eckythump

Ah yes summer noon my mistake! Was clearly going through the audio recording too quickly. Wilcos Facebook people must have used this because they're missing it too. I have updated my original post. Sorry internet

Tweedy

Hazel

Fake Fur Coat

Diamond Light

Flowering

Summer Noon

World Away

New Moon

Love Like A Wire (Diane Izzo cover)

Low Key

Jeff Solo

Laminated Cat

Normal American Kids

New Madrid

Remember The Mountain Bed

Born Alone

A Shot In The Arm

"I've got a couple of things to say before I bring everybody back out. One is, I went to see Jonathan Richman and he talked about going to a truck stop somewhere and seeing a sign in the truck stop that said 'everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about, so be kind always'. And I did a little research, apparently Plato said that first, and people keep saying it over time and for a long time that phrase has been coming up and we need to keep telling each other that because we still haven't gotten good at it. There's a lot of things in this world that are really upsetting to me right now, but it's also made me try to be kinder than I've ever been in my life, and if that can translate into that, I know we're going to be better than ever soon, so be kind always, be kind to everybody, try and understand they're fighting a battle that you know nothing about. Alright, having said that, I really hate Trump ok. He's not even worth mentioning, he's a sick old man. But anyway, what I really wanted to say is how kind I am, how friendly I am. There's actually one other thing I wanted to say and it shouldn't be the last thing said at this festival but once again there are so many people that make this thing an incredibly special event, and there are way too many people to mention that I would trust my feeble brain to remember to thank but Mass Moca for sure deserves a round of applause, everybody in our crew, Tony Magarhita management, all of the vendors, all of the volunteers, the city of North Adams. I've been to a lot of festivals, and I know that I'm biased, but I love this festival and i'm happy that we get to share this with each other. What I was saying last night about inspiring each other, that's the thing that always reminds me of when I see my band mates, other bands and other things that happen here is that is the greatest gift in my life that I've managed to be in a band with a bunch of guys that inspire me, and make music that inspires me, and I think that's a good thing to share with the world, that we can all do that for each other. I certainly feel very fortunate to have that. So thank you everybody, and now we're going to bring everybody back out and sing a song all about it"

Tweedy

Friendship (Pop Staples cover, Sima Cunningham on lead vocals, with Kacy from Kacy and Clayton on backing vocals)

Only The Lord Knows (Mavis Staples cover)

The Losing End (Neil Young cover)

Military Madness (Graham Nash cover, Sammy Tweedy on lead vocals, with Julian Lage on guitar)

California Stars (ensemble featuring Nels Cline, Mikael Jorgensen, John Stirratt, Kacy and Clayton)

Give Back The Key To My Heart (Doug Sahm cover, ensemble featuring those above plus Pat Sansone, Glenn Kotche, Julian Lage)

Encore

I Shall Be Released (Bob Dylan/The Band cover, ensemble with all previous and Sammy Tweedy)

What a fun and incredible way to end 3 days of an amazing festival. I'll write some more later, hoping others there share their thoughts as well. If a recording doesn't surface in the meantime, I recorded it and it sounds really good, and will share it when I'm back in Australia next week.

Nice user name - does a certain episode of The Goodies mean anything to you?

Indeed it does

Thanks! I forgot to mention I also recorded the show, it sounds really good so I will share it in the usual places when I get home in a few weeks time.

Also forgot to mention just how good the sound was. I've never heard bad sound at a Wilco show, their sound guy is the best in the business, but the theatre acoustics as well as my seat didn't hurt either

The setlist has been published elsewhere, but here it is again:

Normal American Kids
If I Ever Was A Child
Cry All Day
Ashes of American Flags
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Art of Almost
Pickled Ginger
Misunderstood
Someone to Lose
Via Chicago
Bull Black Nova
Reservations
Impossible Germany
Someday Soon

Box Full of Letters
I'm Always In Love

Heavy Metal Drummer (roar from the crowd when Glenn twirled his sticks, leading Jeff to wave his finger at the crowd in a 'don't encourage him' joking manner)
I'm the Man Who Loves You (Glenn again standing on his stool, clearly practising for Solid Sound)
Hummingbird
The Late Greats

