jimjiminy

Louisville was a great show, even though our seats were not great. Nashville, as others can attest, was transcendental. However, I fully admit that I have no basis of comparison since these are the only times I've seen Wilco.

93% of all statistics are made-up on the spot.

Forfty percent of all people know that.

I'll jump in with my $.02. Nels is simply amazing. Having said that, I miss Jay Bennett's solo on "I Got You."

Magazine called Sunset!!!

That was what I requested online for the Ryman show. I don't know why, but it's one of my favorite songs. It's been a while since they've played that live, hasn't it?

Ya know, the Nudie didn't bother me a whole lot on SNL but I didn't love it either. However, it looked amazing last night at the Ryman especially when he'd turn his back to the audience and the sequin rose would light up. I think the Nudie needs to be experienced live in order to fully appreciate the strange and twisted beauty.

wait: so the total pros were there?

That is correct. Simply amazing. Oops. Sarah beat me to it. Well, I'm off to enjoy my spring break by going to the zoo with my wife and kids.

After me and Jenny got our tickets we made a b-line for the merch table. How cool are those hatch prints?

Any chance somebody could make a scan? They were sold out by the time we got there.

And celebrity sightings include- Jason Isbell and Bobby Bare Jr. they were a couple rows behind me in the section to my left.

Ah, so that's who those guys were. Yeah, that entourage looked a little too cool to be just normal fans.

I've seen him windmill! I think it was in Kansas City last fall. With all of his strutting, we refer to him as Baby Jagger.

Yeah, that's about right. Baby Jagger...my buddy's gonna get a kick outta that.

Amazing show. This was only my second time seeing Wilco. I'm certainly a latecomer to the whole Wilco scene but now as a 30-year-old they are the only band that makes me feel as excited about music as I was 15+ years ago. This was my second show at the Ryman and my wife's first. We were in the second to last row, but dead center in section five. Can I just state for the record that the sound was incredible?

Any way, a few personal highlights:

Via Chicago - What an opening. Just spectacular. My wife said this song spooked her when she first heard it in Louisville, but it's really grown on her. We were both surprised that they would open with it, but Wilco certainly asserted their presence on the Ryman stage from the first note.

Blood of the Lamb - I never thought I'd hear this live. The clarinet was breathtaking, although it was a bit quiet in the mix.

Pieholden Suite - Very nice with the horns.

Company in my Back - I wanted to hear this or Hummingbird. I was not disappointed.

Pot Kettle -> Shot - these are the two songs that helped me go from interested listener to dedicated fan. It was amazing to hear everybody singing along to "Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm." After Shot, I leaned over to my wife and said, "It would be great if they played 'She's a Jar' now." And then they did! I about peed myself with excitement.

Hate it Here -> Walken - I enjoyed the SNL performances and I think they work well together. This time Tweedy grabbed his hair with both hands. I couldn't help but laugh at how it looked standing straight up. Again, I amazed my wife by leaning over and saying "Now they're going to play 'Walken.'" "How do you know?" "Oh, by the guitar their bringing out for Tweedy."

As others have mentioned, we all shared a quiet, intimate moment with "Someone Else's Song."

Misunderstood - Tweedy tapped into something that pushed this song to borderline eerie. The ghostly-white spot light on his face - that reminded me of flashlights and campfires - firmly established the atmosphere of the disconcerting message of the song. I can't wait to see/hear this performance again.

Hearing both "The Thanks I Get" and "The Late Greats" was unexpected.

Other highlights:

- I can't remember which song, but Glen starting hitting his sticks together to count in the band and then Jeff would interrupt him and say something into the mic. Jeff did it enough times that the repetition of the action was what drove the comedic moment.

- Pat's guitar strap fell off on Handshake Drugs, I believe. It was great to see the guitar tech come out and fix it...Pat's such a rock star. His usual posing and strutting on I Got You and Monday just added flame to the 70's rock star fire, although I didn't see any Townsend windmills.

