchmere. Great band, great songs, great venue, good crowd. 4. Patterson Hood at the Blac

This may be true, but his album never would've shown up on the Nashville charts without a hat.

Me, too, but talk about a rock and a hard place. I don't get the big deal about Springsteen. I know I should like his stuff, but I just don't get it.

If Wilco wants to put out a "country" album and get nominated for the CMAs, all they have to do is put on country hats. I know Jeff wears one now and then, but he needs to get all the other guys on board. They've already got the Nudie suits, but if they put on hats, they'll be a real gol-darned country band. It's the stupidest thing in the world, but it really seems like that's all there is to country music these days. Hey, Hootie? Want to be a country star? Here's your hat. Hey John Bon Jovi from goddamn New Jersey! Wanna be a country star? Here's your hat! And next thing you know

I find that I don't listen to new music unless I have it on a physical CD. If I've got my iPod with 9,000 songs on it, I tend to go to stuff I already know and love, or I listen to a podcast. I don't listen to new music so much on the iPod or computer, even though I keep downloading stuff (live shows, Amazon specials). I'd rather put the CD in the car and drive around with it for a few weeks to let the new music sink in. Plus, there's artwork, lyrics, etc. Plus, there's the physical backup. Plus, CDs are no more expensive (sometimes less expensive) than downloads.

Wide Swing Tremolo is easily Son Volt's weakest album. Not bad, but not great, and not in the same league as "The Search." I actually liked Jay Bennett's self-released acoustic album "Whatever Happened I Apologize"--it's certainly better than the grossly overproduced "The Magnificent Defeat." Glad to see "Weird Tales" get some love--one of my favorite "alt-country" records of all.

As a working stiff approaching middle age, I very much appreciate knowing when a band will start the show. These days I tend to go to shows by myself, so I try to stay home with the wife and kids until show time if I can. I see no reason to anger the old ball and chain any more than necessary, especially if I'll just end up standing around the venue bored for an hour waiting for the band to come on.

I tend to think that if an "artist" has recorded songs that can actually be used to torture people, they kinda had it coming. For instance, if Mike Mills didn't want his music to be used against prisoners, he shouldn't have recorded Shiny Happy People.

And if the whole world’s singing your songs And all of your paintings have been hung Just remember what was yours is everyone’s from now on

The Italian talk show is easily the funniest recurring bit they've had in years. The one with Bon Jovi stacks up with anything SNL has ever done. I generally think the cast they have right now is actually really funny, but the writing is not so great. Armisen, Hader, Sudekis, Forte, and Wiig are all great when given good material, and Kenan Thompson has his moments. I like his French Def Jam comic, and the bit he did with the sexual instruction video was pretty funny (although I wish I hadn't been watching it with my parents).

I could take most of these songs either way, but am I the only one who loves the live versions of "Less Than You Think"? The arrangement they did in 2003 (i.e. before recording the album version with the drone) is just breathtaking. The matrix recording of this song from Oregon 2003 is one of my favorite Wilco tracks of all time.

Here's a track list for the CDs, which I found in a review at http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-rem-live-at-the/page-3/ Living Well Is the best Revenge/ Second Guessing/ Letter Never Sent/ Staring Down The Barrel of the Middle Distance/ Disturbance At the Heron House/ Mr. Richards/ New Test Leper/ Cuyahoga/ Electrolite/ Man-Sized Wreath/ So Central rain/ On The Fly/ Maps And Legends/ Sitting Still/ Driver 8/Horse To Water/ I’m Gonna DJ/ Circus Envy/ These Days Disc 2: Drive/ Feeling Gravity’s Pull/ Until The Day Is Done/Accelerate/ Auctioneer/ Little America/ 1,000/ D

For those of you who are withholding judgment because we don't really know what happened, the girl's grand jury testimony is available at the Smoking Gun. It's only her side of the story, as presented by prosecutors, but it's incredibly damning and Polanski has never refuted it. Instead, he pled guilty and admitted in open court and under oath to the gist of it. His factual guilt of the crime would seem to be beyond dispute, and the fact that he pled "only" to unlawful whatever with a minor is an artifact of the plea bargain, not an indication that there was no "rape rape" (I'm looking at y