Jcamp

Happy birthday, Via Chicago !!

Thanks for all the info and entertainment for these last 14 years.

Congrats to Donna and all those who have kept this going.

Joe

My cat O'bama nearly always sits in front of a speaker when I play a Jeff acoustic CD. 

She's doing the same today listening to The Minus 5's Scott the Hoople in the Dungeon of Horror Part II: Of Monkees and Men.

It's as if she like Scott's songs as much as Jeff's..

She's a keeper.

From the rooftop of the chocolate factory at Archer and Lawndale, I've watched the Orange line El trains going to and fro Midway airport roll by completely empty, every time, for a year. Initially, I thought it was a waste of money, to run empty trains. In hindsight, I think it would have been worse not to see the Orange line running at all.  It's nice to see the a couple of train cars sparsely populated in the last week. 

I'll be receiving my 2nd Pfizer shot Monday and it will be great to get out again after this Covid winter and especially as Chicago is getting into full-on Spring weather.

Starting from the distance of my doormat I'd like to get to:

The Windsor Tap ( close to where family and friends walk to), the Copernicus Center ( Gordon Lightfoot is scheduled again on 7/18 ). A Tour of Lake Effect Brewery ( fantastic no frills operation, they brew, amongst many others, SuperBier for SuperDawg).  The Hideout, The Vic,  both a Cubs and Sox game if I can locate/ recognize the new Wrigley Field. 

Fingers crossed, I'm planning on Atlanta, Nashville, Asheville and Richmond  The airfare was/ still might be a steal. And no-cost transferrable. 

Also, I'd be forced into debt with any bay area shows. Including Mt Tam again. And Canada, if my paperwork is in order...

Time to click my heels and go back home and hope for the best.

Things are looking positive. I'm sure the summer gauge will be reset after the Spring Break.  

June Euro Wilco = August Wilco   ... some hotels are not refundable/ transferable ?

What say ye?

Perhaps tuning into another city's local broadcast online occasionally can break the monotony. Chicago's 93 WXRT's Saturday Morning Flashback is great from 9am til noon. It reviews music, movies, current events and often  followed by Johnny Mars at NOON...      Also, Terri Hemmert's  Breakfast with the Beatles is always nice for a Sunday Morning. There's a lot of light looking to break out!..    radio.com can take you to any worthwhile radio.

I hear some co-workers say that there's no way that they'll get vaccinated. It was entertaining to hear Stephen Colbert interviewing Bill Gates. Colbert informing those opposed to vaccination, ' Bill gates can put a chip in me and control my mind. I just want to hug my in-laws again!' ..  LOL

I'm so happy that under the Biden administration vaccine availability has upticked tremendously. Good to see that the United 

center, home of the Bulls and Blackhawks will become a federal-based vaccine location. Through work I'm considered 1B, but landing a vaccine appointment lately has been kike playing the Lotto.       It doesn't help much at all when Cook County announces that it will make available 5000 appointments at noon on Feb 23 and actually make them available at midnight on Feb 24 ..   F*ckin Crook County...  However, and in spite of all these delays, vaccine deployment plans are looking better than ever !!

Typo on the Hideout calendar page!  Nearly made plans for Oct 16...

I can hardly wait to relive this show on Mt Tam.  Great show, beautiful weather and spectacular views of SF bay.  If I remember correctly, couple nice guest appearances and collaborations. And also for a great cause, then and now.

Thanks to ASITA member Ron DeNicolo for sharing a snippet of episode 1 on FB. My first look at the episode I missed!

Well said Isaac and thanks for sharing.

We’ll hold you accountable next summer in North Adams to find more of us irl. Just look for the hugs, that’ll be us.

Vince

Well said, Vince. Certainly hoping for another gathering soon. 

Joe

Thanks for the info!

Who is singing this song? Love it!

Excellent rehash, Diane! Thank you very much!  I am hoping for more Locator than Random Name Generator. 

Jason went on to tell a story about growing up in Evanston. As a teenager, he was with a pal doing donuts in a car on a frozen Lake Michigan inlet. In a few minutes the flashing lights were on them. He said that in 'dick move' the cop took the keys from them and said see you at the police station.  His friend resided only a few blocks away and they simply retrieved the extra set of keys and went home.    

A couple of Jason Narducy side bar after show banter corner moments. Jason had an appx 6 inch scratch on his arm due to a recent bicycle wipe-out. He commented that he replied to a concerned motorist that he did this to get his wife's attention. He said that the concerned motorist said, ' yeah, I do that all the time'. Jason wen't on to say that my elbows are perfectly fine. 

