theashtraysays

I will say that Stan has been keeping the volumes up pretty high lately, both indoors and out. And the Via Chicago cacophony is still there in a big way every night. Just be prepared...

Not that I pay attention to these things (OK, yes I do), but during the last tour in the PNW, Bull Black Nova was on the setlist maybe 1/3 of the time. And Laminated Cat was almost always there if Nova wasn't. And for those two songs, Jeff and Nels both use a similar guitar for both songs (same tuning I suppose), each using a very well worn sunburst-like pattern Fender. So when the techs brought out those two guitars during the encore break and put them in Jeff and Nels' guitar stands, I did indeed notice. And the prominently placed black bison/bull on that night's poster was another poten

I can't quite tell if BBOP's IOU for more reportage was fulfilled or not, but wanted to add a couple things from this show. Given the decidedly non-fancy locale (you could park on the street but supposedly not in the grocery store parking lot across the street) and chain-link-and-asphalt parking-lot-turned-venue, this show had the potential of being a rather loose, unique little show. And it was. "Plains" was an interesting but fitting opener, with the band packed into a small semi-temporary stage without the usual "Wilco doily" backdrop. From there, we had the usual stuff setlist-wise,

More Wilco!

Wilco

Ticket is sold.

Washington Pavilion Row BB, seat 11... $90 face & fees. Second row center. Will call; meet you at the venue. Yes it's next to me. No you won't have to hold up a sign. Vince

Funny... less than two weeks after this show, FB tells me that the venue has been renamed as "MegaCorp Pavilion". I mean, there's capitalism, and then there's CAPITALism. Sheesh.

Ok, what’s this Bull Black drum intro all about?

I really, really like them. Glad to see they're starting to headline in a lot of places and expand out. Don't miss them!!

I hate it here..... when @bböp's gone. Here goes. I think I can safely say that we all had a delightful evening in a brand spankin' new outdoor venue just across the river from Cincinnati OH, with a great view of the Cincy skyline, as Wilco digs in to the meat of their Cruel Country tour. It's a big wide stage, with an ample standing GA pit area; behind that some VIP/reserved tables/boxes and a couple rows of reserved seats, and then a rather small lawn "hill" behind that. Very wide, but rather shallow front to back and pretty cozy really. Covered stage but open air beyond tha

Wilco... again?!? (Lobbying hard for one more Nova... )

Wilco!

Andrew Bird / Iron & Wine tonight. (and delinquent mention of Roger Waters two nights ago... pretty great week!)

I especially love the feature in our “new” board that says “2 years later…” like it’s some cheap movie or tv show.

Almost THREE YEARS since our last contestant? Sheesh. Anyways, this new record does fit in with the other releases right where @Beltmann predicted. I sense a trend. AM BT ST YHF AGIB SBS WTA TWL SW WS OTJ CC

Ben Nichols (Lucero) and Cory Branan.

Bonnie prince Billy. Hadn't heard a note of his music, but had "heard of" him somehow. (Turns out he's from Louisville and I'm in Lexington so maybe that's part of it). Anyway, I caught his whole set and was really enjoyed it. A bow on a banjo? Shiny little stickers on people's faces? 6-piece with no drums? Passing out lyric sheets to the audience? Every song is just one or two verses repeated half a dozen times? Word play where the first letter of each line is either the song title or a secret message? I found the whole thing delightfully weird and am (obviously) still think

Same here. The new one does have its musically upbeat moments (Falling Apart for example), albeit with cowboy boots this time. And some fabulous stories (Story to Tell, Lifetime to Find, Hearts Hard to Find) to be sure. But storyteller Jeff was more than plentiful with the past 3 solo records. This one will have to be a grower for sure, and I'll leave it at that for now.

Hugs.

So far, so good on presales. Though the Platinum prices for Live Nation / TM seats (Indy) are fucking ridiculous.

This is exactly how I feel about Bull Black Nova and why I like it so much. Panic attacks are much less terrifying when set to music.

Here’s one little tidbit that I think only the real nerds like me (and likely bbop) picked up. At the end of Poor Places, the Conet recording on the record ends abruptly with the song after “Hotel”. On nights 1 & 2 in Chicago, it ended on “Foxtrot”, but on night 3 it ended on “Hotel” (actually matching the record). Yeah, that’s my Nerd Notice (tm) for the day. Carry on.

It was recorded. on the first night, I admit I was slightly disappointed in it being a recording. Especially since it was “live” (looped) when they did it at solid sound. But on the second and third night, I definitely think that the band all standing there solemnly with that gorgeous lighting and the “pristine” recorded version was indeed the perfect ending for the show. It was quite breathtaking really.

At the risk of reverting VC back to its heydey and rekindling the ember of controversy (let's leave that to Facebook, shall we?), I've also thought that a simple reversing of sequence would have made a ton of sense. An opening set of an hour of hits + YHF B-sides, ending with the Jay tribute, then a break, then the new string intro / overture, then YHF, then just stop - would sure seem to accomplish the goal they set out with. If anything, I think the anticipation building up for YHF in that first set would make it even more amazing and well received. It sure worked at Solid Sound - that "gi