theashtraysays

Oh I forgot one other fun little tidbit. 
The gap between the rail and the stage was pretty small and nearly filled with big subs. Wilco comes on, and a couple photographers emerge and start snappin, somewhat climbing around the speakers and doing the best they could to get the shots they wanted. Third song starts, and they keep snappin. Eric (rather intimidating tour manager, aka strictangel) appears a couple minutes in and talks to both of them, rather sternly, holding up two fingers. Apparently the deal was just two songs, not the usual three. Eric leaves, as does one photog. Photog #2 swaps lenses and keeps on snappin. Eric reappears and continues / enhances stern discussion, and proceeds to usher #2 out of the gap area, then concludes the now very stern discussion off to the side of the stage. Photog #2 was not seen again for the duration of the evening. Sure hope he’s ok. 

Being the big name in a small, local festival means that you can just stretch things out a little more than being in one of the larger multi-stage summer festivals, and it just felt like Wilco was able to stretch out a little more and play a terrific 23-song set out in the street in the northern Illinois town of Bloomington.  The one-day, one-stage, four-band affair was short on big corporate sponsors, and long on local folks who just wanted to enjoy music in a camp chair out on a gorgeous Saturday night at what was only the second iteration of this little hometown festival.  Being in honor of the Castle Theater's 10th anniversary of its time as a small (900 cap?) music venue this year, this fest was the grown-up version of its 2019 debut in the parking lot of the theater, and took over the street for the entire block in front of the little venue.  Local heroes Backyard Tire Fire, who played just before Wilco, were the band that everybody who didn't travel more than 50 miles knew (and knew well), and they apparently birthed the idea a few years back.  They put together an American Idol star, another local fave band, themselves, and were able to get Wilco to sign on in the middle of this 3-night / 3-festival run that they did this weekend to make a pretty darn satisfying 4-band show that ought to put this festival on the map from here on out.  A great evening in what seemed to me a very appreciative place.  And other than a couple of unwelcome wasted rail crashers (c'mon @Jcamp, you know better than that), it was a really great midwestern crowd.

Althea Grace, from American Idol fame, opened up with just a shrunk down acoustic guitar and played a 30 minute solo set that let us know she has some serious songwriting chops and also did a downright righteous cover of Bennie and the Jets.  Next up was Chicago Farmer and The Field Notes, sounding like a 6-piece disguised as a 4-piece who played some rather quirky tunes including lamenting "$13 beers" at a big arena show, cheering for the underdogs in "Dirtiest Uniforms", and spinning a tale about grandparental wisdom in "The $20 Bill".  Watching the drummer in his pigtails play mandolin or keys WHILE drumming, and keeping an eye on the gypsy-Mick-Fleetwood guitar/steel guitar player made for an interesting time indeed.  They began their set promising that "we're gonna do something that's never been done in the history of live music - we're starting early" (a good 20 minutes early!), and then enjoyed themselves immensely throughout their set.  Backyard Tire Fire, newly reunited after a few years pursuing various stuff, came on with a song about Alejandro Escovedo, played some pretty tight roots/rock/little-bit-o-blues tunes, throwing in a John Prine cover (Great Rain) and a ZZ Top tune (Nationwide) just for fun.  Brothers Ed (Edward David Anderson) and Matt Anderson made up half the band, and their dad was right there on the rail next to us beaming with pride and telling us how great these guys were.  We happened to run into Ed as we were leaving, and he was over-the-moon excited at how well their little fest came off tonight.  We had also heard from former local resident and all around good guy Ken that about 30% of the total tickets were sold THAT DAY, which I'm told is pretty unusual and I'm sure was a huge relief for the organizers, especially Ed.  Terrific fella, and a few of us had a great time talking with him. 