Encore 1:

Can't Stand It (erroneously listed as the final song of the main set on the Wilco facebook page)

Random Name Generator

Jesus, Etc. (Jeff let the crowd do most of the singing)
Locator
Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Encore 2:

Monday
Outtasite (Outta Mind)

Onto my review - firstly the preamble of my time leading up to this show. For those who just want the show review skip to the next paragraph Some background to set the scene, I'm currently visiting the US from Australia, primarily for Solid Sound, but also taking in some other cities. I had all my plans already booked when Wilco announced this run of pre-Solid Sound shows. My flights were booked and cities locked in. The thought of seeing Wilco again prior to Solid Sound was too great though, so I changed my plans, sliced off a day in LA, re-booked flights and hotels and got a ticket in the presale for Rockford. Fast forward to this week and I arrived in the US on Monday, with my new plan to fly to Chicago early Wednesday morning from LA after going to see the Yankees play the Angels the previous night (which went into extra innings and created an extra late night). So the day of the show began for me waking up at 4am for a flight my flight to Chicago. Upon arriving at Midway I rented a car and proceeded to drive to Rockford. There were possible storms forecast which I was hoping I'd beat. Unfortunately I got caught mid way between Chicago and Rockford in a torrential thunderstorm, lightning and thunder surrounding my rental, torrential rain, and traffic whizzing past me at over 80mph in conditions I couldn't see 50 feet in front of me! Anyway, nerves frayed, I finally made it to my hotel in Rockford around 4pm, about an hour later than planned thanks to the weather and a highway that appears to have eternal roadworks slowing down traffic to a crawl.

Rather than risk fraying my nerves further, I caught an uber to the venue, to be greeted by a block party outside the venue in full swing, street closed off, food, drink, music all happening. By this stage the weather had thankfully cleared, so I grabbed a burger and a drink, and started chatting to a couple from Texas who were sorely disappointed when they found out they had lost the who travelled further for a Wilco show competition. Upon entering the theatre my jaw dropped - I'd seen photos and the venue was partly why I chose this show to attend, but it is a stunning venue. A 1920's fully restored theatre, it's simply stunning. I told one of the usher's what a beautiful theatre it was, who seemed more impressed someone from Australia was in Rockford. I bought what was a fantastic poster from the merch table, then went to my seat. Not long after the openers Kacy and Clayton took to the stage. I had heard some of their tunes on Spotify, so was familiar with their style and some of their music. I really liked them, a indy folkie kind of duo (though there were 4 of them on stage), and presumably to drum up record sales, we were told their new album is out in August produced by Mr Tweedy, but they have advanced copies for sale. I wish I had bought one in hindsight, hoping they sell them at Solid Sound as well as I really liked them.

Now onto the main act! Wilco took the stage at 8:30pm sharp, which seemed to catch a lot of people off guard who were either still out in the foyer talking or standing somewhere else other than their seat talking to friends. This then led to many people scrambling to find their seat in the dark during the opener Normal American Kids. The roar when the band took the stage was very loud, so I had a good feeling we'd get a great show. Once every one had finally settled in to their seats, Ashes of American Flags then started to get a few down the front standing, but that created somewhat of the eternal standing/sitting issue in a theatre. Some people wanted to stand, some wanted to sit. I was in row K in the centre, and everyone around me, and in the few rows in front, sat. Others further down stood. Being a very tall person, I didn't want to stand unless the consensus around me was to stand. So I sat until I thought during Box Full Of Letters 'I didn't fly half way around the world to sit and not see the full show!'. So I stood. And felt a bit awkward. But then once HMD started, the entire crowd stood, and stayed standing for the rest of the show. And the crowd all of a sudden threw off its inhibitions and let loose! It was a truly electrifying crowd, and a stark contrast to the half standing/half sitting first part of the show. Jeff clearly sensed the energy in the room, and seemed very appreciative of the crowd, even before everyone stood.

