Three dollars and 63 cents

I'm a huge Dylan fan, but must say that after seeing him at Bridgeport last week (which I enjoyed), I found myself bored by the set tonight.  Even though I totally appreciate and enjoy Dylan's output since "Time Out of Mind", I was really empathizing with the fans tonight who just wanted to hear something they knew.  Out of 15 songs there were only 7 that were written prior to 1997, and one of those was "Blind Willie McTell".  I don't mind the singing so much, but I think Dylan's piano playing really holds the band back.  His piano lines on "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" nearly ruin the song for me.  Without major changes to the show, that will probably be the last time I see Bob. 

 

 

I was at the Bridgeport show, too, and I thought that was one of the worst Dylan performances I've ever seen (only beaten out by the one in Rochester back in 2008 where almost every song sounded exactly the same). I don't know if it was a bad mix or if he was just mumbling the whole night. It was a chore to get through the whole set. Tuesday he played almost the same set and was excellent. He danced (kind of like he had to poop, but hey, at least he tried). He seemed to actually know all the lyrics. And best of all, he enunciated! You just never know what you're going to get with him, which is a big reason I stopped seeing him for awhile. I'm hoping he's bearable tonight, because I imagine this will be the last time I see him for awhile. 

There were screens at Merriweather. I have no idea if Bob allows venues to film him (I'm guessing the mirrors he has on stage could screw up video), but they were in use when I was walking around at the end of MMJ's set. It actually looked and sounded pretty good out there, except for all the sun.

I can't get over how much better the Merriweather show was than the one in Bridgeport. I skipped Ryan Bingham both nights, but all three of the acts I saw were so much better on Tuesday. I don't know if it was the day off the day before or what, but I enjoyed the performances so much more. Based on Friday, I didn't think I'd want to even stay for much of Bob, but we didn't leave until he started All Along the Watchtower. I hope they're all as good on Sunday.

There were so many sloppy drunk people around us that at one point I wondered if they were giving beer away. The sound was better inside than I was worried it was going to be. We had no problems getting relatively close for Wilco (maybe 8 rows back on Nels' side), which sort of surprised me, but I was glad to get away from the group of completely trashed girls who didn't shut up for two seconds of My Morning Jacket's set. MMJ lost me for awhile, but I think it was more because of the people around me than because of them.

Wilco sounded great, as always, though we had another set of constant talkers behind us. A few too many "hits" in the set for me, especially compared to other set lists from the tour so far, but I was really happy to get to hear Misunderstood, Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway(Again) and Radio Cure. And I'm almost positive that that was the first time I've heard them do When You Wake Up Feeling Old, too. I'm going to the show tonight and the one next Sunday, so I'm interested to see how different the set lists are. I'm really hoping they play Too Far Apart again, because I think I've only heard them play it once or twice.

I confess it occurred to me on the way home that this tour would be a lot better if it didn't include Dylan. He wasn't nearly as good as when I saw him last September, and it's a shame to see him not make better use of all the talent he has on the tour with him. Jeff and Jim James making a tiny cameo was kind of lame, especially when we've seen Wilco and MMJ do so many cool collaborative things for the whole tour. I know by now to go into a Dylan show with no expectations, but I kind of think after the run of shows this week that I may be done with seeing him. 

Bridgeport was an okay place to spend about 18 hours. I loved getting off the train and seeing an inlet of the ocean and seeing and hearing seagulls. I also really liked all the art on the run-down buildings downtown. Unlike so many towns in the northeast past their heyday, I feel like they're trying to renew themselves at least a little. That was nice to see. 

At the rate Bob seems to be blowing through guitarists on this tour, Nels is liable to be playing with him by the time I see my first show of the tour on Friday

It will probably never happen, but Nels getting to play on All Along the Watchtower would be fantastic (especially since he's already played it on the I'm Not There soundtrack!)

I think the excuse about field conditions is BS to downplay how poorly tickets have been selling. They could have taken measures to protect the field, as they did with the Wilco ballpark shows back in 2009. I'm really peeved that I'm traveling from Pennsylvania for an arena show now, but at least it didn't get canceled like the Columbus show did.