Wilco came on at 8:30 to a street full of regulars & big fans up front with quite a few locals mixed in, and a sea of camp chairs with local music lovers in the back behind the "no chairs past here" line at about the soundboard.  The setlist was largely the same as the recent shows, with a significantly noticeable change (by me anyway - more later), but it just seemed that the guys were a little more relaxed time-wise than the ultra-strict curfews they were under lately.  They played 23 songs, closing down at around 10:20, but it didn't seem hurried at all.  They left the stage for an actual encore break, and then played 3 songs for the encore before heading off again.  Jeff added back in the Doors-like spoken word version of HMD, going pretty far into the lyrics before saying "that's enough lizard king for an outdoor show" and cuing Glenn for his kickoff fill and diving into the song.  He once again was in a great mood, providing some serious rockstar moves in shredding through ALTWYS and in full jog-dance for Hummingbird.  Pat's Box Full of Letters solo was on fire, and he made the most of his moment in the spotlight.  John's hops looked to me like they had a little more air than the night before, and Glenn's stick twirling was right on cue as always. 

Banter corner had a couple of highlights, with a main theme being that (to Jeff's disbelief) this was the first time that Wilco had played Bloomington IL.  Ken did tell us that Wilco played neighboring Normal back in 97, but not actually Bloomington.  Jeff eluded to having played there in another band at one point (presumably Uncle Tupelo but not mentioned), and apologized that it took them so long.  Just before Box, he mentioned that this was from their first album, and if Wilco HAD played Bloomington back in the day, this surely would have been one of the songs played.  He later said that the folks at the Castle theater had treated them all really well, and that they had spent the day in that theater where they had "none of their greatest memories".  He assured the crowd that they wouldn't take so long to play there again next time.

The other memorable comment involved a delightful 11YO kid named Oscar.  Oscar and his mom made their way up to the rail during the fest, ultimately filling in the spot next to me where the Tire Fire dad had vacated after his boys closed out.  Oscar was celebrating his upcoming 12th birthday later this month with his first concert.  He was decked out in a spiffy new Wilco hat, which was just barely over the rail if he stood straight and tall.  He waved his hat enthusiastically at Jeff as they were leaving for the encore.  Upon returning, Jeff pointed out the young man, praising him for being there and his enthusiasm, and giving him (and his mom) the advice that "you need to start a band!".  The kid was THRILLED to get the shoutout, and was one big grin-machine the whole rest of the night.  In typical this-is-why-we-love-Wilco style, the tour manager Eric made his way down during the encore to give him a setlist and a pick to get him started on his newly christened career in music.  Good stuff.

Speaking of good stuff... this show marked the first appearance of the highly sought-after Bull Black Nova since the pandemic shutdown.  I didn't really even get the chance to deploy my new "FULL SET! NOVA NIGHT?" sign, but after Via Chicago (!) they brought out Jeff's well-worn Fender which to me means we might be in Nova land.  Sure enough, the little twingly intro started up and the Nova was out of its year-and-a-half garage cold storage.  And yes, it was fabulous.  And yes, I did pretty much lose my shit.  But in a good way.  And as Jeff was leaving the stage for the night, he looked right at me and my face-wide exhausted smile, gave me a good finger-wag and we could see him say sternly "You owe me one!".  And I sure do. 

Let's hope the guys can play more of these smaller festivals down the road and stretch out a little more on these nice summer nights.  It was a winner in my book.

Here's the complete setlist as played.  Candyfloss was the third song on the written setlist and was replaced by California Stars.  No other changes.

 

1. A Shot in the Arm

2. Random Name Generator

3. At Least That’s What You Said

4. One and a Half Stars

5. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

6. Art of Almost

7. If I Ever Was a Child

8. Via Chicago

9. Bull Black Nova

10. Love is Everywhere (Beware)

11. Impossible Germany

12. Hummingbird

13. Everyone Hides

14. Box Full of Letters

15. Dawned on Me

16. Jesus, etc.

17. Theologians

18. I’m the Man Who Loves You

19. Heavy Metal Drummer

20. I’m Always in Love

Encore

21. The Late Greats

22. Outtasite (Outta Mind)

23. California Stars

 

Cheers all! See you at the show. 