Banter wise there wasn't a whole lot in the first half of the show, it was just song after song. Before Someone to Lose someone called out to Jeff to say something, and I saw Jeff mouth something like he doesn't have to say anything. Finally after a very unexpected but fun Someday Soon, he finally spoke "we played here once before, I think in '97. I love river towns, I grew up in a river town. I think we played this once last time, this is from our first record, apologies if we're repeating songs". Before HMD "we've been playing outside for the past couple of weeks, I like it a lot better inside. You guys are here you're present you're not in lawn chairs you're not tossing beach balls back and forth, no bugs. But seriously you guys are a great audience thank you so much. And i'm gonna point out that Wilco is not a band that will pander and tell an audience they're good when they're not. We've told audiences all over the world they're not very... they're ok. And that they're like a Monday night audience not like this Wednesday night audience that is a full on Saturday audience! Totally not pandering! I'm not! Alright, we can start the song now, pretty sure. I think i'm done. Are we good?

I'm currently sitting on a Southwest Airlines flight from LA on my way to the Rockford show tonight (via Chicago, sorry couldn't resist). If anyone going tonight would like to say hello to a probably very tired Aussie I'm sitting in orchestra 2 seat K8 please say hi! I'm tall and wear glasses so you probably won't miss me

I got my Rockford ticket today, and it traveled all the way to Australia. Just over a month to go!

I got row K in the center orchestra for the Rockford IL show so i'm happy with that.

What i'm not thrilled about is because I live in Australia the only option available to me was FedEx ticket delivery, which cost more than the ticket itself at $50! 

So a $48 ticket became $105 for me. But of course i'm going to pay it when the clock is ticking and I want to go. (side note - to see Wilco in Australia would probably cost that much anyway!)

If anyone from the band or Songkick reads this, please make will call an option so overseas buyers can avoid this ridiculous fee!

The promo has now been activated, if you spend $50 or more you get a free mystery t-shirt. I bit the bullet and ordered 2 t-shirts, because you know I only have about 500 Wilco t-shirts already. Excited to find out what they send me!

Wow that really sucks that people can be so rude. Surely the venue staff should have ejected them? That would have been so frustrating.

On the plus side, at least you got to hear Normal American Kids again after us trying to figure out what it was at Todos Santos

Given I won last year I thought I should defend my title. Gonna need a few more teams!

Posted by my friend Koji on his facebook page, I'm not sure if he's on here or not (thanks Koji if you are!)

More...

Random Name Generator

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Art Of Almost

Locator (debut performance)

Pickled Ginger

Hummingbird

Handshake Drugs

Cold Slope>

King Of You

Via Chicago

Spiders (Kidsmoke) (electric arrangement)

Heavy Metal Drummer

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Impossible Germany

On the setlist but not played:

Late Greats

I'm A Wheel

Thank you! At the 48 minute mark you can hear Courtney Barnett join them for Queen Bitch, so cool to have a recording of this! 

Great recap and so awesome Jeff played Cry All Day as your request! I'd like to think it was me who got the ball rolling on that one, you wouldn't have known to request it if it weren't on the setlist at Todos Santos I hope a Roadcase gets released!

Great report! Looks like even Jeff is sick of seeing Spiders on the setlist and not playing it now

After getting my setlist from this show signed by Jeff in Sydney last week, I asked him about the song 'Cry All Day' that was on the setlist. Jeff confirmed it was a new song that will be on the next record. I didn't get time to ask whether it was a Tweedy or Wilco record, but given Jeff has talked about the new Wilco record being done, I can only assume it will be on that.

Again I wasn't there, though I wish I was! Bluesfest attracts a lot of top quality acts, which is possibly why the Tweedy shows in other cities didn't sell out, we're spoilt for choice when it comes to live music this time of the year.

