theashtraysays

Califone. 

Excited to see Tim & Co, but sad that I couldn't convince @M Christine or @mountain bedto join me....

The Milk Carton Kids

The National (Homecoming night 2), with Pavement, Weyes Blood, Snail Mail, etc..

8 hours ago, u2roolz said:

As I was checking Google for tonight’s setlist, it looks like they announced the new record at tonight’s gig. And it’s coming digitally late Sunday night/early Monday morning. Awesome! 

Really nice looking setlist you got! All of High Violet! 👍

Yes! They even had some pre-press copies of it at the show (The VIP folks, of which I am not one) allegedly got a copy in their swag bags.  GA in November I think?
And High Violet is where I started with them so it is still my sentimental favorite... and after hearing it all live, will continue to be my overall fave.  2.5 hours / 29 songs... at a festival! Really great show. 

The National (Homecoming festival - Day 1); w/ Patti Smith, The Walkmen, et al 

Margo Price & S.G. Goodman 

4 hours ago, bböp said:

 

I shall not comment, except that anyone can follow the format of previous thread titles. I wouldn't want to put anyone else off, so I hereby declare that everyone should just do whatever they please. This isn't a dictatorship, after all. Not to mention, I'm not going to make it to a bunch of shows on the upcoming U.S. tour anyway, so the inevitable will happen...

 

• 1 hr Analogman changed the title to Wilco - 6th September 2023, Mandela Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland

 

Seems our reluctant dictator has an accomplice ... ta indeed.

5 minutes ago, Chez said:

Aren't they opening for Guided By Voices tonight?

That was last night up in Dayton OH.  Tonight they're right here in my little town (Lexington KY) in my favorite little venue (The Burl).

Dinosaur jr. 

Susto 

54 minutes ago, Albert Tatlock said:

Keeping a lower than usual profile?

 

50% retina scan confirms presence.

William Tyler

On 8/14/2023 at 5:26 PM, u2roolz said:

Grazie! 
 

How is that group? Have there been concert reports/photos from the first couple of European shows on there?

I'm not actually a member, but Gianpaolo and I are FB friends and he cross posts to his account sometimes.  That group posts pretty much always in Italian, so you're at the mercy of FB translation... often amusing for sure.  But yes there are a few posts on the shows happening over there.  I don't think there's an Italian @bböp tho...

This was in the "Wilco Italia" FB page and posted by Gianpaolo Elena (who may or may not be here on VC).

Much easier to read...

 

This is a little tough to read (multiple timelines going on at once) but very interesting so far - about halfway through. 
 

 

Hurray for the Riff Raff

 

Mountain Goats

Yo la Tengo

 

Matt Heckler 

Gone now… apparently somebody at hq reads VC !!!

About three songs (and 40 minutes?)into it I thought (in my best Roy Scheider voice) “bbop’s gonna need a bigger notepad”.

Quite a good show in a gorgeous venue! I hadn't been to the TN Theater, but it's one of those ornate grand old theaters that Wilco seems to seek out.  Sound was good up front, with small PA speakers on the lip of the stage for those of us up front (always a nice touch).  Lighting was good here, as the bigger stage and theater lighting really gave the crew something to work with.  Nice to see the trophy going to "our friend Sarah" there in the front row. 

Apparently there was a school field trip of some sort of music-related education group right around sound check where a group of kids were able to visit onstage and check out the instruments and meet with the crew and band.  Nice touch from team Wilco, to the surprise of no one. 

Oh, and this show had one of the better posters I've seen in a while - the one with the cassette tape unraveling and spelling "Wilco" which brought back too many memories for many of us... very creative.

The printed setlist had "Monday" as the closer but that was replaced by Outtasite. 

Starting with a personal note, I hadn't planned on extending my "Wilco-ville tour" road trip (Nash-, Knox-, and Ashe-) to Greensboro, as that would take me even further from my home in Lexington KY for the drive back home.  But once again TicketMaster dropped the front row platinum prices to regular front section prices, and that kryptonite is just too much for me to ignore.  So I grabbed a ticket (during a break in the Asheville show actually) and plotted a new course.  Little did I know....

... that the White Oak Amphitheater is part of a really large complex that includes the Greensboro Coliseum (where a sold out Kenny Cheesny concert was being held), the Greensboro Aquatic Center (a 5000 seat center which was holding some kind of swim meet), and a great big parking lot that had been turned into a festival / carnival with rides and carny games and food and the whole shebang.  The Kenny C fans were in force, turning a few parking lots into RV tailgating extravaganzas and the others into seas of pickup trucks.  That made for a nervous morning trying to secure affordable lodging, but all worked out thanks to AirBnB and some kind old lady's spare bedroom.  But back to the show.

