Brent Best

I was at the show at Antones the night before this taped. It was a "secret" show, though I use that term lightly as anyone with a pulse living in Austin knew that the Headliner dubbed "Summerteeth" was indeed Wilco. But still getting to see them play a venue of that size was certianly a treat. The line wrapped around the block and a lot of folks were left out in the hot August heat. George Devore (we used to call him Dewhore) a local Austin songwriter (I use that term lightly) somehow managed to open the show.

Instead of Wilco taking the stage as the headliners, JP and a couple of the other members of the road crew broke into The Talking Heads, "Psycho Killer" followed by Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" and then the Beatles "Come Together." At this point, the packed crowd was starting to grumble that maybe "We've Been Had" and that THIS was all there was to Summerteeth. Before anyone considered throwing their Lone Stars onto the stage, Jeff and Co appeared and thanked their good friends "Summerteeth" and broke into "I'm Always in Love". It was my first time seeing Wilco in person, and it happened to be 1999 which for me was probably the pinnacle of my life. So many great things happened that year for me and seeing my new favorite band in my new hometown with my new girlfriend (who would become my wife) with my new best friend who introduced me to the Holy Trinity of alt country (Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, Son Volt), all of this helped make that a night (it was actually an early show as they hit the stage around 5pm) for the ages.

I saw them two nights later when they opened for REM in San Antonio. I have seen Wilco some twenty five times or so since and that will always be my favorite show. However, from a pure peformance standpoint it pales in comparison to the show they did at the Mercury (now The Parish) on Sixth Street as an "after hours" show for the first ACL music festival a couple years later. Jeff stated to the press shortly after that it was his favorite Wilco show to date. It was one of the first times he admitted to the public on stage of throwing up before the show. I still haven't found a good copy of that show but would love to hear it again.

Cued it up yesterday for the first time when I was in a terrible mood and I ended up declaring it the worst thing I had ever heard from Tweedy. Got some great news today, gave it another listen and now it's quite listenable. Funny how that works.

You defintely need a good set of headphones to catch all the little intricacies. Not looking forward to hearing this on those wireless IPhone 7 earbuds.

Being There

AM

Summerteeth

YHF

AGIB

SBS

Star Wars

The Whole Love

Wilco The Album

Schmilco

One Fast Move or Iam Gone- Jay Farrar and Ben Gibbard

Outstanding album! Best of the year by far and probably the best collaboration since the original Mermaid Avenue.

Thanks Speed Racer! Obviously there is some exxageration in my statement, but overall I cant think of one song that I really like...To me it just sounds like a band making a record, just to make a record...My comparison to Ryan Adams really has some merit. It reminds me of the year that Ryan released like six records...They were all probably listenable but not memorable. This album lacks any sense of purpose and to a large extent I came into this album with preconceived notions...I didnt think Tweedy could put out a decent record this close to his last one. He's not as prolfiic a writter as Ryan, though I wouldnt pay to buy or listen to Ryan Adams if he paid me to...I think Jeff should have taken some more time off, God knows he's been touring his ass off since AGIB. I really hope he does now...As much as I love seeing Tweedy perform and I havent missed a show since the Summerteeth tour, I would give up the next five years of Wilco touring to hear him put a little more effort into the next one. Just my opionion and Iam sticking to it.

I dont post here very often and I really dont even spend much time reading these threads, but I do find it a tad bit ironic that nodep throws me under the bus...Go check out my "Son Volt" post under "Someone else's Song." Sounds to me like your just musically intolerant.

One week later and I still cant find one good thing to say about this album. I never thought I would say this about a Wilco record, but so be it. I actually liked a good poriton of SBS, but this album reminds me of something Ryan Adams would spit out while on a 5 week bender. But hey every one of my favorite artists has put out at least one stinker...With Wilco, this is it.

Hey Nodep guy, I get where your coming from. Dont judge just based on Down to the Wire...I can surely see how an old school fan wouldnt dig that song either...It SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN CHOOSEN as the single...But there are some absolute gems on here...Dust of Daylight, Pushed Too Far, No Turning Back, Roll On, Jukebox of Steel and Dynamite are all top notch...I love Wilco too but I cant stand the new Wilco album. I am shocked at how the critcs arent trashing it, because in my opionion it is has no redeeming qualites whatsoever.

But unlike Jay, Tweedy knows how to market himself...Iam sure even he cringed when he heard Down to the Wire as a single...If you like the Son Volt 2.0 stuff, you will like that song, but if your like most Son Volt fans that gave up on the band after The Search or earlier, you cant fathom how that was choosen...Dust of Daylight or No Turning Back would have put Jay back on the map, but he choose to go with a song that better represent his newer stuff, though it doesnt fairly represent this album.

Being There

AM

Summerteeth

YHF

AGIB

SBS

WTA

Unfortunately for you, I'm not. Now run along, the gods are on my side today. Obviously.

Come on now, you know you had it coming...That was too easy.