Vince

 

Phoebe Bridgers

1 hour ago, uncool2pillow said:

There is a small (<5%) chance I hit that show. Driving to Chicago this afternoon. I plan on arriving at my friend's place at Wicker Park around 7 PM. I really doubt we'll make it up, but it's not out of the question.

Well? 
It was a super easy little venue. Empty rail 15 minutes after doors… well, other than me. 

Drive By Truckers 

It's interesting that there are some grumblings over on the Sleater-Kinney FB fan page about how S-K has lost their edge, become "animatronic", not the same without Janet, etc... sound familiar? 

But I'm with you that the S-K faithful are a force to be reckoned with and one that we could use an infusion from.  In the three shows that I saw, there was an impromptu / uninvited but highly welcome stage rush from reserved seats halfway through the S-K set (Atlanta), a rabid group on the rail of S-K fans who out-sidewalked us Wilco regulars IN THE RAIN (Nashville), and a smaller but intense group of fans who gladly accepted invitations to move to the rail for S-K's set and then proceeded to lose their minds for an hour and charge up the entire place (Asheville).  Talk about a shot in the arm!!

Always tough trying to do a recap AFTER bbop posted one for the night before.  But here goes...

First off, it really WAS a (somewhat) converted junkyard set up as a food-and-entertainment area right next to the French Broad river.  Food trucks and a couple bars around the perimeter, with the stage in one corner with a big open area in the middle, with quite a few tables & chairs and places for lawn chairs behind the gravel pit area in front of the stage.  Lots of vintage signs & other oddities lying around.  If you caught Jeff's Starship Casual today, you saw that it POURED down rain during the afternoon ahead of the show.  But it mercifully stopped right at 430 which is when they opened up the parking lot and started letting folks in to get lined up.  That did make for a few sloppy spots in the venue where they had put down fresh mulch in some of the walkways and grassy areas to try and keep down the mud I suppose.  I did have a little deja vu moment when the rain started, as this show was already rescheduled from Tuesday to Thursday while TS Fred was dumping rain on Asheville and caused the tour to get re-arranged.  But the show must (and did) go on. 

The entry process left much to be desired, and this was the first show I attended on this tour where they did NOT screen vax cards or negative tests.  There were noticeably more masks going in than I'd seen in other shows, since NC has an indoor mask mandate, which the venue said applied to the large bar area and the indoor food areas.  But out in the venue itself, it was pretty mask-less other than the oddity that about a third of the folks on the rail wore masks.

NNAMDI opened at 6, with the sun peeking out from the earlier clouds and steaming things up a bit.  He remarked that he usually had a guitar, but due to the wrist injury he got the day the tour started, "y'all just get to watch me wiggle around a lot".  Good set, and seemed that the GA crowd was enjoying it.
Sleater-Kinney came on, and once again the SK faithful were there in force, adding tons of energy to the show and drawing lots of smiles from the band, along with some nice praise from Carrie that they were "the best audience this tour."  She also mentioned that they were in Asheville on Tuesday night (being cancelled), but that tonight was way better.   I can't say enough about how their fans really make a show come alive.

The sun was still up when Wilco came on at 8:25-ish, still steamy and warmed up nicely from the SK set.  Jeff's glasses kept fogging up, and he couldn't really see much for the first song or three.  His guitar tech had to wipe down his glasses with the first couple of guitar swaps, and Jeff even tried taking them off for one song but quickly abandoned that approach.  After his tech cleaned them off the first time, he remarked "hey look at all these people here!".  A couple more quips about the rain earlier that day, and also thanked everyone for coming out for the rescheduled show tonight. 

