hwllo

awesome, good for Wilco! Now if only there was a way to get an enforced two-beer limit, I might not have to deal with with wasted guy who always sits behind me. At least cell phone guy is gone now haha

There's no way in hell I could do that at a show. I get way too caught up in the excitement to do anything that would require presence of mind. And I actually felt kind of sheepish about following the tweets--like, just how much of a loser am I that I'm sitting at home going "oh my god" "holy shit!" while turning progressively greener with envy with each tweet? Still, it was the closest I could come to participating in the experience, and I'm grateful that someone did it.

I agree, I mean really, having a phone out and tweeting what, like 30 times during a show? haha

i'm laughing because it's sounds so ridiculous. How could you do that? Talk about being at the show, but being nowhere near it at the same time

I think mainly a blogger for Scents and Subtle Sounds, but he also seems to be a fan. He posts show reviews on here under the After the Show threads. Can't remember what his name is on VC.

Just seems kind of weird that someone at the show would be tweeting the whole time. I mean it's cool for us to get the setlist in real time, but kinda strange

The Lincoln hall show looked incredible, but I'm so glad I picked the Metro to go to!

As much as that show looked good, I much prefer a rock show!

I feel like sometimes at wilco theater shows the crowd isn't part of the show and it is like watching a movie or a novelty or something if that makes sense. There's always so many people on cell phones taking pictures or recording videos, but the metro being so tight and small with no seating kind of forced everyone to be a part of it.

Has anyone here been following the setlist as tweeted by subtle_sounds? Ah-mazing. Like a Tweedy solo show. I can't wait to read everyone's comments!

wait, was this dude that was tweeting a fan that went to the show?

Saw this posted from 93XRT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fM4_1lc8us

What an awesome version of an awesome song and a hell of a way to open a show!

Just thought I'd share!

I am pretty useless when it comes to computers, is there a way if anyone captures this, that they can PM a condensed file or something?

We were lucky enough to get to go to all four of the shows thus far (didn't get LH tix) but sadly, I have to say that we had a pretty awful time last night at the Metro.

 

I have to say first that the band was amazing and I have zero complaints about anything coming from the stage. They were hitting on all cylinders (and I think they even managed to find some new cylinders to hit).

 

I've seen a lot of shows at Metro and have never really had any problems there. It's a small tight space so crowding is to be expected. However, the floor last night was insanely overcrowded. We noticed that the club had huge sections blocked off on either side of the balcony for "VIPs". One side for XRT I think, and the other for guests of the band. Fine, no big deal. But the VIP areas were half-empty at times with large amounts of empty unused space because so many of these pass holders decided to go to the floor (evidenced by all of the passes we saw on people downstairs). So the crowding on the floor was a lot worse than usual and made for an "oversold" situation.

 

Second, I know it's a rock show. And I know it's a Wilco show. But the number of drunk belligerent frat-boy types we encountered was just crazy. No matter where we tried to stand, within a few minutes we had people shoving us, or fighting near us, or couples breaking up (yes, this happened), or one crazy dude in an oversized sportscoat asking my wife if she stole his coke. "Did you set it on the bar?" she asked, thinking he was talking about the beverage. "NO! Why would I leave my blow on the bar???!!!" was the reply. Wow. He bothered a bunch of others about it until security finally escorted him out of the venue.

 

Another complaint we had about the Metro is that if you're in the back of the floor, or on the far sides, the sound is pretty terrible. I'm sure it sounded great right in the middle of the floor - but we could barely hear Jeff while he was speaking and a lot of the quieter songs were quite muffled in the rear. Of course there were also a million loud-talkers in the back. Ugh.

 

Early in the show, we were standing at the far right of the floor and I had to run to the men's room (I tried to hold it, I really did - but I just couldn't wait) and the people near us were cool and let me out easy enough - but when I tried to get back to my wife, everyone in the area decided that it would be a great time to form a solid wall and not let me through. I wasn't able to get back to my wife and she had to fight her way out to get to where I was in the back. Shitty. On top of all that, one fellow concert goer was kind enough to make fun of my weight while I was trying to get through.

 

I really am glad that so many of you had such an amazing time, but between the assholes, the fights, the coked out weirdo, and the sound issues - the entire night was bad-vibes city for us and ranks as one of the absolute worst concert going experiences of my life. Makes me sad.

it's so weird, I feel like every wilco show I go to, there are always a few giant douchebags around me, but I didn't have that yesterday, so I was thrilled haha

I guess the show just felt special to me because as much as I loved other Wilco shows, and I absolutely did, I felt a lot more connected with the band than I normally do. Even though some of their theater shows are small, they are still large rooms, but the Metro was so small that in my opinion the connection with the band was a lot stronger. Maybe it was just me though!