That

Horribly written article except for one point...Wilco fans are indeed the same as Dave Matthews fans...This is not a knock on the posters here...You guys probably only make up 1/10 of a Wilco show today... But for anyone that saw Wilco, say pre 1999, you cant tell me that the culture hasn't changed....For the worse.

My hunch is that after the album sells a million copies, Jeff is going to come out and yell "SUCKERS." "I cant believe you actually bought that album! Its complete crap...Noboby got the joke.,..Did the title of the album not paint the picture for you...How about that first song...The camel on the cover...No one got that inneuendo...Camel...Stinks?...No One!"

It pretty good. There's some previously released material mixed with some Farrar originals. The music is not exclusively Jay's. Ryan Adams, Vic Chestnutt, Freakwater, Neko Case, Blood Oranges, and other contribute to it.

Get it if for no other reason than to hear Jay cover Gram Parson's "Blue Eyes"!

Being There *****

Summerteeth ****

AM ****

YHF ***

AGIB **

SBS **

5 Star scale

I love these photos and could picture them as album art! They are by photographer Finn Manford, in case anyone was interested.

 

Also, a photo by Robert Frank would be great too!

 

 

I guess I'm taking this too seriously.

I love that last one! Would be perfect for the new Son Volt album.

Much better than the one their going with...In fact the only bad thing about the new album is the cover.

Trace *****

Straightaways ****

American Central Dust ****

Wide Swing Tremolo ***

The Search ***

Okemah **

There are probably half a dozen albums I would give 5 stars, and Trace is one of them.

You guys may disagree... In fact I think it's great that so many of you guys love his last two albums!

Enough about Son Volt, when are we going to see a new Drams album, Brent???

Were playing Saturday in Denton

Come check us out

I would tell more about a new album, but I dont want it to get leaked

I think that's a stretch at the moment, but if Son Volt continues to impress then perhaps so.

Just my prediction. A lot of thats based on the somewhat lukewarm reception the new Wilco album seems to be getting around here. Somebody on the sonvolt board made a couple of good points.

1. Son Volt is now with Rounder Records- they will do a much better job marketing the album then their previous record label.

2. The Son Volt album is due out one week after the Wilco record... Jay already has to see Jeff's name mentioned in nearly every article written about him. Music critics are likely to do play the "pissing contest" card and use Jay the "underdog" as having finally gotten the monkey off his back by finally making an album that blows Wilco out of the water.

It really does make sense if you think about it. The irony is that while Jay has never been one to care about commercial success, this album has the potential to garner that recognition. While Jay doesnt have the name recognition of Robert Plant, whose duet with Allison Krauss (also on Rounder Records) was a huge commercial success last year, he too could find himself a Grammy nominee for this release.

Brilliant album! Sorry to say fellow Wilco fans, but I think Tweedy and Co. may have their work cut out for them. Jeff's been getting all the love from the press since Being There but I dont think that will be the case this time around.

Critics will hail the new Son Volt album and began asking if maybe the tables have finally turned?

I mentioned lil wallet picture by Buckner so I should mentioned the player who I believe was Eric Heywood (of course he was behind alot of the Son Volt pedal steel)

 

Lloyd Maines

Eric Heywood

Sneaky Pete

Ben Keith? (is that right Neil Youngs)

Third page before Eric Heywood gets a nod?

Boy, you guys really do hate Son Volt!

I Thought I Held You must hit a nerve with Tweedy...My personal favorite in the entire Wilco catalogue...Most underrated song ever!

New album will be called "American Central Dust." Due out July 7th.

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009...volts-dust.html

No I haven't seen the "new" Son Volt live. I stopped going to see Jay after a few shows during his solo tours. I'm basing my opinion on the recorded output. I know it was a strong thing to say, but IMO I feel sad for how much I believe he has lost it. I'm glad he is still connecting with some people, but it isn't me (and that I guess is ok). I don't know, you listen to Trace and Straighaways and there was an undelrying theme I could feel. No I didn't understand every line, but I understood emotionally what was being said. His new stuff just seems like pretenious word salad. Sometimes even preachy. But I know you guys have been speaking on behalf of the Search for a while and I will try it again (in case I was having a bad day). I just hated the way Okemah felt. I was so excited and then I hear Jet Pilot and I thought that is junior high crap.

I hear what your saying. I remember how excited I was to see Jay's first solo tour... Son Volt had been disbanded for quite some time and there was absolutely no word of Jay whatsoever. It was like he completely disappeared off the face of the earth... Then he came to town in 2001 (I think?) with Mark Spencer in tow and I was absolutely floored. I never had the opportunity to see UT live and the only time I got to see Son Volt was an arena show in which they opened for John Mellencamp...Unfortunatetly I was so high that night I had absolutely no recollection of Son Volt's set. By the time I came down from my high Mellencamp was rocking out to Jack and Diane... But I digress...That solo show in circa 2001 was probably one of the top 2 or 3 concert experiences of my life...Tears rushed down my face when he broke into Still Be Around...It was surreal... Jay came back to town the next year with Spencer right after Sebastapol (very good first solo effort) was released and played a very similar type set (no surprise) but this time he floored me with the Trace classic Too Early and an absoluelty gorgeous cover of Merle Haggard's Sing Me Back Home... As much as I love seeing Tweedy solo, I have never been moved in such a way as I did at those two Jay shows.

