choo-choo-charlie

Here's a direct link to the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/390889574423674/.

Same as Magnetized; I'm constantly mentioning Via Chicago and encouraging people to hop over to this board, which is far more organized than the FB group. 

fantastic show.    anyone have any good photos?   hopefully one of them when they all posed when glenn stood on drums?

 

also, does anyone else think that they are taking 2018 off to rest up for a monster 25 year anniversary tour?  

I usually don't take photos at a concert and like to enjoy the performance as it's happening. There were a few people around me who probably saw most of the show through their phone screens. Simply my preference to take it in without trying to document it. If photos are what you're seeking, I think I saw a few photos over on the Facebook equivalent of this group. I believe it's called "A Shot in the Arm: Wilco Fan Group." It is a closed group and you have to request access, and I think you have to answer a few Wilco-related questions...they're trying to filter out trolls and fake accounts.

My guess is they're taking the year off because they all have lots of commitments outside of Wilco, including non-musical commitments, to which they want to devote their time and energy. Wilco has toured constantly for 20+ years. This lineup has toured constantly since forming in 2004. The last several years have seen lots of output: the second Jeff/Mavis Staples record in 2013, a Tweedy album in 2014, Star Wars in 2015, Schmilco in 2016, plus a few Solid Sound festivals and Wilco tours in between everything. They've been working their asses off for many years and deserve a break, in my opinion. Plus, they're all getting older, some of them have families, and probably wish to slow down their pace of life and workload. 

Perhaps they have new material they want to work on next year, or maybe they don't, and plan to write/record an album. Or maybe they have few plans to work together. Or perhaps Jeff is going to work with Spencer on another Tweedy record. Who knows. Would I love a "monster 25 year anniversary tour" in 2019? Well, of course! But I wouldn't be surprised if the amount of touring slowed down in the future, either. Right now I'm happy to have caught one of these final shows before the break.

I am NOT trying to insinuate that it may be, but they played that KC show like it was one of their last (for a period, as we know). I definitely caught that kind of vibe. 

Some thoughts on last night's show in KC, which was my 11th.

-No one calls it Arvest Bank, etc., corporate sponsor such and such. Everyone just calls it The Midland.

-The sound, at first, was not good. Very boomy and Jeff's acoustic was way too high in the mix. I was a little worried initially that this was not a good venue for Wilco, being their first time playing there, and this was the sound we were gonna get. It was corrected within 2-3 songs. Whew.

-Once the sound was dialed in, it was perfect. Stan Doty is a master of his craft, blending six musicians into a wonderfully cohesive mix.

-Song selection and pacing of the show was excellent. Saw a fair amount of people heading for the bar and/or bathroom during Reservations. It's a beautiful song, but sometimes it can bring a set to a halt if not placed well. I thought it worked here, following the extra creepy, new hybrid acoustic-electric arrangement of BBN. And then they built the energy right back up through the end.

-Speaking of energy, the entire show had a sense of urgency I hadn't heard before, and I've seen some real barnburner Wilco sets. I chalk it up to this being the last tour before a long, well-deserved break. Every song had just a little extra oomph behind it, the individual performances were crisp and the ensemble playing was super tight. Like they're gonna make this a tour to remember.

-I dig the smaller rigs. Smaller amps, smaller drum kit, simpler keyboard set ups. You could really see every band member and watch them work. Mikael wasn't buried in a galaxy of keyboards. And despite the smaller equipment setup, they brought the energy, volume and electricity.

-They all seemed to be having a lot of fun. I swear John Stirratt works on his vertical leap in the offseason. Jeff can be so surly onstage but he was loose, confident, cracking jokes, and had wonderful stage banter.

-I've been very open lately about my boredom with Impossible Germany. Sometimes Nels inspires me, sometimes I think the solo goes on too long and he's just going through the motions. Lots of notes don't always mean lots of soul. I often use it as my bar/bathroom break song. Last night's was different. It was the best IG I've ever heard, hands down.

-Speaking of guitar solos, Jeff's last solo in ITMWLY was fantastic. He basically played a feedback solo without picking any notes or playing any licks, only manipulating the notes with his left hand and working the vibrato bar *hard* in his right hand. And of course it's fun and a mega crowd pleaser to watch Glenn stand atop his kit during the intro.