The venue itself (once you navigated the area to find the actual entrance) was one of the recently commonplace venues with a pit (which for this show had maybe 10 rows of attached folding chairs set on the concrete floor), then permanent chairs behind that, then lawn space in the rear.  Wider than deep, with a couple layers of walking paths behind the seats and splitting the lawn.  The stage was covered but the pit and seating area were open air, giving the stage setup a bit more of a festival feel than a permanent structure.  Sight lines were good and sound was good, although the carnival was immediately adjacent to the space and you could hear the occasional screams of the swinging boat thingie ride amongst others. 

Once again not a ton of banter, with Jeff not really checking in with the crowd for a bit.  I think his first comment was something like "This isn't the Kenny Chesny concert.  If you're looking for that I apologize.  This is OUR kind of country music, although we're really all from the same country." 

Later he did a "how's everyone doing?" where we all clapped and wooo-ed and all.  He then said "In the back?" (cheers).  "Over here" (pointing to the left side; more cheers).  "Here?" (right side, cheers).  "On the tilt-a-whirl?  You gotta be having fun on the tilt-a-whirl".  Before playing "Hearts Hard to Find", he did his usual explanation / apology (expology?) that it really isn't nice to be glad when someone dies but (without mentioning names) he did acknowledge that this would happen at some point in the future.  Hmmmm.... Before Everyone Hides, he mentioned how they really messed that song up the night before in Asheville and promised to get it right tonight (they did - which gave him cause to celebrate the victory with a fist pump and some comment I missed immediately after).

Later in the show he thanked everyone for being there, and thanked the A's for their opening support this tour (oddly, they never did join for the usual CaliStars encore on this final show they did or any show for that matter that I know of). 

Tonight's bombshell (OK, not really) was regarding the highly coveted Best Behaved Fan trophy.  Jeff said that they had FINALLY run out of those, and that tonight would be the last one.  He explained how valuable these trophies were, and didn't immediately deny it when someone in the audience suggest they were made of "rose gold".  He did cop to the fact that they were actually plastic.  He picked someone in the second row wearing a striped shirt and a beanie (it was a little chilly and quite humid outside in the open air) who Jeff picked because they were "doing the best job of making everyone around have a great time".  I have no idea what this was referring to.  The person's name was Carl, and the now-obligatory chant followed.  Jeff did seem relieved to have that part of the show come to an end.  Alas. 

The show was great as always, and I'm glad I made the extra trek to see friends and get one more Wilco show in on what turned out to be my 1400 mile road trip (which incidentally included at stop in Lexington NC as a bit of a joke for the folks back home).  One thing that was not quite up to normal standards was the use of the fog machines.  They have 4 of them going, and it seemed like they wanted to use up all of the supply of fog-stuff before going back home.  Those 4 were cranking out a BUNCH of fog, and the outside breeze and heavy air in general made for some really bad stage clouds quite often.  And with those big searchlights sidestage going at full shine at times it was like driving a car in heavy fog with your high beams on.  I'm sure that in the back all you could see at times was a whiteout, and Mikael must have disappeared completely.  Even up front (we were pretty far over on Pat's side) there were times where Jeff was foggy and Nels / Mikael were lost in the clouds.  Minor quibble I suppose but not your usual Wilco visual. 

Didn't make that final Athens Ohio show, so this will be my final fill-in report this run.  Great seeing everyone and getting to see some really great shows. 

Cheers,

Vince

 

Here's the setlist per Wilcoworld, and this does match the printed setlist that I saw. 

 

At Least That's What You Said

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

The Universe

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

Handshake Drugs

Hearts Hard to Find

Everyone Hides

Bird Without a Tail / Base of My Skull

Side with the Seeds

One and a Half Stars

Impossible Germany

Sunken Treasure

Reservations

Jesus, Etc.

Either Way

Box Full of Letters

I'm Always In Love

Dawned On Me

Encore:

Falling Apart (Right Now)

The Late Greats

Heavy Metal Drummer

A Shot in the Arm

For a lot of folks the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, aka Harrah's Cherokee Center per the street signage, isn't a bucket list kind of venue.  With the Orange Peel not far away, and the quirky but memorable outdoor "salvage station" former-junkyard-now-venue nearby, the rather sterile Wolfe Auditorium could be seen as a skippable location. The long, narrow floor section with long side balconies and a sloping rear balcony in a windowless room without adornment feels a bit boxy.  The pit section actually being a few inches HIGHER than the front row of the regular seats is odd.  But those side balconies have seats that are angled a bit toward the stage which is a nice touch, and the pit height is not a big deal once everyone is standing.  And hey, when our "friends" at TicketMaster drop those platinum pit seats down to regular floor seat prices the day of the show, well I know I'm not complaining about an upgrade. 