But then Terroir Blues came out and I coulndt beleive what I was hearing...I gave it a couple of listens and with the exception of Dent County, couldnt stand to take any more of it... A short time after that Jay toured with Canyon and I thought to myself "what the hell is he doing." I remember telling a friend how bad they were. Horrible musicians... The lone exception being the drummer, who would later join Son Volt full time...A couple years passed along and Jay released more crap. Third shift Grotto slack and that Live album with Canyon... I was about ready to give up on Jay.

Then in early 2004 (i think), a friend called to say that Son Volt was getting back together as the original line-up. They were going to be recording a song for a tribute album for Alejandro Escovedo and then get back in the studio to start recording... WOW!!!!! I was shocked... I thought that maybe Jay had finally woken up and realized that his career was not going down the path that he had intended...Hey we all make mistakes, right? Man I couldnt have been happier.

A few week later I find out that the Boquists are considering legal action against Jay and that the comeback is no more...WTF!!! The new Son Volt would now be comprised of Jay, two Canyon band member, Andrew Duplantis (the one bright spot) and I believe Brad Rice on lead guitar... I was so pissed that Jay had the audacity to call this make-shift line-up Son Volt... The only band member I was familar with was Duplanits, and I had personally known Brad Rice from his time with Ryan Adams and I knew that he was a solid player but he was strictly a session player...He wouldnt be a permanent member of this outfit (sure enough Brad would later leave Jay to join Keith Urban).

I made the trip down to Austin for SXSW for the new Son Volt's debut show... Enough time had passed that I was at least willing to give Jay another chance... They certianly didnt dissapoint... Granted there was no fiddle, dobro, or pedal steel this show, but it still rocked out like Son Volt nonetheless. Hell Wilco certianly had their fair share of cast member changes, and I still loved them just the same... It certianly beat the hell out of Jay and Canyon thats for damn sure.

So a little bit later Okema and the Melody of Riot comes out...While my first reaction was not nearly that of Terrior Blues, I still was dissapointed... Songs like Jet Pilot, Ipecac, Endless War, Chaos Streams and Medication quickly found the fast forward button on my cd changer... Not the first effort I had expecte... However when Son Volt toured behind this album they put up some of the best setlists money could buy... Back Into Your World, Loose String, Drown, Carraytid Easy, Picking up the Signal, Route, and the show closer Chickamauga was certianly worth the price of admission. Yes it wasnt Mike Heidorn and the Boqusits behind him but it rocked out nonetheless.

Jay would later go thru guitarists during that tour like most people change their socks. It was almost embarrasing to hear that certain players couldnt perform due to "prior obligations". Your playing with Son Volt for chist sakes, their should not be prior obligations. Finally Jay found Chirs Masterson, and with that he found an absolute gem. Though he didnt play on the Search (better than Okema but still a dust gatherer in my collection) he made some of the Search songs that were unbearable to listen to on the ablum, with their backword guitar loops (Brad Rice's going away present to Jay was to shit on his album production) shine live. Outside of Dave Boquist, he couldnt have found a better guitar player to work with.

Jay finally dumped the keyboard player (though Derry will tell you that he left on his own to play with Jason Isbell). Either way that was a huge plus in my book. Jay brought on Mark Spencer and apparently has him playing pedal steel on the new album.... There are two absolute gems on this new record called Dynamite and Dust of Daylight... The latter of which will probably go down as being just as good as anything he has ever recorded.... I hear there is filddle on the record as well.... Steel guitar, fiddle, what the fuck more could you ask for... Maybe a few Trace like rockers and we might have the best new alubm since, dare I day it the second time in the same sentence, Trace!

Anyway, needless to say I am stoked to hear this new record. I have really come to enjoy the new Son Volt and unlike Wilco (dare I say it) if the pattern holds, each album looks to be better than the previous... As a music fan. what more can you ask for?

pretty much delivered all it promised, but I think my 7th sxsw will be my last, for a while anyway. Passed on the big stuff (metalica, west) as i they're pretty much besides the point of the festival. saw good stuff every night, the Hold Steady ripped my head off, M Ward, A Bird, Thao With The Get Down Stay Down, Haley Bonar, more. but when you add it all up (flight, badge, hotel), you're not getting real good bang for your buck, even with free day shows.

I cant fathom why anyone would buy a badge? Face falue is around $700 and it doesnt event guarantee admission to see the big names like Metallica, REM, Beastie Boys, etc...

Nearly every band you mentioned above played a free show last week. The Hold Steady by my count must have played at least 7 of them. I have a musicans wristband (which I ended up giving away) and I think I only went to one showcase this year. The rest of my time was spent at free party's listening to great music, while drinking my filll of free beer and booze.

But then again, if folks like yourself didnt buy badges, I guess we wouldnt have a SXSW to begin with.