choo-choo-charlie

My older brother gave me a burned copy of the final show from Mississippi Nights. I didn’t get into it immediately. Put in my book of 500 CDs and forgot about it until several years later when I discovered Wilco. Then I remembered the old Uncle Tupelo CD I’d stashed away...

I have it, too. I have enjoyed other Wilco books much more.

That’s what I’ve heard too. I’ll probably pass.

Welcome! IATTBYH is a classic. Most days, Misunderstood is my favorite Wilco track. Hope you find this place helpful and welcoming.

 

I was at this show, and I didn't catch this in person, but on Reservations, does he sing:

 

"How can I get closer and be further away

From the truth that proves it's beautiful to love"

 

Instead of "lie"

 

Am I just mishearing it? Did he just goof up? Was it intentional? If so, how long has he been changing that lyric? I don't think I've ever heard him sing it that way before.

Interesting! The lyric on record is definitely “lie.” One or his many classic lines about the challenges of real, honest human communication.

I’ve been a Wilco fan for about 15 years now, and I can’t recall when it became super important for us to analyze and critique setlist variety. I’m just grateful when I can catch a show regardless of what they play, because it’s a great rock show every time.

Caught 2-3 portions of songs on the Radio.com webcast but gave up after the connection kept freezing, timing out and playing choppy. Very much a frustrating listening experience but hopefully it’ll turn up on the Roadcase or in the Nugs.net catalog.

Grab all of Jeff’s solo shows recorded at Lounge Ax in the 1990s. Terrific banter, not to mention hearing Jeff try out songs in progress, test/develop his growing body of material and engage in the audience in a low-pressure environment. They’re all in the Wilco Live Show Archive.

Listening to the Filmore show right now. 4 piece Wilco was such a strange time period for the band but I love these arrangements. Was this when Mikael was doing some stuff off stage for the band??

He was offstage or hidden deep in the stage plot starting in 2002, and by 2003 was in the regular stage set. In fall 2001 it was Wilco the quartet, through and through.

Which of these would be *the one* if I was going to buy one?

Penn’s Landing is probably one of my all-time favorites (not including the shows I’ve actually attended). A fantastic portrait of a band in flux, starting to find their footing with new sounds and tons of great lead guitar by Jeff before he relinquished duties to Nels the following year.

Saw this announced on Facebook. A few of these have been available in SBD for years. I wonder if these are official Wilco recordings that are a little fuller and more robust than the fan SBDs, which for the most part sound pretty good but can be a little dry and lacking low end.

An Empty Corner! Fantastic. Hoping some of these sets get released in the Roadcase, especially Kansas City. Thanks as always for the notes, Bbop!

Cinnamon Girl! Awesome.

Go see a show, folks. Don’t let the setlists detract you. There’s a difference between reading it on paper and being in the room. The KC show was straight fire. I’ve seen 14 (a drop in the bucket compared to bbop) but KC was easily in my top 3.

You all are debating this like they'll get in. I don't see it happening. They aren't popular enough. There is not a single artist in the HOF who hasn't had an arena tour.

We’re not debating. It’s friendly discourse. Call it wishful thinking. Just having some fun recalling the contributions of members from the early days.

So, Wilco Class of 2021?? I don't know if they'll get in on the first ballot, but I hope they do make it at some point. The RnR HoF itself is probably not a big deal to them, but it would be cool to see Jeff and John reconnect with some combination of Ken/Max/Bob/Leroy for a ceremony or performance.

Probably more of a long shot since he was never actually a member, but it would be awesome to even have Brian Henneman come out to play a little bit of lead guitar!

When they ever get into the hall, I am guessing, beside the current members, only Ken and Leroy will be part of it and maybe not even those two. But who knows.

 

It would be a real shame if Leroy was not involved.

Why not Max? He was a founding member and played on two records. Leroy only played on two records. Well, four, if you count single-song performance credits on Summerteeth and MA 2. He was much more of a contributor on YHF and AGIB. And sure, he was a touring member since 1998, so I suppose I can see why he’d be more worthy. But it would just seem like a snuff to only include 1-2 former members and not someone who was there at the start and was a member of Uncle Tupelo. Just my $0.02.

As an old journo cast about by the media revolution myself, I figured it was something like that. Damn shame. (Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the show, btw.)

