Doug C

Some of you people are serious koolaid drinkers. I have been into Tweedy since No Depression came out. I would venture to say that his music means as much to me as to anyone on this board. This was a bad move. "Be happy for the exposure they'll get", "What else could they do?". Laughable. Anyone giving any grief to anyone upset about missing this show is misguided. A true illness or a family emergency, of course cancel the show, oh excuse me certain vc Jonestown residents, reshedule the date. But a week's notice to be on SNL? No way. Try to be objective for a moment. Let's say that the band made the OPPOSITE decision. They said no to SNL because they have a sold out show in a week. I doubt that a one of you would have said, "What a stupid move. Fuck the date! They could have been on SNL!!" You ALL would have said, "Hell yes. THAT is why I love this band".

And yes, I have tickets but I would feel the same regardless

Some of you people are serious koolaid drinkers. I have been into Tweedy since No Depression came out. I would venture to say that his music means as much to me as to anyone on this board. This was a bad move. "Be happy for the exposure they'll get", "What else could they do?". Laughable. Anyone giving any grief to anyone upset about missing this show is misguided. A true illness or a family emergency, of course cancel the show, oh excuse me certain vc Jonestown residents, reshedule the date. But a week's notice to be on SNL? No way. Try to be objective for a moment. Let's say that the band made the OPPOSITE decision. They said no to SNL because they have a sold out show in a week. I doubt that a one of you would have said, "What a stupid move. Fuck the date! They could have been on SNL!!" You ALL would have said, "Hell yes. THAT is why I love this band".

And yes, I have tickets but I would feel the same regardless.

I have a copy of the Pageant show from March 2006. It rocks. I'd have loved to have been there.

My sentiments exactly.

An Open Letter To Jeff Tweedy

Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 06:22:03 AM

Riverfront Times- St. Louis

Dear Jeff,

Hi! What's up? This is the city of St. Louis. You might not remember me, but we used to be really tight back in the day. In fact, I think you used to have a band -- Uncle Tupelo? Is that its name? Well, okay, before that you started in Belleville, playing as the Primitives. Remember this? Halloween 1985? You were wearing a dress:

Anyway, you gained quite a reputation after the band changed its name to Uncle Tupelo. Y'all played old Cicero's basement, Mississippi Nights, Off Broadway, etc. constantly. Most credit you guys with sort of spawning the whole No Depression/alt-country/twang-punk scene/style/genre, yadda yadda yadda. Somewhere along the way, UT broke up -- but not before having two final homecoming gigs at Mississippi Nights. Raucous, sweaty, great gigs, which the Bottle Rockets opened up for you. (Look! The RFT even took a photo, and the same YouTube user as above, PantsElderly, has video footage.)

Somewhere along the way, Wilco formed, and you moved to Chicago. And you seemed to forget that you were from the area. I mean, you started writing about the Windy City, used buildings from there for your album covers (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot), etc. And all of the pride the city had for Uncle Tupelo, all of the pride and respect you guys had for St. Louis -- seemed to dissipate.

Now with the news of Wilco's five-night stand at Chicago's Riviera Theatre, I have to say something. According to that linked article, during this residency, you're going to "attempt the 'complete Wilco' and try to clear out the dusty corners of the catalog that we haven't attended to in a while."

I understand, yeah, Chicago's a big city, and perhaps a more appropriate place for such a residency. And booking shows in St. Louis is difficult. You guys are sort of in between the capacities of the Pageant and the Fox -- and those venues might not always have open dates perhaps when you'd want to play here.

But really, did this ad really have to run in the RFT this week?

With that cheery "Road Trip!" logo in the corner? What a slap in the face. Like, all of the loyal St. Louisians who used to see UT shows -- and have supported Wilco when it's played here -- should hop in a car and drive to Chicago? This just reinforces the whole St. Louis prevailing attitude that "we can't have nice things" or special concerts, because we just can't compete with other markets. That we have to drive to other cities to see big shows, since the tour routing/venues/band desires just never seem to align for the Lou.

It's even more galling, because Wilco hasn't been to town since March 2006 -- but has pretty much circled St. Louis over the past few years, playing Springfield, Kansas City, Columbia, Nashville, etc. Even this current tour behind May's Sky Blue Sky will hit such metropolitan hotspots as Mobile, Alabama; Des Moines, Iowa; and, sheesh, the same high school auditorium in Cleveland on whose stage I on whose stage the RFT's music editor graduated.