Another banter moment was Jeff recollecting his wedding . He and Sue were married at Lounge Axe. " To describe the man my father was, he went to my wedding knowing that it was in a bar and brought his own cooler of beer".  

A quick stop at banter corner. With Sammy coming onstage to accompany I Know What It's Like, Jeff stated something similar to," this is a spitting image of me as a teenager." Jeff looked at Sammy, smiled and said something to the affect, "Sorry kid, this it where it winds up". Sammy took it in stride to his credit. Spencer and the band were fantastic. 

The Split Single after show was incredible. Much more than I expected. The second floor VFW hall at Canal Shores Golf Course might need to check the structural integrity and/or at least the plaster after this show. An absolutely fantastic show. Evanston is essentially Jason Narducy's hometown. Jason commented that this was the first time an opening band sold 3800 more tickets than they did. Haha!  Regarding playing a VFW venue on a Saturday night, Jason quipped that they picked out the loudest songs to enjoy beers together on a Saturday night.  Ohh, and also, Micheal Shannon  jumped up on stage to sing the second and third songs of the four song encore!  Brilliant!    

It would be difficult to imagine a more perfect summer evening in Evanston. Low humidity and a Lake Michigan breeze. I don't have a set list, but I will say that the band and support were fantastic. OHMME's harmonics at the soundboard were perfect. Something that I noticed tonight that's different from when I first saw TWEEDY at the Pabst Theater is that it was a full band backing Jeff. In lieu of Jeff playing solo acoustic Wilco for the first half of the show.  Tonight's set list was fantastic on it's own merit. All original songs for two hours. James Elkington's guitar was once again brilliant.

As long as I chimed in here: I want to give two shouts out.

Tim Bugbee.  Really nice to meet you as you passed thru Courtyard C post lunch with your son.

John Losaviao.. A long overdue thank you for being so cordial at the Fillmore. Your group made room for Sue Osbourne and myself  in your upper level cubby. It had been a long, beautiful walk from Hardly Strictly Bluesgrass / Golden Gate Park.  Haha, Jeff read the riot act to a Trumpster that night. ..  Joe Campbell

Outside of Wilco concerts, I've only ever met a very small handful of people who even know who Wilco is. As soon as we parked outside our AirBnb and got our bags, an older woman across the street asked "Oh are you here for Wilco?". You know you're in a special place when a random person sitting on a porch in the evening with her dog is asking you about Wilco. 

When we were exploring MassMoCA on Friday afternoon a Solid Sound volunteer stopped us and asked us if we wanted to experience something that I think she described as "an immersive experience". I was about to say "uh, no thanks" but she said "trust me, you want to do this". You can pretty much convince me to do anything if you say "trust me, you want to do this". We were lead into a waiting room, not really still understanding exactly what was going on. We put little booties over our shoes. A woman told us to watch out for a 6 foot drop... uhhh, ok. And then we went into this all white room, with the waiting room still visible behind us. The room started changing colours, though interestingly the colours from our room reflected in the waiting room were different. Every few minutes the colours changed and twice there was strobe lights which were very real. It was surreal!

Anyways, I posted about this on Facebook but everyone I met at SSF was really nice. I met our admin kidsmoke, I met Magnitized, and dagwave. Probably some others of you without even realizing it!

Originally I was thinking this might be our only Solid Sound since it's a bit of an ordeal (and expensive) to get from Winnipeg to North Adams but now I have to go back.

 

Realizing that you have to go back is the first step. See ya next time, Kevin!

There are two dining options. There's the Airport Rooms building and the great room attracted to the main lobby. Two different menus.  We opted for the great room that serviced by the outdoor deck kitchen. The cheeseburgers were top shelf delicious. Being that Wilco had the night off, it was really cool that John took the time to stop by our table and ask everything was good. It was really cool of him to take the time..

Tourists Welcome..  Best ever.  Fully operational for a year and still looking brand new. In fact not all features may not have been online at the Opening?  Tourists is absolutely 100%  gorgeous. And all the the land features including vast acreage of hiking trails and highlighted with a state of the art pedestrian suspension bridge highlight the initial hike.  We booked at the regular Wednesday before the the festival pricing so that saved $.  We opted to check out this landscape a day early, it was otherwise sold-out.  Loved it!

Your performance was fantastic. Natural energy. If Glenn confirms Cloud 10 soo be it!  Congrats on a fantastic performance.  Joe Campbell..