-The AM/BT tunes bring the house down. Everyone loves the old school rock and roll bar band Wilco.

-Out of the 11 shows I've seen, this was easily top 5. I hope it gets a Roadcase release. It's a keeper.

From the "grasping at straws" file, this was posted on the Loft's instagram account a couple days ago :

May or may not even be a Wilco person playing it. But someone (or something??) is making sounds with a musical instrument in the Loft this week...

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYeM966lbAR/?taken-by=theloftchicago

Whether it's Wilco or any of the many musicians that are recorded/produced at The Loft, I'm fairly certain there's always music being made there.

Hey Todd, someone started a thread about this yesterday evening, FYI. Cheers!

http://viachicago.org/topic/52538-new-single-released-on-wilcos-bandcamp/

Glad I caught 2 shows some of the best I have see in the last 15 years I have seen them! Band is on fire again now and it's great!

I've listened to the "jam filled" show a couple times and have been skimming the recommended jams and covers today. It's clear they were having so much fun, there's great energy in the performances and some really wonderful playing. Great to hear these guys can still surprise audiences and bring the heat like this after more than 30 years.

Great add i don't remember seeing it.  The Wilco cameo is a bit alliterative for that group. 

What exactly do you mean by alliterative? 

Great show overall and I will agree that they were rocking. Guess we lost Monday and Outtasite to the lengthy IG solo which was an impressive solo. This one was heavy on the technical side over tasteful, which is usually not my preference, but I was taken in none the less. 

 

Also: "You can't see it on the radio, can't see it any where you go." 

 

Jeff on singing the Spiders riff: "Don't let Philly beat you!"

 

"Here's some more mid-tempo rock" *Goes into "Jesus, Etc."

 

And was I correct in hearing: "He lifted up his shirt at the battle of the bands"?

 

I will admit I was hoping to hear a couple of alternates to the Solid Sound tunes ("Late Greats"!) but was appreciative of being able to hear the tunes that will probably be lost from the roster on the next cycle (ALTWYS, Someday Soon, Reservations, and my fave You Are My Face) and to get a second listen to the way some of the live alterations make the songs burn white hot (Locator, ALTWYS, BBN ((best version)), I'm Always in Love, RNG). What a great time!

Man, I'd rather hear Monday and Outtasite any day over an extended IG solo, especially those that favor the technical over the tasteful, head over the heart, etc. It's getting old for me, especially when they stretch it out so far. When it first appeared in live sets it was closer to album length. Now I use it as an opportunity to hit the bathroom, get a beer or go by the merchandise stand. At least make it interesting by letting Jeff or Pat take the lead. All three guitarists have their own brand of playing lead, and we don't ever get to hear Jeff or Pat's leads enough.

The mid-tempo rock/Jesus, etc., joke -> Jeff says the exact same thing on the Kicking Television live record! "Let's get this party started...with some mid-tempo rock..." Good times.

The jam-filled show is a fun listen. Haven't had an opportunity to hear the others yet. Who cares if some bitter old dude didn't like the show? Let him wallow in his pretentiousness. I hate it when people refuse to allow themselves to experience something new or have fun.

I am no longer grumpy. I ended up with 3rd row for Birmingham because of crazy luck, and 4th row pit for Atlanta by magical circumstances. The staff at the Fox is super awesome. Holy cow!

I was pulling for you from my corner here in Kansas. Glad it all worked out!

Got 4 for KC.

The pit tickets in KC are standing vs. seating in reserved.

I agree with everything you said. It's so baffling to me why we're still a relatively small number of people, but I've come to accept that Jeff either resonates with you or he doesn't. If he doesn't, you're never going to get it. If you connect with his songs and his voice on some soul level, though, you're never going to get over it.

Amen. I feel lucky that we get to have him make music for us in our lifetime.

This record has inspired me to pull out my old Jeff solo bootlegs, particularly all the Lounge Ax shows from 1997 to 2000. Those performances are so intimate and special; to hear Jeff play to an appreciate and attentive hometown audience (though there's *just* the right amount of chatter and clanking beer bottles on the recordings) during his formative years is a treat.

He's playing old favorites, Tupelo and Golden Smog tracks and folk standards -- and you also get to hear Mermaid Avenue, Summerteeth and YHF songs in their developmental stages. Crushing to hear Via Chicago and A Shot in the Arm in their first few takes, when Jeff's troubles state was coming out in his greatest songs yet.