Again not a ton of banter, but we did get one more song than usual, with Late Greats being the first encore song ("pretend we walked off, you screamed, and we came back") before CaliStars ended at 10:00 sharp.  One little tidbit was before Heavy Metal Drummer.  Jeff was kinda strumming loosely, and speaking some of the lyric lines to the song before Glenn kicked off the actual song.  At the end of that spoken-word prelude, he added "let me tell you about heavy metal drummer and the big beat", a la The Doors "The Wasp (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)".  Interesting to say the least.  He did mention earlier that this was the first time they've played Hummingbird in 19 months or whatever.  A very welcome add, and the audience participation was pretty admirable. 

Kudo's as always to the crew and to Stan running sound.  Apparently they didn't get to sound check due to the earlier rain, but the sound was excellent considering it wasn't the most high-end venue they've ever played.  And there was no backstage area to use for shuffling gear across the three bands, just a tent covered platform stage left.  The crew has really outdone themselves this run, and the rescheduled Asheville show means that they have 5 nights in a row, with ridiculously long driving times in between.  Gonna be a long week for everyone.

As mentioned by bbop, we were once again NovaFree at this show.  I had brought a new "got nova?" sign, sharpie'd in my best copycat "got milk?" font (the phenix american font in case you were wondering).  Not sure if it got through to the foggy-glass lead singer, but like any white sign with black lettering, it did get a "nope" head shake.  Not one to be discouraged, I tried taking my 8' long banner version and taping it onto the stage side of the rail about halfway through the show... didn't even get a head shake on that one.  Sigh. 

I'm off the trail for a while, with no more of the SK/Wilco shows on tap.  Hope to pick back up in Sept with a couple festival dates, then (hopefully) heading out west for most of the October run. 

@bböp, back to you!!

30 minutes ago, jff said:

 

I think much of Chastain's reputation comes from their "season ticket" concerts, in which tables are set up in the pit area, and people are allowed to bring in food, beverages, tablecloths, candles, and whatever else they want.  This attracts people who are there more for a very high end picnic than a concert.   But even when they have no tables or picnic basket shows, like Wilco and other rock shows, the problem persists.  I've seen Neil Young get pissed at the audience and abandon quiet songs half-way through.  A friend told me about seeing people throwing cheese at Jethro Tull.  And even Garrison Keilor had a negative experience.  https://www.ajc.com/blog/buzz/from-the-ajc-archives-when-garrison-keillor-stormed-off-the-stage-chastain-park/oYYcN9ob4rZFbKtqsdvEBO/

 

I'm glad to hear that there weren't those kinds of issues at the Wilco/SK show.

 

I don't mean to suggest it's always like that, though.  I've seen some wonderful shows there with great audiences.

Definitely several talkers near the front (I was in the second row), and I suspect it was way worse in the back.

Also several folks walking across the front "aisle" between the first row and the stage, particularly with the openers. 

I don't think "Reservations" would have been a good experience there.

3 minutes ago, bböp said:

 

Well, sorry your Nova gambits haven't paid dividends so far but I'm sure they were at least mildly amusing.

Really, anything that gets a smile from Jeff is well worth a couple sheets of posterboard, some bigass sharpie ink, and a little hassle here and there.  Maturity has never been my long suit, and I'm of the age where I kinda don't much care if it looks a little fangirl or not. 
Hey are you able to make Asheville now?

I'll admit it.  The older I get, the more "challenging" GA shows get for me.  The long sidewalk waits, the inability to sit down, the trailblazing trips to & from merch/restrooms/refreshments, the lack of personal space.... it's just tougher as the years go by.  But it's still the best way to see Wilco, and I'll take it over a nice cushy theater seat any day. 
As mentioned above, it did rain off and on all day in downtown Nashville, heavy in the early afternoon but not so much later in the day and no lightning or storms really.  Sidewalk time (for our little crew anyway) was mostly sprinkles and drizzly.  A little light rain once we got inside, but the GA pit area is partly covered by the really high stage roof that extends about 10' over the front of the pit area.  So we were all able to stay dry and gaze out over the poncho-attired seated folks behind us.  Nice....