Tim Finn held down the fort for a very long time and did a great job. The writer who did this review actually is my second cousin and has probably been to 1,000 shows in his lifetime. He has freelanced for the Star and other publications for probably 15 years, covering probably 3-5 shows a month, maybe more.

Yeah, that was a pretty solid recap as usual by Finn. Why is he no longer writing for the Star, if you have any idea?

The KC Star is in a bad way. Have consistently laid off dozens of longtime editors and writers the last several years. Just announced the Saturday print edition will no longer be circulated in 2020. Dying its slow death like other print media outlets.

I needed the day to process my thoughts on last night’s show in Kansas City as well as reconstruct my melted face. Here we go.

During the opening duo of Bright Leaves and Before Us, Glenn’s drums sounded like a war cry. Wielding two mallets in *each* hand, his unrelenting pounding created the atmosphere of an old wooden warship headed out to battle at sea. I could feel it coming up through the floor.

War on War moved along at a slightly faster clip than usual and the ending aggressively built to a tight finish. After a bit of sit-stand action from the crowd as they tried to figure out the pace and vibe of the first few songs, rows of fans stood up in sequence like they were doing the wave at a ballpark when Jeff switched to electric guitar for the noisy coda of Handshake Drugs.

It’s as if everyone collectively decided this was the moment to get up and stay on their feet while Jeff and Nels’ guitars roared to a tremendous climax, both sustaining the sizzling feedback for probably a full minute past the normal conclusion as Jeff held his SG high above his head.

New tunes like One and a Half Stars and White Wooden Cross sounded fuller and richer in a live setting, and were a nice landing pad from the soaring guitars of Handshake Drugs. Via Chicago was its usual explosive self. Jeff and John are just so steady while chaos erupts around them.

The Bull Black Nova > Laminated Cat combo was loud and gritty, full of muscular guitar pyrotechnics. The former was highlighted by a creepy graphic backdrop of thick, viscous blood slowly rolling down the screen, as if it were leaking in the trunk of the car. The latter in particular was played at an even faster tempo than usual. Glenn’s ability to play those polyrhythms with all four limbs is a masterclass in rock percussion.

They took the Cat out for a nice long walk, with several noisy peaks. This is the way they used to play it in 2002-2003. At one point in the tune, the lights shone tightly on Jeff & Glenn with the rest of the band in the darker outskirts of the stage — underscoring the song’s origins as a Loose Fur jam that came out of the duo’s blossoming musical partnership that began 18 years ago.

Random Name Generator is just plain rock ‘n roll fun. Everyone on stage was smiling. Reservations was tender and full of little musical flourishes from each member that colored Jeff’s song beautifully. And the crowd was quiet and respectful; no “woo’s!” or other outbursts.

Nels received a nice ovation after Impossible Germany, which I used to get another round of beers — but I had a clear vantage point of the stage from the bar, so I could clearly hear his frantic fretboard dynamics as he wrangled a fractured and melodic Television-meets-Allman solo from his Jazzmaster.

We Were Lucky really brings the heat in a live setting. I hope this stays in the setlist rotation. Love Is Everywhere is among my favorites from the new record. Just a powerful, anthemic tune. The pop-rock race to the finish of Dawned on Me, Box Full of Letters, Everyone Hides (also one of my new favorites), I’m Always in Love and I’m the Man Who Loves You kept the whole room dancing. Is there a band that does this better?

At this point in the show I wondered if we’d get anything from Being There, and they delivered with the quintessential Wilco tune: Misunderstood, complete with 28 nothings. Some days, this is my favorite Wilco song, and last night it sounded just perfect. I love that they add the wobbly tremolo effect to Jeff’s voice and guitar in the live setting now so it sounds like it did on the record.

Too Far Apart was a great pick for another A.M. deep cut to give a nod to the show taking place on the exact 25th anniversary of the first Wilco show in fall 1994. I’m a Wheel properly closed out the evening, thrashing and bashing in proper Wilco fashion.

Of the 14 shows I’ve seen, this one was probably top 3. It was that good. And, it was clear the boys were glad to be playing together again. Perhaps there was something special in the air because of the significant anniversary. Maybe it’s poetry and magic; something too big to have a name.

Go to the show.

p.s. Thanks to Stan for the setlist. My wife and I chatted him up at the soundboard in Milan back in September and mentioned that we’d be at the KC show. “Come find me and I’ll get you a setlist” he said, after “Oh? There’s a show in KC?” He graciously spoke to us for a few minutes before the show last night as we interrupted his pre-show viewing of the Rams game on his iPad. Wilco’s crew is just so spectacular. They deserve a lot of praise and credit.