I think that people may not have known what to expect at the metro. I'm not saying there should be fights or anything at a show, but it's not a fancy theater with seating, it's a smaller rock and roll club. rock shows like that are always a bit more lively with the crowds i suppose. It's a rock show, not a broadway production!

Wow, this sounded quite rowdy.

I was there and didn't see any fighting. Must have been in select spots, but there was nothing in my area

What a show! So many treats to hear. Never expected to hear some of these songs let alone all in the same show!

Also worth noting that Nels absolutely owned the show. Ashes of American flags was one of the best versions I've ever heard. The entire night he was just tearing it up. Jeff even gave him some smiles and nods during songs. As much as some of their quieter songs are amazing, in a live setting, nothing beats a good rock show!

is there any way to rip the audio from this? I'd love to be able to listen to this in my car!

I agree with totally disagreeing. Maybe they had an off night -- they are entitled after being on the road for so long -- but when I saw them in NYC they were having a ball and sounded great. But, I guess you can't make everybody happy.

it definitely wasn't an off night for them, they were fantastic. Either this guy was at a different show or he just doesn't like Wilco's evolution.

I really couldn't disagree more.

I was at the Milwaukee show and we must have seen something different. They looked as fresh as ever!

I was going to try and seriously comment on your little blog, but by the time I got to number 5 and it was about where the band stands on stage, I realize that you'your little article blog thing isn't even meant to be taken seriously.

Ya think??? I thought it was a great show. Too much The Whole Love. Can't Stand It, Misunderstood, and Far Far Away were highlights.

you serious?

What Whole Love tour show didn't have a lot of Whole Love songs? hahaha

Thank you! I think he should make it then, might miss some of Nick Lowe unfortunately

Hey all, I got my brother tickets for the show tonight, and unfortunately he won't be able to get down to Minneapolis until later than he thought, so I was wondering what time the opener and Wilco have been coming on stage. I'm hoping he doesn't miss anything.

i just re-read most of this thread.

saw neil young last year in atlanta, probably won't go see him again. it was great to get to see him (we were in 2nd balcony), but the prices were too high for me. we pail $121 for 1 ticket after fees. i got 2 tickets to see wilco in the fall for $100... it's not economical

exactly, i mean I love Neil Young, probably my all-time favorite, but I just can't justify spending over $100 for a single ticket to see anyone. let alone over $200 for a good seat

I love Neil Young's music. I also think of him more than anyone else in terms of influence on Wilco's sound. I know others may hear other, stronger influences on Wilco's sound, but for me, it is Neil.

See, I think I'd disagree. I'm a huge fan of both but I don't hear a lot of Neil's influence in Wilco. Jeff Tweedy, yes, but not Wilco. Neil young with a band was king of the punchy, 3 chord songs with long solos that meandered around (I love neil's lead). Wilco on the other hand is very intricate and very technically sound, something Neil probably wasn't.

With the more acoustic songs I think there is a Neil influence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_ZXM5aaPLk

I can definitely see Jeff writing a song just like this though, if he hasn't already haha.

So I guess in the acoustic songs I can see it, but not with the rockers so much

Just comparing the two, it's pretty similar to Tweedy solo show versions with the piano.

Guitar playing is much more basic than Tweedy's

Tempo is sped up

Voice is a little whinier

Other than that basically the same thing and not much if anything added to it.

It's not bad, but it's not really anything, it just kind of is.

pretty cool he covered it, but there really wasn't much there to put his own spin on it

I kinda like Ryan Adams, enjoy some of the albums, but don't love them.

I think Ryan Adams has been pretty much above-average and not much else in his career. His high's fall way short of Tweedy's but his line seem pretty consistent. Nothing amazing, but decent enough to listen to

eh, the last set they played in the states was 24 songs, the show before was 26.

i'm sure their setlists are a bit "safer" overseas because they don't have as big of a fan base and they stick to more traditional sets.

i'd be very surprised if they played 19 song shows when they come back in the winter

from 3:05 on

My friends and I needed 3 tickets but two at the very least so we each tried for 2 tickets and got lucky and we both got through! I might have a friend that wants to go, but if I don't I will certainly sell the single on here (for face obviously).

This will be my third time seeing Wilco in Chicago, first was auditorium theater in 06 and then UIC a few years back. Can't wait!