Ascend amphitheater in Nashville is a fairly new venue right at the end of the Broadway street downtown area next to the river.  It has a big concrete pit area, with 20-ish rows of permanent seats on grass behind that, and then a big open grassy lawn area behind that.   The Nashville skyline is visible behind the stage up top.  Between the rail and the stage is a pretty big gap, with several HUGE 5-foot cube speaker cabinets which were NOT under-powered for this show.  Entry was easy, well controlled but not at all police-like, with vaccine cards getting checked before entry including an ID match.  Those of us who wanted to ensure a good rail spot ponied up an extra ten bucks for the "fast path" entry which allowed folks in just ahead of the commoners for the GA pit section.  Mixed feelings on that whole deal, but hey it worked. 

First in line on the sidewalk were a few SK fans, including a few who made the stage rush the night before in ATL.  They migrated to the Carrie side of the rail, leaving the Jeff/John/Pat rail section to us 8 or 10 "usual suspects" from the Wilco camp.  Was nice chatting with them a little, and seeing their enthusiasm as they crammed onto the rail ready to rock. 

I do think GA shows are "kinder" to the openers, especially when it's the Wilco (and now SK) faithful up front who all know how to appreciate good music, especially artists who obviously have the Jeff/Wilco seal of approval.  Nnamdi opened up promptly at 7 to a small but engaged group in the pit and just a few folks out in the seats who were glad that the rain had just slacked off.  A little ways into his set, a fabulous rainbow did appear behind the lawn area, and a very startled Nnamdi commented between songs how amazing it was.  There was even a faint double-bow for a bit.  It faded out between his and SK's set though.  He threw in a new song in the set, one about riding the CTA to get to a flight that got interrupted, causing much anxiety on the part of the rider, which I thought was a really great song.  I suspect that more than one of us on this board have had that happen (myself included on my last Chicago trip for Jeff's final drive-in show!).  But a much more engaged group up front for their set than seated ATL.

The SK RailCrew went bonkers when Carrie, Corin, and band took the stage.  And those big speakers I mentioned just now?  Those were turned up to 11.  We could feel air moving into our chests from the kick drum on those.  It all made for a helluva vibe and everyone, even us old farts on the "wilco side", got into it.  You couldn't help but smile.  Of all of the things on planet earth that I would NOT want to be, being a 19YO girl is way up on that list.  But damn, I'd love to have just a little of what they have when it comes to live music audience energy.  Carrie mentioned about 3-4 songs into the set to their faithful up front: "Can you all come with us the whole tour?"  Stepping off the stage onto one of those big speakers in the final song was just about too much for their fans, and both Carrie and Corin both made a point to climb onto those speakers to hand out picks and setlists to them after the set. 

Wilco took the stage promptly at 9:30, with the Shot/Random Name pair to open, including Mikael (in an all-white "suit" of sorts) on pillow-keys for Shot.  Jeff noted that Nashville was "one of our second hometowns" and how good it was to be back.  And it was!  The crowd was really great through the whole show, making for a most enjoyable evening.  The set had only one newcomer - War on War - but otherwise stuck to the condensed-soup recipe that they've been on for this tour.  The 45-second "encore break" left just enough time for a CaliStars at the end, walking off at 11:00 on the dot.  I think we all miss getting some Being There tunes, especially the usual closers / encores we all love, but I gotta say that "Always in Love" is a damn good set closer. 

Banter Corner was a little better this night (or at least having one less day for me to forget things makes it seem that way).  Jeff noted that Nashville is home for Pat, and that they were dedicating a song to "one of the best storytellers ever", which was Pat's dad.  I think it was If I Ever Was a Child, but don't quote me on that.  On War on War, Pat adds a little glockenspiel to that song, which drew a ton of applause prompting Jeff to say "I had no idea that glockenspiels were that popular in Nashville" and Pat to quip something back that I didn't catch.  Jeff then told the audience something like "well then you'll love this next one cause Pat has a solo!" before launching into Box Full of Letters.  At the end of his full-on rockstar solo for that one, Pat scurried back to his setup to hit a few glockenspiel notes at the end of Box to appease his hometown fans.  Jeff mentioned that was the first time they'd had a glockenspiel on that song... good stuff.  Continuing on the Pat-centric hometown show, Jeff later commented that Pat was the only one who had THREE microphones to sing into, depending on which way he wanted to face.  Pat responded with "I'm a man of many (mysteries)" or something like that.  Jeff then asked "Who do I have to talk to around here to get more mics?". 