I am the beleaguered moderator in the Facebook group and to tell you the truth I am just about over it. The group has gotten way too big, I think it’s been invaded by trolls and there’s so much shitposting and backstabbing that it’s not fun anymore. I know that some of you here on this message board are also members of the Facebook group and I would sincerely appreciate any suggestions you might have as to some way to get that place back on track. I’ve always thought that this board and the Facebook group could compatibly coexist because they each have different strengths. (I also know that some people just hate Facebook on general principles and I’m beginning to understand that point of view!) My real name is Diane Kyrus and you can send me a PM.

 

Oh, and in the interest of keeping this post on topic, I am a huge fan of OTJ.

Hey Diane, Andrew Zender here. That Facebook group has gotten out of control. I don’t blame you one bit. I’ve gotten drawn into far more spats than I care to admit, and there’s definitely a strong vibe of personal attacks. The concept of “your opinion is wrong” runs rampant. The weekly “what’s the worst Wilco song?” or “rank the album” threads are getting really annoying. I’ve considered unfollowing and may have just talked myself into it.

I'm not buying the album to get the liner notes to confirm - and you are likely joking anyway - but a Darin appearance seems unlikely given Jeff and Darin's apparent falling out. I meant to imply that the record has adventurous percussion as a base.

Yes, I realize it’s unlikely. You said the album sounds like On Fillmore + Jeff. Hence, my question if Darin is on it, because he’s the other half of On Fillmore with Glenn.

It's a disappointing album. Boring would be my one word description. I get that I've been with the band since 1995, but why would anyone listen to this beyond a few listens instead of putting on Ghost, Yankee, BT or AM?? It's Jeff's worst vocal performance. There are very very few melodies and choruses which are always appreciated in my book (I love Warm and Warmer and they didn't have much in that regard either, but it is more missing here in a full band context.)

 

It's basically On Fillmore + Jeff Tweedy featuring 2 appearances by guitar virtuoso Nels Cline and textures by Mikael Jorgensen. No wonder Pat is pissed.

So, Darin Gray is on this album?

Downloads for offline listening?

i was listening to Summerteeth yesterday on the way to work. i have a pretty decent stereo in the car. i still love this record, probably a tie with YHF & Ghost for my favorite Wilco record (not counting live stuff). i was struck by the drums. Ken was a decent drummer & really nice guy but very meat & potatoes on the drums. i can see why Jeff moved on. would love to hear at least some of this record redone in the studio with Glenn on drums. a pipe dream obviously.

It’s not all Coomer on Summerteeth. Jay Bennett played bass and drums on some tracks when John and Ken weren’t around, which caused some resentment, obviously. Left those guys wondering what their roles were, especially as the record became Jeff & Jay hunkering down in the studio. I remember a quote from John in Greg Kot’s book, “The story of Summerteeth is Jay got a Mellotron and was going to use it on everything.” That may not be 100% exact (not going to go dig up my copy right now) but that’s the general idea. An amazing record by a band hardly unified at the time. Almost like they were more in sync on YHF while that record became the catalyst for Jay’s exit/dismissal.

After seeing many Wilco and Jeff solo shows across the U.S., my wife and I are going to our first Wilco show abroad. Couldn’t describe how excited I was to see a few Italian dates pop up the same time we were already going to be there on a trip. See ya in Milan!

I hadn't considered that. Wilco has always carefully selected venues, and tended to play historic theaters that are full of character and top out at around 4000 seats. It's a major part of the charm of their shows. Everyone can see. The sound is usually good. The band can see and interact with the audience. But if that kind of venue isn't big enough anymore, are there venues that they'd want to play that are somewhere in between that size and sterile sports arenas? I can't think of any in my part of the country. They might go to a multi-date per city touring schedule rather than playing giant shitholes that sound terrible.

I hope I’m wrong, and hope you’re right. I’ve seen Wilco almost every year since 2006 in those mid-size historic theatres/auditoriums with so much charm and character. Every show has been great for many reasons, e.g., sound quality, setlist, playing/band interaction, etc., but what sets them apart from other shows I’ve seen is the intimacy of the venue, which ultimately creates a more communal atmosphere that Jeff strives for at their shows. I’d hate to lose that to a larger venue.