- My wife loved how Nels would kick his feet while playing the lap steel. She also commented on his gyrations as he would play with the feedback, swinging his guitar to and fro, in front of the amp.

Well, it was a great show in a great venue with great fans.

But I just can't understand some people. We made our way outside and there was some guy sitting on the steps talking on his cell. He was really upset, telling his friend how horrible the set list was and that the performances were total shite. What? I certainly hope he was talking about some other show because he couldn't possibly have been talking about one of the best concerts I've ever seen.

...I just don't get some people.

I found Hate it Here...well, here.

Hello from a fellow Vandy grad student. I'll be down on the main floor, section 7, row H, seat 9. It'll be my first show at the Ryman, looking forward to it.

Right on, what program are you in? I'm in Spanish and Portuguese. You'd think there'd be more Wilco fans in humanities programs, but so far I've only found a few "appreciators"--pfff, whatever that means. I even try to seek out other fans by wearing that one cartoon Wiilco t-shirt, but honestly, I get more comments about the Trogdor tee.

Had a dream last night about the show. It was outdoors and it started to rain so my wife and I sneaked into a canopy section. Good thing the Ryman has a roof!

My wife and I will be there. This is her first show at the Ryman...she's gonna love it. We're on the floor, 2nd to last row in the back, but direct center. It's been a stressful week but it's spring break at Vandy. This show will be welcome respite from the rigors of grad school.

There are some great suggestions here. I highly recommend Loveless Cafe or Pancake Pantry (a bit overrated) for breakfast. But again, you need wheels. Most visitors like the Hillsboro Village area. There's a great used bookstore down there. Eating around Vandy is affordable. Ken's Sushi or Gnoshville is great for lunch. There is also a solid used record / CD shop near Ken's and Gnosh on Broadway and 21st. I guess I'm a bit burned out from the Vandy area since I teach/study there. San Antonio Taco Co. (or SatCo) is a favorite, but it's nothing to write home about.

I had a buddy that did a lot of singer/songwriter solo shows (a la David Wilcox) and he had a ridiculous set-up, including the Pendulum preamp. (I'm guessing his acoustic rack, pedals, and electronics were worth over $8,000 - chump change to him, he really cashed out on the .com explosion. Too bad his rig was better than his music.) Any way, he let me play around with his set-up a few times and it was amazing.

I have a B-Band pickup system in my Breedlove and I use an L.R. Baggs blender/pre-amp. Here. It gets the job done and is certainly more affordable than a Pendulum setup. Looks like the price has gone up since I bought mine a few years ago. I think I paid $100.

Looks nice, B! Looking at your avatar, I can only think that Duffman is standing there, arms folded, proud of a job well done.

I think the problem with using this analysis with popular music is that we as listeners almost always assume the protaganist of any song sung in the first person is the actual singer of the song and is directly about him or her (which would explain a lot of the discomfort some feel about some of the lyrics on "Summerteeth).

This tends to be the problem with most modern poetry and narrative, in general. I've enjoyed reading your thoughts BWW. Do you have any particular training in literature or are you just a good reader?

...

Any way, Noah, I would have to say Being There is probably not a work of metafiction in the standard sense, although it contains elements of metafiction. "Misunderstood" seems to be the most self-reflective piece, but it is not reflecting on the process of its own creation as a song. However, in that song you have aspects of self-criticism, albeit in the form of a fan singing to the singer. You've provided several examples of intertextuality, which is representative of most post-modern texts and also metafiction.

I hesitate to call the whole album a work of metafiction, but your thesis could be something along the lines of arguing that Being There uses aspects of metafiction to approach the relationship between the reader and the writer (or in this case, the singer and the listener). I don't know if your project needs any theoretical slant, but Roland Barthe's principle of readerly and writerly texts may help. Jeff Tweedy, as an artist, is certainly aware of the mutual process of creation between author/singer and reader/listener.