Songs are rarely played the same way twice; there are little nuances or variations in his singing, phrasing and guitar playing...he pulls out the 12-string or the harmonica on songs that normally don't feature those instruments...and even switches up the keys in which some songs are played.

And the between song banter is a delight. Even back in the early days he could command a room and crowd with just a guitar, a harmonica and his voice.

He truly is the greatest of his generation.

KC WOOT WOOT

There's a paranoid thread over in the Shot in the Arm fan page on Facebook. I said I think they're trying to figure out how to take the event to new levels, particularly with Wilco's sets. After three special shows with unique "angles" such as all-covers, all-acoustic or albums-in-full, what's next?

Well, it so happens I completely agree. In fact, if I may share a specific recommendation, listen late at night when you've just gone to bed but are not too sleepy, hit the bong a couple of times and just lay back and listen fairly loud, in the dark.

Yeah, got rid of mine waaaaaaaaay back in college.

Spiders isn't on my copy of 10/5/01 and doesn't appear on internet setlists. Did it really appear that early? This thread made me dig out some live CDs from that era. Man, Jeff's banter was a bit rough back then.

It was not played at that show. I was simply listing my favorite shows from the YHF era; did not mean to imply it was performed on 10/5/01. Good versions were played on 3/16/02 and 9/4/03. And on 6/28/03, I believe.

According to Wicobase, Spiders first appeared in a Jeff Tweedy solo set on 11-18-01, with the first full band performance taking place 3-11-02.

Finally relented about picked up the yellow copy on my walk at lunch.  Looking forward to giving it a spin this weekend, even though my expectations are relatively low.  Seems like it could be a pretty great lazy sunday morning on the couch album.

You're going into it with the right mindset. Anyone expecting some mind-blowing album is probably going to be disappointed. Enjoyable, intimate, stripped-down versions of songs we're all very familiar with.

That "Children of Destiny" song is HORRIBLE. 

I'm gonna go listen to On the Beach now.

Are those shows available for download somewhere?

Yes, both are on the Owl & Bear archive, linked below. You should be able stream them from sooutoftune.org as well.

I am pretty sure at least some of those shows will be at the Owl and Bear site.

 

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B5xZV5X8KwRCTlB3MXVpVGE1NGc

Thanks for the assist!

Correction my post above.

I meant to say Less Than You Think rather than At Least that's What You Said.

There are short (drone-less) versions of the song that IMHO are better.

I dig those 2002-2003 versions as well. When it appears in the sets today, it has that same arrangement (sans drone) that makes it a really pretty folk song. I saw them open with it in 2011 and it > into Art of Almost. Good stuff.

That era is vastly underrated. Pre-AGIB versions of Hummingbird, At Least that's What You Said and Spiders are incredible,

Spiders is more like a garage-pop song in that era than an extended noisy guitar freakout. I dig it! My favorites from the era: Majestic Theatre (10/5/01); Filmore Auditorium (9/14/02); Ryman Auditorium (10/29/02); Penn's Landing (6/28/03) and McDonald Theatre (9/4/03). All magnificent recording too.

Also, there is a (full band) version of Should Have Been In Love in which the lead instrument is a piano rather than a guitar that is beautiful.

Not sure if it was done during this time, but I think it was Leroy on the keyboard.

There are really nice piano-led versions in the 10/5/01 and 9/4/03 shows listed above.

This is so good. The version of Spiders is phenomenal

Agreed. Really love Jeff's tone. We need more lead guitar from Jeff. I've been listening to a lot of 2001-2003 Wilco lately for that reason.

Woohoo! Downloading the bundle right now!

I grabbed the bundle too. For $25 it's a steal for the lossless files.

Both nights up in the Roadcase!

https://wilco.kungfustore.com/roadcase.html

you're right it is only on The Wilco Book...He plays it towards the beginning when he's explaining about being a service for the audience, right before Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down...great version but like I said, he talks all through it.

You're absolutely right; I never noticed that before! I'd love to hear that version sans voiceover (although he's making a great point that's central to Wilco "philosophy")...perhaps it'll appear on a future Loft Acoustic Sessions release. Good ear!