Review and some great pics of the show here http://13thfloor.co.nz/reviews/concert-reviews/tweedy-powerstation-march-27-2016/

I wasn't there, just reporting the setlist:

Hazel

Fake Fur Coat

Diamond Light Pt 1

Flowering

Summer Noon

World Away

New Moon

Love Like A Wire (Diane Izzo)

Low Key

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

New Madrid

Remember The Mountain Bed

Hummingbird

Born Alone

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Only The Lord Knows (Mavis Staples)

Losing End (Neil Young)

California Stars

Have they ever performed Please Don't Let Me Be So Understood before this?

According to this link http://www.setlist.fm/stats/jeff-tweedy-3bd698b4.html it was played 6 times in 2014, so these latest performances take the total to 8 times. Not exactly a setlist regular

Tweedy set:

Hazel
Fake Fur Coat
Diamond Light Pt. 1
Flowering
Summer Noon
World Away
New Moon
High As Hello
Wait For Love
Love Like a Wire (Diane Izzo cover)
Low Key
Nobody Dies Anymore

Jeff solo:

Via Chicago

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Remember the Mountain Bed
Lost Love [Golden Smog]*
New Madrid [uncle Tupelo]
Please Tell My Brother [Golden Smog] *
Hummingbird
Either Way [request for BT - tour promoter extraordinaire]*
Jesus, Etc.
I'm the Man Who Loves You
A Shot in the Arm

Tweedy band returns:

Please Don't Let Me Be So Understood
Only The Lord Knows (Mavis Staples cover)

Encore:
Losing End (Neil Young Cover)
Give Back The Key To My Heart (Doug Sahm Cover)
California Stars (w/ Jody Stephens and Luther Russell)
Five Years (David Bowie Cover)
Queen Bitch (David Bowie Cover)

* Not on printed setlist

Also New Madrid was on the setlist before Mountain Bed.

On the setlist but not played: One Wing, Spiders (3 nights running!), Born Alone and Passenger Side

One word can sum up this show: Wow! This show was a complete turn around from the previous 2 nights, which while awesome, suffered from what I like to call "sit down syndrome", an affliction that affects Australian audiences who become polite clapping shy creatures when presented with a chair. Put those same people in a large room with a bar and force them to stand, and they become very different people, talkative, loud, and in the mood for a sing along. This is what happened in Sydney last night. The Factory Theatre is basically a large room with 800 capacity (frustratingly nowhere near sold out last night) in a suburban area 10 minutes out of the city (or 30 in rush hour!). The crowd, while not at capacity, was up for it last night, and Jeff responded in a big way, looking very gracious at the loud cheers many songs received, and appreciated the respectful singalongs during the solo set. There was some great banter, most notably a running joke through the set of how many waltzes there were, which upon the many odd responses this solicited, none more odd than someone in the crowd singing The Doors Hello I Love You, which got a very strange puzzled look from Spencer and Jeff, who quickly replied back 'that's not a waltz where we come from!'. Other highlights early in the set - a man with his toddler coming to the front during Summer Noon and bopping along, before Jeff giving the toddler a high 5 at the end of the song, after which said gentleman and toddler retreated to the back again.

With a more raucous crowd also comes the occasional moron, with one person who thought it was his job to provide a running commentary after each song about whether he liked said song, which Jeff promptly shut down at one point calling him out for his 'general assholery', upon which said heckler questioned the validity of said word, which Jeff again shutdown to much laughter from the crowd. Pro tip - don't heckle Jeff, you'll never win! There was also the occasional talking during some of the songs (the slower Tweedy ones especially), and a few annoying photos taken with flash during Jeff's solo set, but overall everyone was pretty well behaved.

Some great singing from the crowd during Jeff's solo set, quiet when it needed to be and loud at other times when warranted. You could see Jeff was really happy, and thanked the crowd for singing along. It's so much easier to sing along with a standing up crowd than when you're all seated in plush seats. Well, it is for us Aussies anyway!