Overall a really good, tight, great crowd Wilco show in a pleasant venue in a town that does know its music.  The SK/Wilco pairing seems to make more sense once you've seen a couple shows.  Hope we'll get some collabs eventually, even if they have to start earlier.  Oh, and about the sound levels - the Wilco set was a little less loud than the SK set (which really was up to 11).  Wilco was still louder than I've heard them (maybe ever), but what I'd call "pleasantly loud" and very enjoyable.  I stopped by to see the sound guy Stan afterward and mentioned that it was a little louder than usual up front.  Stan got a very devilish look in his eye and just said "yeahhhhh" - he likes 'em loud. 

On a personal note, no sign of the Nova, and I'm thinking it might be sitting this tour out.  I was able to get a couple of the usual suspects up on the rail to help out with wearing facemasks so that the three of us had "BULL", "BLACK", and "NOVA" in sequence for a song early on.  That got a noticeable chuckle from Jeffie which was fun.  The "FAUCI SAYS PLAY BULL BLACK NOVA" sign also showed up a little later, prompting another headshake that conveyed "no, I don't think so Vince". 

Just one more of these SK/Wilco shows for me - now thankfully Thursday night in Asheville, the delay of which gave me a little time to jot down these meager thoughts here in our little corner of the interwebs, as well as a nice rest for these old bones.  See you at the show.

Cheers!

As this was my first full band Wilco show since Winnipeg last March, I was going to have a grand time no matter what.  And I did!! Though now I have the dubious honor of tea-spilling for a show without a @bböp review... but here goes.
The amphitheater is really a pretty nice place.  Lots of stone rather than just concrete, nestled in a very nice park in one of the (many) desirable neighborhoods in the north Atlanta suburb area.  The fixed seats in rows were spaced really far apart, making walking easy but giving the place a very "splayed out" feel especially toward the back.  The folding chairs connected in long rows in the pit, however, were rather tightly spaced making the pee break / refreshment run folks in the middle having to apologetically climb over those in the outer seats and making pogoing in the pit rather awkward.  But sightlines were good, and the sound was excellent as always. 

The show was reserved seats, which brings with it the good (show up whenever you want, a little personal space, and ease of coming and going) and the bad (TALKERS!, phone gazers, aisle walkers,etc ....).  I always feel sorry for the openers at a reserved seat show, and boy this one was classic.  Nnamdi played to about a 10-15% full crowd with 85% indifference.  Polite applause, but I saw only a handful of folks who were paying much attention.  Sleater-Kinney started while it was still light out, and you could tell that the SK faithful were there, albeit spread out in little pockets around the venue.  Carrie made a great little quip at the front row dudes all sitting down stoic-like for their set, saying "we're so happy yo be playing music again, and we're happy to just meet you where you are right now", and later "the sun will go down soon, I promise".  But their fans, mostly younger women, were there for them, and started dancing their way into the center pit aisle about halfway through the set and eventually made a full-on stage crush right down front.  Security was super chill, just watching them having a blast losing their minds to the music.  I thought it was going to get testy when one of the guards came over to them, but it was just to tell them to get their drinks off the stage and then he wandered back to his post.  Very cool to see that.  I tell ya, the enthusiasm that the SK faithful have for their heroes makes most of us look like wet blankets.  It was a joy to watch and totally infectious (and more on that for the Nashville GA review...).

