Sweet Melinda

I will never again skip a Chicago run. Sigh.

Just 2...

Wilco - The Whole Love

J Mascis - Several Shades of Why

That really, really sucks. Poor you. I'm not gonna hide gifts in my trunk anymore. It would be bad anytime, but to ruin a WIlco day is just heartbreaking.

Good to know. I'll be in the slow lane for sure.

I sprained my ankle. Save me a spot at the rail.

Listening to this makes me very happy.

All this talk about shows selling out begs this reminder: DON'T BUY TICKETS FROM SCALPERS. Don't even bother checking StubHub just to see what they have. The only way to eliminate scalping is to stop buying from scalpers. So don't do it. And if you choose to do it, don't complain about spending insane amounts of money on them.

It seems Wilco does everything in their power to try to ensure the tickets go to their fans. You turning around and buying tickets from scalpers the day they go on sale is kind of a slap in the face to them, you know? Calm down people. As long as you keep buying from scalpers, scalpers will keep eating up tickets.

Sold out shows are never really sold out. There are always tickets to be found at face value or below. You just keep checking ticketmaster or whatever legitimate ticketing site sells them. They pop up all the time so don't panic and run to scalpers. It's ridiculous. Closer to the show date even more tickets pop up, the band releases more, the house releases more, people's plans change and real fans wind up with extras they're looking to unload. Roll up to the venue on the day off and the box office will almost always have some. Sure it's a gamble and it can be hard on your nerves but I've never known it to not work out.

For example, 4 of the 'Evening with' shows I set out for were 'sold out' and I got tickets for all of them on show day. One show was GA (thanks fan on the street for $20), and for the others I got 4th row (thanks box office), 1st row centre (thanks unsold handicapped seating) and another 1st row centre (thanks Wilco).

Of course I'd love to avoid the grief and score top seats at 10:02 and be done with it but times have changed. It sucks not having the tickets you want but supporting scalpers isn't the solution. It just adds to the problem.

Absolute desperate worst case scenario, what until 10 minutes into the show and offer a scalper half of face value. They'll take the loss, otherwise they'll be wiping their asses with those unsold tickets. Eventually they'll buy fewer and fewer.

True enough - but after seeing John tearing it up in Montreal, I kinda wish they did! He's the understated secret weapon of this new album, in my humble opinion. And he always, always, always seems to be having a ton of fun - be it during a joyous pop song like ITMWLY or the darkest parts of Via Chicago.

Plus he can jump really high.

Count me as a no. I don't consider Wilco a jam band.

I would suspect that GA is for the floor only but I suppose we'll know for sure soon enough. I got mine and will be be happy lining up outside in Detroit in the middle of December for a good spot on the floor.

I don't think so. Not yet on this tour and not at Solid Sound. Solo Jeff did it in the spring though.

I've been listening to NPR all day at work (and yesterday too) but before that I'd only listened through the Wilco stream once. Plus I saw a bunch of these songs live on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This NPR stream eases the withdrawal somewhat!

Anytime I've told the border guards where I'm going they say "What's a Wilco?".

1. I first heard Wilco's music when my DylanChatGold friend hazel (aka Via Chicago's hazel) sent me a Jeff cassette. The show was 2-28-99. I wore out the tape in about 6 months and sheepishly asked her to copy it again which thankfully she did. That was quickly followed by the arrival of a Pizza Pocket box full of cds of both solo Jeff and Wilco.

2. My first Wilco show was April 2002 in Montreal.

I've now seen 21 shows, including 3 solo Jeffs and 2 Solid Sounds. Adding 3 more in September.

So, if not for hazel, I might still be in the dark.

Is it a safe assumption that Metropolis in Montreal will be all GA?

I'm going with the assumption that Montreal is GA so I can focus my attention on Toronto. I can't stress enough how grateful I am that Wilco keeps their ticket prices soooo reasonable when they could charge so much more.

Good luck everybody!

Awesome! I'm not a geek but I totally love this kind of stuff. Wait, maybe that makes me a geek? Anyway, thanks!

P.S. Typo in June

Thanks to those who transcribed the lyrics. I'm pretty sure it's ferry fast across the void.

I feel your pain. That's excessive and ridiculous and a complete piss off. I felt like that a while back for Mark Knopfler. Sort of like 'What? How much? Are you kidding me?". It puts a really bad taste in your mouth.

Also recently I saw that Ray Lamontagne was coming nearby and thought I might check him out. $80? Really? And you are...? Not a great way to encourage/attract a new fanbase. Wonder how much tickets were before the Grammy's.

The tiny bit he did of Spirit of the Radio was actually really well done! He said something later about 2112, playing it in its entirely or something. And that only the guys knew (liked?) Rush. Peart is pronounced 'pert' although Jeff sounded more like 'Parrot' or 'Pear-t' which I guess makes sense.

Further to what bbop said about Summer Teeth, Jeff also said that the song requires a certain amount of audience participation. Guided participation. You can't be left unsupervised.

There was also a funny exchange when the Buck Off guy kept shouting.

Jeff: Am I gonna have to fight? Because I'll do it.

Random Guy: Justin Bieber

Jeff: No, I wouldn't fight Justin Bieber.

Random Guy: Never Say Never (in reference to the Bieber movie).

Jeff: No. I didn't say never. I said wouldn't. Never say wouldn't!

Maybe you had to be there..

Anyway, found this clip of the "Good old fashioned exclamation....thanks for coming Grandpa" Jesus intro. Hilarious.

[video removed by moderator; see forum policies]

I've just gotta say, it's always such a pleasure to read your reviews and comments in the After The Show forum. You really capture the feel of the shows and paint a vivid picture of so many details & highlights. It's almost as good as being there. So yay you!

Hahaha nice, Moss!

I think they're pretty gay.

Yes Wilco, please play in Newfoundland. I need an excuse to go back. Besides visiting family.

I bought the yellow one too and am happy to know the replacements are on the way. Very big of them indeed. My favourite Solid Sound souvenir is the water bottle. I fill it up 3 or 4 times a day and it looks as great as day 1.

This is gonna be so awesome. I totally expect solo Jeff to close out Sunday.

Lady Antebellum is a BAND. Like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd.

But not like Lady Gaga, correct?

Oh yeah? It's been about 4 years since I've seen him. I figured you'd know. Arrengement because of all the guitars/banjos or the tempo/lyrical delivery...? That seemed pretty straight to me.

Go see him again. The centre stage thing is especially powerful for Senor, Forgetful Heart & Ballad of a Thin Man. Very cool stuff.