The set was along the lines of the Birmingham show, which seems to be one of three of four general outlines they're rotating in this leg of the tour, drawing songs largely from the 3-night stints over the past few weeks.  For me anyway, it's great to see that kind of variety in shows night after night, with a lot more swaps than some recent outings.  One Wing AND a Nova?  Yes please.  Pot Kettle Black with a 9-string teardrop shaped electric guitar (Hello Mark Greenberg - have we seen that beauty on Gear Talkin yet???) was a blast.  Via Chicago / Many Worlds coda can become a new staple if you ask me.  Old and new but seems like they were separated at birth. 

Banter corner was pretty modest overall.  To be completely honest, I didn't realize (or had forgotten) that Bbop wasn't at the show till afterwards, so I didn't take notes.  Hopefully some others will chime in (this plea rarely works for our usual correspondent, but worth a shot). 

But if you are looking for lyric flubs, this was a pretty good night.  The first one was probably noticed by exactly two people in the building - those be myself and the singer.  In the first verse of Bull Black Nova, Jeff put the "hanging on the hood of my car" line ahead of the "shining down my angry star" line, which put a scrunched up look on his face but was not really picked up by the rest of the band.  Later in the set during Everyone Hides, he added an "Oh-ohhho" at the wrong place, which DID get a couple of "way to go boss" grins from his harmony singers who were nowhere near their mics for that one, and brought a sheepish grin from our hero.  After the song Jeff did acknowledge that he really butchered that one and apologized. 

The Best Behaved fan award went to a fine young man (age 10 maybe?) in the pit named Dylan.  Jeff encouraged him to stand on his chair so everyone could see him, and led the crowd in a "Dill-Lon Dill-Lon" chant which seemed to please and maybe overwhelm the little guy just a bit.  Overall the crowd was really good, with minimal shout-outs or disruptions.  The floor was standing the whole time, so no drama (at least that I could see). 

But the bombshell of the evening came at the end of the encore.  Jeff said he was dedicating the next song to Ashley, aka PK or Pocketknife, who as one of the Wilcrew members has been stage manager and assistant tour manager for quite a few years now.  Her favorite song (per Jeff) is I'm a Wheel.  Jeff dedicated it to her as she was "moving on" from the Wilco team and thanked her for all she's done for the band and crew.  He brought her onstage for a big hug and a tear or two was shed by the usually all-business PK.  During the song she could be seen sidestage with lotsa hugs from the rest of the crew, including Ashwin (Glenn's drum tech and general sidekick), who I believe PK brought into the Wilcrew when Glenn's previous tech left the group.  Sure hate to see her go, but she'll undoubtedly do great things for some other band or whatever she winds up doing. 

 

Here's the setlist per the Wilcoworld page.  I didn't see a printed setlist (I MISS STAN!!) for this one. 

 

Handshake Drugs

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

Hints

One Wing

If I Ever Was A Child

Pot Kettle Black

Muzzle Of Bees

Bull Black Nova

Tired of Taking It Out On You

What Light

Shouldn't Be Ashamed

I'm the Man Who Loves You

Impossible Germany

Passenger Side

Box Full of Letters

Everyone Hides

Falling Apart Right Now

Encore:

Via Chicago / Many Worlds coda

Can't Stand It

A Shot in the Arm

I'm A Wheel (Dedicated to Ashley "PK" Pocketknife of the Wilcrew)

Ah, the Night of Ed.  I happened to be immediately behind the man himself, and certainly took note of the "bowling shirt" with PBR prominently displayed front and (moreso) back.  He seemed to be having a swell time, standing most of the show (a few folks in front of us sat quite a bit, making sitting an OK thing sightline-wise), singing along with a few more popular tunes.  Indeed you coulda knocked him over with a feather upon receiving the esteemed award.  He hammed it up for the crowd, soaking in the chants and applause. 

After the show, I asked to take a picture - see below.  There was woman (likely Mrs. Ed), and another fellow with them.  The other fellow, seeing that I had one of the prized / rare Hatch print posters with me in a bag, said (without actually consulting Ed) "I bet he'd trade you that trophy for that poster."  I replied "You're probably not gonna believe this... ", after which Ed and I got quite a chuckle out of the whole story.  I told him we have meetings every other Thursday, and that we'd email him the secret location later.  And yes I still have the poster...
Fun show for sure.  Highlight for me was definitely Sunken Treasure.  Crowd participation was just nominal, with the "papapara" for Spiders needing some encouragement and never really getting off the ground.  Ushers and security were pretty busy all night running off the numerous aisle crashers making their way (often repeat offenders) toward the pit area.  Jeff was indeed not very chatty for most of the show; Bbop caught all the noteworthy stuffs. 

 

Without further ado, here's Ed.