jwelsh8

Fwiw, Jeff Tweedy is just about ready to talk on WNYC's Soundcheck:

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/episodes/2007/06/26

If you miss the live stream, I am sure you can listen to the archive. Enjoy!

pretty good show...probably the worst Wilco show i've been to but that is by no means a bad thing. i agree the crowd didnt really seem to be into it and the set list was pretty run of the mill...i was hoping for some surprises. solid show none the less.

I found the Poor Places > Spiders (Kidsmoke) to be a bit of a surprise. Looking back at some setlists from this year, it seems like that is a common segue, but has appeared mostly in encores, not to close the set.

Either way, it was the highlight for me.

DEAD crowd. The band was just going thru the motions. Red Bank energy was so much better. Too many people tonight were there to be seen vs seeing the band. Typical pretentious hipster crowd. How many people were going to get drinks, bathroom, talking, etc. UGH

While there certainly were people heading back and forth for drinks near us, I actually found everyone around me paying attention, singing when asked, and bobbing their heads almost as much as I was. We were on the floor, just left of center, almost in line with the proscenium.

I will agree, though, that the energy in Red Bank certainly was better. There was much more enthusiasm Friday night., that is for sure. I just wasn't surrounded by the hipsters as you seemed to be tonight . . .

Another great show this evening. A nice pair with New Jersey, actually. No Theologians or Ashes of American Flags (with the great Nels solo), but we got a Via Chicago and an amazing Poor Places > Spiders (Kidsmoke) to close out the set. That segue was probably the highlight of the night for me -- the drawing out of the end of Poor Places went smoothly into Spiders, which was long and gritty just as I like it. The Impossible Germany and Sky Blue Sky to start the first encore also made me smile.

I was quite happy that they mixed up the setlist, even if they were playing the same songs. It made it that much more enjoyable for those of us seeing more than one of the New York-area shows. (If I was to offer a complaint, it would be the similarity of the second encore with that of Friday night's.)

Wilco

06.22.07

Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, New Jersey

One Set:

Side with the Seeds, You are My Face, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Kamera, Handshake Drugs, Shot In the Arm, Impossible Germany, Sky Blue Sky, Shake It Off, War On War, Jesus etc., Theologians*, Hate It Here, Acuff-Rose**

Encore 1:

Walken, I'm the Man Who Loves You, Hummingbird, Ashes of American Flags, Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Encore 2:

California Stars, Heavy Metal Drummer, Late Greats, I'm Always In Love, I'm a Wheel

Notes:

* false start; Nels wasn't ready

** mic problems after Hate It Here; everyone left the stage, and Jeff came back with an acoustic and played Acuff Rose unmic'd from the lip of the stage

I wanted to say that everything about last night was just about perfect. Even sitting in the next-to last row in the Count Basie Theatre could dampen our enjoyment of last night's show (it actually sounded just about perfect back there; Nels and Glenn could have been a little louder, but Jeff's lyrics and acoustic were crystal clear). We took the ferry from Pier 11 with my old friend Amy to Red Bank, where she lives; we ate a nice dinner at this pizza place in "downtown," and Laura and I made it to our seats just as the lights went down.

The Count Basie Theatre is a nice old theater that has underwent a bit of renovation. It was pretty basic, with seats on the floor and the balcony. Just two levels, and you get to your balcony seats from the bottom. Halfway through the show, Laura and I turned to each other and agreed that the crowd was wonderfully enthusiastic. Laura described the feeling as being in a B'roo tent. It had that sort of energy. And the old walls of the theater cast a great, warm sound throughout the room.

The performance was great. Banter was limited but well timed, as Jeff is known for. Nels is incredibly entertaining to watch, kicking his short-pants and over-sized shoes up in the air, switching from electric to lap steel. I hung on just about every one of his solos. Stirratt and Kotche are quite good at rhythm, and the two keyboardists worked well together. (What are their names? Is one Pat Sansone?) The one on the right would alternate between keys and guitar, and when he joined the other guitarists, he made a point of vamping it up with the best of them.

One of the first highlights the heated guitars at the end of Handshake Drugs; a nice little build. I called the Impossible Germany out of Shot In the Arm; my favorite song on Sky Blue Sky, Germany was great. Nels seemed to start the solo a bit early and just rocked it through while Jeff and the other guitarist kept repeating the riff. Jesus etc. is one of my favorite songs ever -- I sang along, at the request of Jeff, with my eyes closed, just soaking it in. And I kept smiling as it was followed by Theologians (which had a false start as Nels didn't put his lap steel down fast enough). At one point in the night, Jeff had a slight problem with his guitar. A few songs later, he had a problem with his mic. This led everyone to leave the stage early, it seemed; soon, Jeff came back with an acoustic and perched himself on the edge of the stage to sing a wonderful Acuff-Rose; with each chorus, the crowd would erupt into cheers only to be silenced with a barrage of Shhhhs. Never the less, it was a great way to end the set.

The highlight of the first encore had to be the last two songs. Nels best solo of the evening came during Ashes of American Flags. It was the longest, the most patient, with this great tone to his guitar. It seemed that at least once Jeff tried to bring everyone to a close with his acoustic and Nels just kept going. This was followed by a ten-minute long Spiders, complete with crowd participation in the form of clapping that sped up right into Glenn bringing the song to a close. The second encore was just icing on the cake; not really my favorite songs, but who was I to complain.

Such a perfect way to spend a beautiful Friday evening. I remember not really paying much attention Wilco until Yankee Hotel Foxtrot came out -- how quickly opinions change, as these past three albums and the subsequent live performances that I have heard are just about perfect. Thanks, Wilco. And I am excited to be able to do it again on Monday night here in Manhattan at the Hammerstein. (Here's to hoping for a Company In My Back or Muzzle of Bees.)