Again, perhaps you will book a show here soon; and perhaps something is in the works; and perhaps logistics just haven't worked out for months. (And months. And months.) And those Chicago shows are sold out already anyway (big surprise). But come on. St. Louis supported you early on -- heavily -- and always remembers you and the bands you were in fondly. Heck, our music scene today is still heavily indebted to the sounds of your bands. Does that mean nothing to you? Booking a Wilco show in the place where you grew up -- even a regular one; at this point, it's too much to ask for something special, even, to give back to the city -- shouldn't be this difficult.

Love,

The City of St. Louis

P.S. Come to town -- seriously, we'll go see some heavy metal bands on the Landing. Even if it isn't the summer.

The presale isn't for 2 weeks and I could have bought tickets from a broker!!

Yes, I also put this in the 9:30 thread, so ban me: Okay, clearly something needs to be changed. Several broker sites have numerous tickets for the 9:30 Club shows for sale. One site is asking $140 a piece! WTF? The presale isn't for a couple of weeks!!

Okay, clearly something needs to be changed. Several broker sites have numerous tickets for the 9:30 Club shows for sale. One site is asking $140 a piece! WTF? The presale isn't for a couple of weeks!!

Yeah, the 97s are one of my favorites. Saw 'em at Red Rocks on Aug. 3rd. Rhett's plane was late so the first half was without Rhett. All of a sudden he bounded on stage.The stopped the song and immediately ripped into Time Bomb. One of my happiest concert moments. (Sorry. I didn't mean to threadjack...)

Jill S was a huge pleasant surprise. I have to get some of her music. Is anybody into her? Any recommendations?

It is all great. The wife and I love Jill Sobule. Jill Sobule, Happy Town, Pink Pearl excellent. I'd start with one of these before I got the Lloyd Cole or the newset one. They are both good also though.

Thanks for the laughs from the hilarious quotes. And thanks for another reason for me to love Rhett Miller.

But I just hope it's not because of the ticket brokers/scalpers are buying them all up..

But that is a big reason. I check everyday and hundreds of tickets are available on the broker sites. That said, I agree that Wilco deserve a rabid fanbase and more money. Except the brokers stand to make a hell of a lot of the money. The good thing is that thus far, the broker tickets aren't selling much. Hang in there, ya'll and prices'll drop like the broker I decked in a dream last night.

If it bothers you that I'm posting about it, "why don't you quit the board?"

 

I think that folks would just like you to admit that it bothers you.

The MSG NYE show because my wife and I were there and the Ft. Worth otology poster because I bought it for my wife's office. She is a nurse. I think the recent Denver shows poster will be a fav because I HOPE that my wife got it for me for Xmas 'cause I and an Evergreen pal went to the shows.

It really doesn't bother me at all. It also doesn't bother me to call out people who make posts on a whim without facts to back them up and to call a spade a spade. But perhaps I'm a little too blunt for people's fragile sensitivities.

It obviously bothers you or you would let it go, just like you want others to let the "scalping", for lack of a better term, issue go. I and others have admitted that it bothers us. What posts were made without facts? You aren't to blunt, you just don't make any sense. This is a legitimate issue to be discussed and a legitimate forum to discuss it on. Why do you have such a problem with the discussion?

chris H 2, simple math. If you remove the ticket brokers and their software, more fans would have tickets for the price that Wilco wanted them to pay. Yes, some would still be shut out but obviously more would have face-value tickets. It is a simple conclusion.

Why anyone is against serious fans talking on a fan board about being upset/frustrated/angered/saddened etc. over missing out on a Residency show when hundreds - or more - tickets are in broker's hands is beyond me. Strange.

jc4prez, you are hilarious. I did not say a word about a rigged pre-sale. Please do not link me with that idea. Also the amount of posts I have is irrelevant. How often I post on this site has absolutely nothing to do with my level of love and respect for Wilco. Not that it matters, but Jeff Tweedy has been my guy since No Depression came out and Screen Door moved me. That you complain about a thread on a board is a riot. You know what the thread is about, so don't read the threads that you find pointless. Do you watch pointless Tv shows and read pointless books?

I don't what all the Bullshit about the Rivera is all about. Am I the only one who prefers a standing room concert.

 

 

Yes the place is a dump; its part of the charm your going to hear rock and roll. Where else in Chicago would they have been able to play and made it standing room? The Argon is ten times worse and they've out grown The Vic. Chill out the riv isn't that bad, by the time the week is over you'll be feeling nostalgic about walking through a river of urine to get to the bathrooms.

