Three dollars and 63 cents

You have all summer to sabotage their friendship

I'm waiting to find out if my contract for my teaching job will be renewed. If it is (meaning I have another year of financial stability ahead of me), I may just do the St. Louis shows. They're right after my final grades are due, and I found out I can get a steal of a deal on a plane ticket out of Rochester. That would be a nice way to kick off my summer, not to mention a good way for me to face my awful fear of flying.

I think August might be more likely. Nels is slated to tour with the Singers in the Midwest in early June then for about two weeks in Europe in mid-July. I really think they'll build a tour around that rescheduled Charleston date, though. That's been my hunch since they announced the new date. I can't imagine they'd do a one-off show, and I also think it's more likely that they'll come north than go south considering how god-awful hot it is in the south at that time of year.

Looks like you got your wish It's exciting to see some new dates, especially in some places they don't play too often. I'm still holding out hope for some east coast dates in the late summer!

Somebody over at the U2 board posted that she heard they'll be playing in New Mexico May 9. She said she received an email about an annoucement being made any day now. Maybe they'll do some dates in the west in May, then take a break until August, when they'll play Lollapalooza then come east? That would be very good.

Yeah, my current Wilco playlist is something like 58 songs.

I really wish I could make it. It would involve driving back here after the show, though, and I'd only be willing to consider it if I could still get a good seat. Even though I've bought a fair number of tickets from NBO Tickets, I never get presale notifications like some of my friends do. Oh well. I'll get to see Nels at the end of that week, and that will make me happy. Lou Reed is apparently going to add some more U.S. dates, so hopefully it will work out that I can still see him.

I just made this disc for one of my friends who wants to learn more about Wilco. I'm still working on a second disc of all live tracks. She has hard to categorize musical tastes, mostly leaning toward what I'd label as "pop," so I tried to give her songs I think she'd like. I had a few more songs, but they wouldn't fit. Either Way Hummingbird Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway(again) You Are My Face Box Full of Letters I'm Always In Love The Thanks I Get Heavy Metal Drummer Muzzle of Bees The Lonely 1 I Am Trying to Break Your Heart Sunken Treasure California Stars Jesus, Etc. Hotel Arizona ELT

It kills me that he's playing in Northampton, MA, on a work night. I considered rearranging my teaching schedule to go, but then I remembered I couldn't because I'm already rearranging it later in that week so I can go down to NYC to see the Nels Cline Singers. I've loved Lou Reed since I was 14, and he's still on that very short list of performers I love who I still haven't gotten the chance to see. His U.S. tour dates are so sporadic these days, so you're lucky to get the chance to see him. Have a great time!

It's my birthday, and I decree there will be no booing or hissing of Nels today. Those of you who feel the need to can get back to it tomorrow.

It was pretty damn hot, if I remember correctly. Then again, last summer I saw Bob Dylan at the Pines two days after Wilco, and he was in a three-piece suit when it was probably about 95. I was seriously expecting him to pass out during the first few songs, or at least take of his coat. Back on topic, I'd enjoy seeing Frank Black or the Breeders open for Wilco. I'm still bitter about the Pixies show I was supposed to see on their reunion tour getting canceled, and I've resigned myself to the fact that the closest I'll probably ever get now is seeing their various side/solo projects.

Thanks for sharing these. They're great. It's especially cool to see some pictures of Nels and Pat dueling during Hoodoo Voodoo. That was one of the highlights for me when I saw them a few weeks ago.

How fun to see pictures from that show at the Pines! That was my first Wilco show, and I was way in the back and didn't have much of a view. And that early in the evening I was still really drunk

The world needs people to say boo hiss to Nels to balance out the people like me who adore him. Otherwise his ego would get too big, and it would wreck the band. I don't think anybody's work has ever changed the way I listen to music as much as his has. I've discovered so many possibilities in the last few months that I never even knew about before. Last summer, had you said "improvisational jazz guitar" to me, I would've run away screaming. Now I really love it. Whether you like what he's brought to Wilco or not, you've got to say Nels is finally getting what he deserves. He busted his

Ashes of American Flags? To open? Wow, that would've made me cry for sure. If I keep requesting it, one of these days they'll play it at a show I'm at. Another stellar set list. Glad they're all headed home for a few days of much-deserved rest. Thanks for spoiling us all rotten for the last few weeks, Wilco!

I'm up to Red-eyed and Blue, and I've spent the last two hours completely dumbfounded that I was actually at this show. It's not even a setlist I absolutely loved, but every single song is just dead-on. I'm definitely not wrong in saying this was by far the very best show I've ever been to. That I got to meet Nels and Jeff that night is just an amazing bonus.

The Philadelphia show a few weeks ago was amazing. It wasn't the best set list, but the performance was near perfect. I'm listening to the recording of it now, and I keep catching myself thinking, "Wait, I was I was at this show?" I left that night saying it was the best show I'd ever been to, but usually when I hear recordings a few weeks later, they're never as good as I remember, but this one really is. I was also at the Northampton show last summer, but that one just didn't have the same energy these last few weeks of shows have had. They seem to have hit their peak on this leg.

I can't get over what a great recording this is. Thank you, taper, wherever you are

Thank you

Cryptogramophone Records will be at the Jazz Standard in New York City April 23-25 for its second-annual Cryptonights Festival. Nels told me about this in Philadelphia a few weeks ago. He was so excited about it that he started talking really quickly, and it took me a few weeks to put all the pieces together. There's no information on the Crypto website or on Nels's site yet, but the tickets are already onsale. Wednesday's schedule is a set by the Jeff Gauthier Goatette at 7:30 and a duo by Nels and his brother Alex at 9:30. Thursday features sets by the Nels Cline Singers at 7:30 and 9:30.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is one of my favorites. It amazes me how different it is from the book; they're both masterpieces, but I have a hard time comparing them. I love Casablanca, too, but it's hard for me to watch now. It played an important role in my last relationship. While most long-distance boyfriends sent flowers and teddy bears for Valentine's Day, mine sent a DVD of Casablanca--and the DVD player from him arrived the next day. I've been able to go back to most of the music we shared, but the last time I tried to watch this movie, I still couldn't. Maybe it's time I give it

I'm still very touch and go with Radiohead. I like In Rainbows and some of their older songs, but most of their work still doesn't appeal too much to me. Over the last six months to a year, I've gotten a lot more into noisy, more experimental music, though, especially Sonic Youth. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I've also been getting very interested in a lot of Nels's non-Wilco work, much of which can be pretty noisy. There's something about the rawness of it that really appeals to me. I can definitely see how it could turn people off, though. I think it's good that you were open-minded

My pictures from the show all looked like crap because I had the flash turned off. Did anybody have more luck?

Yo La Tengo is another one of those bands I've been meaning to check out. I kick myself for not going to their show across town at Cornell a few months ago. Can anyone suggest a few albums I might start with?