Part of the issue is oversaturation of some markets. I live an hour and a half from Merriweather and two from Camden and in the last year I could have seen Bob three times, Wilco three times, Jim James two or three times, and MMJ at least once. That's more than most casual fans would want, especially with ticket prices being so high compared to other shows at these venues this summer (combined, tickets for the other two shows I'm going/went to at Merriweather this year cost as much as my Americanarama ticket) .

I'm listening to Before the Flood, the live album Bob did with the Band. I have a hunch there were hot seat packages for that tour...

The other day I managed to score Red Sox/Yankees tickets for face value, so at least I'll get one ballpark on this trip 

How was the sound inside? The Bridgeport show has been moved into an arena, too, so I'm hoping Stan and crew have any kinks worked out from having to make the transition from outdoor to indoor shows.

The Bridgeport show has been moved to the Webster Bank Arena. I'm really not happy that I'm now traveling from Pennsylvania for an arena show. If I didn't already have a few more days in New England planned around the show, I'd probably bag the trip.

A guy on Wilco's Facebook page posted, "My wife said Dylan sounded like The Cookie Monster wearing pajamas doing rap songs."

That's hilarious! And with as much as he rearranges his songs anymore, Cookie Monster versions might not be so bad.

This picture makes me really happy. I hope these two get the chance to collaborate again. I think they were just getting started over the last week. 

I thought the prices were a little steep, too. Three 7" and Mikael's new record cost me $47. Nels has so little recent work on vinyl, though, so I couldn't pass it up. I skipped browsing the used stuff this year because every single record I bought at SSF 2 had a skip in it.

That appears to be the only one of the Solid Sound posters not available in the online Wilco store. They have the long-sleeved t-shirt with that design, but not the sticker, either. 

I'm surprised to see they still have some of the Nels/Julian Lage records. I expected that with only 500 produced that they'd sell out. 

I just saw that, too. I could hear him singing Dark Star. I'd considered doing a road trip to Nashville so I could see one of the shows with Bob Weir. I'm really kicking myself for not doing it now that I'm seeing they've done all these terrific collaborations.

It would be cool to see them do a lottery for spots down front. 100 ticketholders could be drawn at random, and each winner could bring one person with them. They could rope off the area and open it half an hour before the opening act. No chairs or blankets, and no camping out. People would only find out when they arrived so winning tickets couldn't be scalped. It would add a little more excitement to arriving for the festival, and it would mean some people who probably wouldn't have the chance to be down front for whatever reason to see the band play up close. 

It would be nice to see Wilco take some time off so the guys could work on or perform with their other projects like this. I think when they go off and do other things for awhile they bring back some good new energy to pour back into Wilco.

I was disappointed to see this isn't coming to Philadelphia, because I would've checked it out. I'd probably appreciate it more if I didn't feel like I was burning up like a dinosaur while I was listening 

It was crowded, but not horribly so. The staff and volunteers did a great job of keeping the bathrooms clean and the trash emptied. There also seemed to be a lot more porta-potties, which was especially good for Saturday night when the main bathrooms were flooded. 

If the festival continues to grow, they're definitely going to need more food vendors. I missed over half of Neko Case's set waiting in line to get dinner on Saturday. I had planned to eat earlier, but I spent most of Foxygen and Low's sets checking out the galleries. It would also be great if the local grocery stores extend their hours on the weekend of the festival a bit. We wanted to restock on Saturday night, but the Price Chopper closed at midnight. 

I also think they should consider having the Wilco side projects play multiple sets on Sunday so everybody can see them. I missed the Blisters and Mikael's set because I was in line to see Nels (and I was probably a dozen people back when I got in line at 11:30). A lot of people didn't get in for that performance and were disappointed, but it wouldn't have worked outside because of how quiet it was. 