So then we get Wilco, starting off with that one-two punch of A Shot in the Arm and Random Name Generator.  Definitely a great pair to start the show and carry over a little SK energy. At Least That's What You Said had perhaps the only "quiet" moment of the show during the lyrics, but the explosion of noise and Glenn's drum work got us right back into a rock show.  Kudo's to the lighting team too - no backdrop at all but some really well done lights that made the show come alive at all the right moments for both Wilco and the SK set.  The rest of the Wilco set was tight, enjoyable, and very much a crowd pleasing "hits and faves" shorter set much like the others in this tour. 

If you were hoping for a long, juicy report from Banter Corner, you're out of luck here folks.  With the short set and hard curfew, Jeff didn't spend much time talking.  I don't take notes, and my memory is not exactly in "steel trap" mode any more, but I just don't recall any of the usual Jeffie quips and comebacks this show.  There were a couple of audience shoutouts that got some kind of response, but for the most part Jeff just stuck to singing.  There was one memorable lyric flub at the end when he tried to pander a bit by singing "Atlanta stars" during CaliStars, and then promptly lost all memory of the following lyrics and just kinda stumbled into the refrain, adding later that "you guys know that song?  I don't" before heading off stage.  He definitely had one eye on the big red clock during the whole song, with the band waving goodbye at 11:01 on that one. 

On a more personal note, it's starting to appear that the Nova was left in the Chicago garage this run.  Even my new "FAUCI SAYS PLAY BULL BLACK NOVA" sign failed to get an audible for that one, though it did get an amused head-shake "Nope" from the lead singer, like a pitcher shaking off the pitch signal from the catcher.  Alas.  But in one of the more surreal things that's ever happened to me, no less than SIX of the very kind / southern hospitality security staff asked me "are you Vince?" when they saw me carrying in my sign for the night.  Turns out that someone had tipped them off during the pre-show security meeting that I'd be there with a sign, and that it would be OK for me to bring it in even though the venue policy was no signs over 8x10, since I'm a courteous, well-mannered signguy.  Quite the red carpet treatment!!

Would love to hear from others if there really was any noteworthy banter for the evening... c'mon folks! You can do it !!

Cheers!

 

^ Nice list @DragAssSnag... thanks for that.

 

Donna, we didn't take the trip insurance; just not something I ever do. 

But yes, Dana and I are going.  She's a reluctant attendee for Wilco shows at best, and not a fan of festivals at all.  But when I said "hey honey, would you be interested in going to a beach resort in Mexico this January where people bring you little umbrella drinks all day while I go see Wilco?" there was no hesitation.... so now we're going!!

 

... and all was right with the world again.  Thanks @bböp!!

Vince

11 hours ago, Yaz Rock said:

I'm super happy to be looking forward to actual Solid Sound! I am curious why the switch to Memorial Day Weekend - was anything mentioned about that? I've grown quite fond of the end of June/official Beginning of Summer slot.

Will be interesting to see what the Friday night theme night will be, if anything? Maybe they finally debut a new album in entirety at the festival? They were so close with Star Wars... and that would have blown people's minds too.

I think that rescheduled festival in Europe kinda squashed the regular last weekend in June. Not sure how “binding” those kinds of things are but seems like it wasn’t something they could just abandon. 
 

As for Friday - I love the idea of a new record. Sure seems like the perfect time/place for that. And maybe A.M. all the way through (“where it started / where it is” kinda vibe). 

5 hours ago, bböp said:

Can we all get a shoutout for #TheRecapper ? C’mon, people!

 

Well HELL YES we can!!

"An outstanding job of reportage, diligence, and #justthefacts!"

 - V.C.

That's a helluva ride there.  Glad there's something to look forward to health-wise for you.  Hoping for good news in a couple weeks!

Vince

Which reminds me…. There’s still an IOU from bbop for more info on this last Wilco show. Hmmmmm. 