So we got to the encore and I knew Jeff was having a great time when this time the entire printed encore got played, including the previously skipped Give Back The Key to My Heart, and we got both Bowie covers, despite there being no Courtney Barnett tonight (sorry Pitchfork). Jody Stephens (of Big Star fame), and Luther Russell, who were supporting under their new band Those Pretty Wrongs, then came out and joined the band for California Stars, Jody on tamborine, and Luther playing keys. I really enjoyed their set as well, great acoustic guitar pop harmonies, which personally I can't get enough of. And to top it off, they're the nicest people you could ever meet. The Bowie covers then closed the night, and Jeff and band nailed them. Five Years in particular was really powerful, with the big crescendo of belting out 'Five Years' being particularly effective. And Queen Bitch was such a fun way to close the night. RIP Bowie.

As a bit of a precursor to this show, let me explain how my day went leading up to this night: I flew up from Melbourne for this show with my girlfriend, and I booked us on a 12pm flight up to Sydney. Purely coincidental, we got to check in and there's the whole Tweedy family a few rows in front of us in the line. I was wearing my 2016 Todos Santos t-shirt at that point, which according to my girlfriend Jeff certainly saw and looked me up and down. I was feeling too awkward at that point to really look back! And as I'm a Virgin Australia (the airline we were on) club member, we then went into the lounge, and who else should also be there, but the Tweedy clan. We let them be and sat in a different part of the lounge. And then at the boarding gate the entire Tweedy crew was there. It was a little surreal! 

Cut now to after the show, and I hung around afterwards and managed to get Jeff to sign a few things and got a photo with him which was really cool. And then a few of us got a taxi back to the city to our respective hotels, and who should be driving alongside us, but the Tweedy van. We waved as they went past, and Spencer gave a friendly wave back to us. It was such a surreal awesome night!

So that's now the end of my 3 Tweedy shows in 3 days, all quite unique experiences in their own way. Sydney was definitely my favourite of the 3, just because of the better crowd interaction and you knew Jeff was enjoying himself more. But they were all awesome. Now I just hope it doesn't take Wilco 4-5 years to get back to Australia!

Here's video I recorded of Queen Bitch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CatoaRCZD4M

So so awesome that Courtney joined them for Queen Bitch! Wow! No video of that, I guess? Did they split the vocals or did CB mostly sing? Whatever the case, that must have ruled.

 

Sounds like you guys are getting a re-energized Tweedy band, which is great. They all really love playing together, I think, and probably cherish the times that they get to do so. Wonder if there will be a different Bowie cover every night...haha! Probably not, but one can hope. Too bad you were only lukewarm on Those Pretty Wrongs. Jody is one of the nicest, most generous musicians around and I've been hoping to see this new project. I always wonder if Big Star is as highly regarded outside of the U.S. and the U.K. I know TPW are not Big Star by any stretch, but I guess I just wonder if that legacy is as pervasive among the music diehards as it is here.

 

Anyway, thanks for the detailed reports thus far, guys!

They shared the vocals, taking turns with verses. I wish I'd taken my camera last night to record it, but the Recital Centre is notorious for being camera nazis, so with the expectation we'd get a repeat of Five Years and already capturing it the previous night, I left the camera at home. Of course, before the show started they actually announced taking photos was permitted! Clearly there's been a change in policy because I've been to many shows there where even the siting of a phone or a camera would result in a high powered flashlight being shone in your face.

I really enjoyed Those Pretty Wrongs. Awesome acoustic pop melodies, which is my thing. And of course a great version of Thirteen to close out their set didn't hurt

[Tweedy set:]

Hazel

Fake Fur Coat

Diamond Light

Flowering

Honeycombed

Summer Noon

World Away

New Moon

High as Hello

Wait For Love (Jeff said this was about abstinence after hearing a crying baby somewhere down the back of the venue, then after said he was only kidding)

Love Like A Wire

Low Key

Nobody Dies Anymore

[Jeff solo set]

Via Chicago

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

New Madrid

Remember The Mountain Bed

Hummingbird

Born Alone

Jesus etc

I'm The Man

Passenger Side

A Shot In The Arm

[Tweedy band rejoin at this point:]

Please Don't Let Me Be So Understood

Only The Lord Knows

Encore:

The Losing End 

California Stars

Queen Bitch (Bowie cover, w/ Courtney Barnett)

Also on the setlist but not played: One Wing after IATTBYH, Spiders after Hummingbird, Give Back The Key To My Heart after the Losing End, and Five Years (maybe they figured my youtube video was enough!)