Did anybody see someone recording Nels and Julian's performance? I kind of doubt it since we were so tightly packed that I can't imagine anyone getting a rig set up, but I'd love to hear it again.

the crowd was almost completely silent during Yo La Tengos set. Likewise the crowd around me during both wilco sets was super quiet. no problems with chatterboxes here!

 

ALso that record store was amazing..found some really rare records in seriously good condition for super cheap.

I was really looking forward to seeing YLT, but no matter where I moved I kept getting stuck near people talking loudly. I wish people would be more considerate and hang out toward the back if they want to talk. 

Overall I thought they handled the heat well yesterday. Volunteers were reminding people to stay hydrated and even giving out water later in the day, and they had free sunscreen and those awesome water fans all weekend. I forgot my water bottle yesterday, but I bought a boxed water and refilled it all day. Maybe next time they'll figure out a way to set up a free water station closer to the field.

I wish MMW would've gotten a longer set, but watching Nels wail with them was the perfect way to end a great weekend!

I hope these people trying to cash in at the last minute don't make a penny.  $50 parking? When there are tons of free options? Get lost! They're taking advantage of people who are coming for the first time this year and don't know the area. Most of the locals have been very friendly and welcoming in the past, so I hope this doesn't continue to be a trend as the festival gets bigger. 

I'm starting to pack today. And 48 hours from now I'll probably be on the road! It will be a longer trip for me this year, since I moved since the last SSF, but it's a route I've never taken, so it will be a bit of an adventure. 

I'm hoping to get as much of a draft of a book project done before I go back to teaching in August. It's not going as quickly as I'd hoped, but I still have about 170 pages so far. I've also been exercising a lot more, eating better, and trying to get healthier. I'll be at Solid Sound next week and a few of the Bob-o-Wilco-rama shows in July, but my travel schedule is pretty light this year. I'm enjoying a quieter summer close to home this year. My patio garden is doing really well, too. I should have more tomatoes than I know what to do with in a few weeks!

It's a little early still for a weekend weather forecast since most of them just go 10 days out. But I did find one site that gave a general forecast week by week for the month. Not too trustworthy this far out, but looking good so far! JUNE 2013: temperature 65° (avg.); precipitation 3.5" (avg.); Jun 1-4: T-storms, then sunny, cool; Jun 5-9: T-storms, warm; Jun 10-21: Showers, cool; Jun 22-25: Sunny, hot; Jun 26-30: Scattered t-storms, cool.

Accuweather goes 15 days ahead. They were predicting rain for the weekend a few days ago, but I like today's forecast better: Friday, sunny with a high of 78 and a low of 56; Saturday, sunny with a high of 82 and a low of 59; and Sunday, mostly cloudy with a high of 85 and a low of 61. The weather looks good for travel on both ends, too.

The blurb doesn't mention anything about interviews with the band. It won't be worth reading if it's just a compilation of information that's already out there, or if the writing is half as cheesy as the blurb is.

"Racy" by Nels and Julian Lage will be available exclusively on| dBpm Records | at Solid Sound Festival 2013. Limited to 500 numbered 33 1/3 rpm black vinyl copies, it will be the duo's first commercial release.

I know where my first stop is going to be! 

A friend and I have front row center seats for the show at Merriweather tomorrow night. I've had tickets to see them twice in the last few years, and both times something happened at the last minute that I couldn't go, so I couldn't be more excited to finally get to see them. The new album hasn't left my car stereo since it came out. It seems like I pick up on new things every time I listen. 

Beck will be filling the vacant spot on the bill for the Jones Beach show since Jim James has to be at the Newport Folk festival that day, according to this story on Pitchfork.

Nels will perform with BB&C (drummer Jim Black and saxophonist Tim Berne) on June 10 at Shapeshifter Lab in Brooklyn, sharing a bill with the excellent experimental duo Good for Cows (former Singers bassist Devin Hoff and drummer Ches Smith). 

On June 11, he'll join Marc Ribot, Bill Frisell, and Shahzad Ismaily for two sets (6:30 and 10:00) at le poisson rouge in the West Village. 

I'm hoping to make it to at least one of these, though New York hotel prices aren't cooperating so far...