Always a pleasure to see that bbop hasn't decided to hang up his keyboard and lead a quiet life of vinyl collection after the dearth of live music that we've all had these past months.  And also good to know that this may have been the last drive-in concert I'll ever have to see, though it was a delightful evening. 
I can't say enough about how Macie's violin really filled out some of the songs in the set.  She added some really great textures to a few of the songs, never overplaying anything but definitely making them more "full".  For those of us who have only heard Jeff mostly solo via the Tweedy Show, having that plus the whole band was a very welcome bump for his newer material.  And as was also noted above, the mix and sound was really outstanding.  Stan hasn't missed a beat either; could be the ponytail. 

The setup was just alright.  Toasty stadium parking lot with each car area designated with about a car-sized area next to it for watching the show mask-free.  The whole thing being wedged between a plenty active railroad track and Midway Airport's departure runways made for some poorly placed "cameos" during the show, but the show did go on.  A serviceable taco truck was a good add.  The slightly-cooled mini-cans of Heineken 0.0 provided at the entrance, not so much.  Oh, and the backdrop behind the stage was not exactly the cutting edge we're used to seeing, but rather a generic scrolling star scene that I'm calling "the cheese nebula".  Please come back Jeremy!!

Banter-wise, things were, well, a bit rusty. At one point he sorta went down a banter hole on something random, ran out of what to say, and told us that the showbiz trick to getting out of that hole was to just keep talking.  I don't think he really embraced that advice.  He quoted someone up front who said "just play", and that seemed to get things back on track.  The intro to "Guaranteed" (the often-told one about the original "work of art" line) was apologetically delivered, but the ensuing "no walk in the park" lyric did get its usual chuckle.  But if the banter was sparse and a little wobbly, the smiles-per-hour were at an all time high.  The man certainly seemed to enjoy himself and seeing actual faces along with the cars instead of last time ("it was like playing to a used car lot") with folks all huddled / masked up, mostly behind windshields in their cars on that chilly fall evening.

But for me the highlight of the evening was the encore, which was when a few of the less-shy patrons (myself included, but the real props go to Patty B who instigated things in her won't-take-no-for-an-answer style) made it up to the rail for the encore.  Yes, the RAIL.  A real, honest to goodness concert rail in front of the first row along the width of the stage.  Oh man did it feel good to hang on to that steel bar and sing and smile and clap.  Fortunately, or perhaps facilitated by the band and crew, the security folks who had been quite prevalent throughout the evening had sorta faded out by then, and we were able to enjoy that last segment without interference.  By the end of the encore, I think we may have had 50? people up there, and by the time they closed with Cali Stars (which was not on the printed setlist btw), we were all in full sway and full voice.  It really was a great moment, and Jeff did get a little choked up there, saying how much he missed it all and adding something like "This is my life; I was born for this". 

 

You could tell that we all were more than happy to put this second bookend on the musical void we've all been though.  Jeff's closing comment was "see you sooner rather than later", and I think we'll all hoping to take him up on that offer real soon.

Cheers and see y'all soon,

Vince

This thread needs reincarnation. 
 

oh, and per this topic....Tweedy band. 

16 hours ago, kidsmoke said:

See you there!!! 

HEY THAT'S OUTFUCKINGSTANDING!

 

Booked a single sky terrace today.  Ready to see what this is all about!

 

1 hour ago, sonicshoulder said:

As a proud Kentuckian I have to say I feel your pain. If we make the news it usually not flattering and we are popular punchlines for most jokes relating to illiteracy, obesity and incest. Being said I absolutely love my state and all of its unique areas. We have some of the best scenery in the world, its cheap and people for the most part really look out for each other. I've actually been asked numerous times by visitors or transplants "why is everyone so nice?"...like its offending them that everyone is so nice!!! 

I heartily concur.  It helps that you and I live in the more populated / university-influenced / (dare I say) progressive areas of the state.  There's definitely a lot of great folks all over, but the newsmakers you mentioned out in KY's rural maga-land are very much real.  But we're getting there. 

Definite for SSF.  Highly probable for both.

^   That's a lotta bits to keep up with!! Nicely done...