Ok I'm now home from Meeniyan and have some time to share my thoughts:

Firstly, Meeniyan is a tiny, but lovely town. As you drive in, a sign informs you the population of the town is 645. The town hall holds 300 people. The region is well known for its art galleries, gourmet food, antiques, and being somewhat quirky. The venue hosts a lot of live music, from well known Australian acts to large international acts as well (past shows there included the likes of Calexico, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, and Jason Isbell, to name but a few). The shows always sell out. It only holds 300 people, who sit around rectangular tables seating 8-10 people. Locals bring in their own alcohol, food, and treat it like a picnic basically. And everyone shuts up and listens to the music and respects the artists. It's an awesome place to see a performer. If you ever get down to Australia, put seeing a show at Meeniyan on your list of things to do.

So onto the show. With no support act, the band walked on around 8:15pm to great applause, and played through a bunch of Tweedy songs, as well as their cover of Love Like a Wire, which I really love. It was a pretty standard set for those familiar with Tweedy sets. You wouldn't have known the band hadn't played together since the middle of last year though, they were very tight, and clearly had been rehearsing a lot at the Loft. You expect that from Jeff anyway, being the perfectionist that he is.

The solo set started to loosen up Jeff a bit, with a bit of banter back and forth with the audience. He deviated from the printed setlist, aftrer Hummingbird there was Spiders, Born Alone and Jesus Etc, none of which he played, instead choosing Lost Love (such a great song, probably lost on most people but no doubt they still loved it), and then Hate It Here as a request from someone who yelled it out, before resuming with the setlist again with Radio King. Jeff called it a night after ITMWLY, leaving off A Shot In The Arm which closed the printed setlist, and that's where things got a little weird.

What happened was Jeff left the stage really quickly, and pretty much everyone, myself included, didn't really realise he bolted off the stage, so everyone was thinking he and the band were about to play some more songs, just started talking and didn't really cheer for an encore because we didn't actually realise we were in the encore break! Jeff and band then came back out, looking a bit miffed, saying 'we thought we'd play a few more for you if you don't mind', clearly thinking no one was really interested in seeing any more, which couldn't have been further from the truth - up until this point every song had been loudly cheered and clapped. So they played Only The Lord Knows, The Losing End, and closed with California Stars, leaving out Key To My Heart which was on the list after the Losing End, and also leaving off Bowie's Five Years, which I had heard standing outside while they were soundchecking, and just knew we had to get this song. So after California Stars, they walk off, after which everyone realising this was a proper encore break, cheered, clapped and stamped their feet for more. So we managed to coax them back out for a second encore, with Jeff saying something like 'that's better, we didnt think you wanted anymore', to which someone said 'we didn't realise you'd gone off for the encore!', to which Jeff replied 'I'd been playing for 1 hour and 45 minutes I thought that was enough!'. In his defense I was a little puzzled why no one cheered when he went off, but it was such a sudden exit it really didn't seem like it was the encore break. We then got an amazing cover of David Bowie's Five Years, which I videoed, link below!

Some witty banter from Jeff through the show, saying how happy he was to come back to Australia, they recorded the album about 18 months ago and toured everywhere but Australia with it, and now there's a new Wilco record out, but not to worry Wilco will make it back here... in about 4 or 5 years time (hoping he was kidding!). He said how the whole family was down, and how happy he was for Sue to be here with him for the first time to Australia (I believe this is Spencer's first time as well). Everyone seemed to be having a great time, and you wouldn't have known this was their first show together for some time, they were very tight. 

So now onto Melbourne tonight, and Sydney tomorrow night. Bring it on!

Here's the video I took of their cover of Five Years. It was awesome!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx5dZBhNY4M&feature=youtu.be

Hmm froggie that's Darryl White not David. And now we're friend on Facebook too

Five Years was played as a second encore to be precise as well. I'll write up a detailed report later!