 

As for not getting tickets, yes it sucks. ITS NOT THE END of the world.

 

Here are some great examples of REAL problems:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7146567.stm

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7139974.stm

 

CHILL OUT PEOPLE! Stop flooding the board with this whiny ass bullshit. It's only a concert. There will be more.

 

Matt

You have to joking, right? As was said, complaining about how Wilco tickets were distributed and anything else Wilco-related should be done on a Wilco board. All of the gripes are legitimate. No one is making points that are not valid or is just being an ass. Also the irony is that you are "flooding the board with whiny ass bullshit" by posting a complaint about it. To a serious Wilco fan, not getting tickets to or paying more than the band intended for these special fan-oriented shows due to making it easy for scalpers is real problem for true fans. If I didn't get tickets because the Residency simply sold out and hundreds of tickets were not on ebay, stub hub, et al, I would be bummed but not angry.

I do believe that Wilco wouldn't want brokers to rip off their fans with tickets they sold for a percentage of what those brokers charge for them.

 

Yet, they can't seem to find a way around it (yet)

 

It's not as if Wilco themselves were charging those prices, it's that people who aren't supposed to make a shitload of money with those tickets.

Will call only. "It's Just that simple". (And yes, I've said this several times )

Willcall only sales with ID would immediately end ticketbrokers and scalping. It is a simple solution but never happens. Sure, for a Springsteen or U2 type of show, the logistics of ticket pick up would be nightmarish but to use the old saying, if we can put a man on the moon, we can figure out distibution for tens of thousands of tickets. There is NO excuse for will call only sales not happening for Wilco-level bands.

Fortunately, I held my FL trip off too. I got the hotel booked but thankfully, I didn't pay for flights.

Bands actually have little control over ticket sales most times. Ticketbastard has contracts with venues, not bands, to sell tickets. Typically, the band gets ~10% of the tickets (which Wilco sells through their pre-sale), the promoter gets an allotment, the venue gets an allotment, the sponsor (WXRT) gets an allotment. Probably only 60% or so of available tickets for most events are made available to the general public.

 

Oh, and it gets worse for large venues such as the United Center and Soldier Field. Did you know that Bulls/Blackhawks season ticket holders get first crack at all events held at the United Center? Same for Bears season ticket holders for events at Soldier Field. That's why you end up with nosebleed seats at the UC even though you're "first" in line for tickets.

 

As you can see, there's lots of ways for brokers to get their hands on tickets before they ever go on sale to the general public.

I see your point but disagree. They have some control. Regardless of Ticketmaster venue contracts, a band/management can still have in their contract that all ticket sales will be willcall only. It has been done before. Ticketmaster would still sell them to you via computer, you'd just have to take the willcall option rather than choose it. I already knew about the 10% for pre-sales, it is on the website, and know that less than 100% of tickets are made available but I think that a band has some weight in determining the amount sold to the GP.

We aren't talking about large venues, we are talking about the Riviera Thetare.

No matter how you analyze it, the simple ironic truth is that a series of shows designed with the hardcore fan in mind, was organized in a way to make serious, longtime fans unable to attend or have to pay prices that Wilco did not intend to have folks pay. That is sad.

Smashing Pumpkins did this for the "residencies" this summer (9 shows at Orange Peel in Asheville, NC and 12 shows at Fillmore in San Francisco). It was perfect. Eliiminated 99.9% of all scalping. The scalpers didn't even bother getting tickets because there was no way to sell them because the original buyer had to show ID at will call to pick them up and then enter the venue immediately (i.e. no heading back out to the street to sell them).

 

This is the way to do it for any "big deal" shows. Wilco, please take note.

I've been a huge fan since No Depression broke. I am not much of an internet guy but my melancholia at missing tickets for the first 2 residency shows brought me over to read and post. I have to admit that, I too, expected more foresight and "scalper reality" savvy from the best band in the world. I am flabbergasted that tickets were on ebay and other sites before the public onsale even took place. I had our room booked in Chicago and a birthday surprise trip ready for my wife. Thank God that I didn't get the flights yet. Also, they haven't been to FL since March 2006. Why no love for F-L-A? I've still caught several shows since then because we'll travel for Wilco but why don't they want to be down in Pensacola hiding from the snow anymore?