When I think of metafiction, the following concepts come to mind: self-consciousness; self-reflection on the creative process of the text; the author as protagonist or narrator; mise-en-abyme (texts within texts within texts); intertextualities. Eh...I'm sure there a bunch more, but that may give your approach a bit more meat, you know?

My experience is with Brazilian, Spanish American, and Spanish literature. Metafiction is a longstanding tradition ranging from Don Quixote, to Machado de Assis, to Borges, and contemporary writers. Unfortunately, I've only dealt with issues of metafiction with these traditions, and I'm sure it's treated differently in English language works.

It sounds like a fascinating project. If you do need to have a strong theoretical approach, I can bug some of my colleagues that have studied metafiction more than I. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Wow, this is a tough issue. Personally, I think live vs. studio is apples and oranges. Each format presents new possibilities, advantages, and disadvantages. We also have to consider the differences between a live recording and being at the show. There is a world of difference.

As a part-time musician, I think I would be happy living my days in the studio because I am fickle about my sound. However, there is a rush that comes from live performance. Live Wilco provides an immediacy in their connection with the audience that is difficult to convey in any recorded medium, although they certainly create emotionally captivating records. Take "A Shot in the Arm," for example. I love listening to that song when it's just Tweedy and an acoustic as well as the Summerteeth demo version, the album version, and various live iterations. It's a great song, and ultimately it doesn't matter how the song is presented, I still connect with the music on that emotional level.

I'm grateful Wilco provides us with so many different ways through which we can connect with their music.

. . . and the acoustics in there have been compared to those of The Morman Tabernacle (seriously!).

I am originally from Utah and I can testify that this is true. Amen.

Rock on!!!

At first I couldn't pull two tickets together. I kept trying for another single ticket...I just pulled one and it is RIGHT NEXT TO THE FIRST! I guess the wife will be going. Now I just need to see if Ticketbastard will combine the two orders into one shipping order.

The password is 'skyblue' and not 'bluesky.' Confusing, I know.

Any way, I pulled one ticket on the floor. Not great, but not bad either. Section 5, Row W. But hey, there ain't a bad seat in the Ryman. Well, except maybe those obstructed view seats.

This is great. Thanks so much. I really enjoy the Jeff & Jay recordings out there and I didn't have this one.

full DVD here:http://www.bootcity.org/showthread.php?t=20414

Yes people, head there. Free membership. Awesome torrents. I just pulled the torrent but I won't be able to watch until I get home later this evening. When I checked an hour ago, there were 22 seeders. Get it while its hot and before seeders start to drop out.

ACL is now available over at bootcity.org. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before it makes it to other trackers. Of course you can't beat a JHamm DVD. I just thought I'd let people know it's there.

EDIT: Meaning the DVD over on bootcity (tapecity) is NOT the JHamm DVD.

That is kinda a shame, was looking forward to hearing a soundboard pull form this show.

 

Those who have downloaded both audience recordings, is there one you prefer?? I got the first one that was up, the schoeps source, but have not downloaded this one: http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=509758

should I? Love the schoeps source btw

I prefer the first source, but honestly the second is also very good. It's just that the first source is so amazingly clear. The kick drum is crisp and the bass is full but not boomy. I have rarely heard an audience recording sound so good. I think the combination of excellent equipment, placement, and the fact that it was an open-air show made both of the audience recordings fantastic. What it comes down to for me is that the first source faired better in my 'mastering' process I usually put shows through. I usually keep my remastering jobs for personal use but maybe I'll post a song or two and if there is enough interest I could send out a few copies.

Rats. Well, I'm a patient man. These things have a way of showing up even if it is years down the road. Until then I will enjoy the two amazing audience recordings of this show. Thanks for trying any way.

Nice. I would love to give it a listen and see if I could make a decent matrix mix of the broadcast and the audience recording. PM if I can help in any way.