MountainGerbil

How do I figure that out?

I preordered the album at The Electric Fetus in Minneapolis. The one they initially gave me was moderately warped and dished. They had extra pink vinyl stock and the second one they opened is 99% fine. There’s a rough spot on the run-in but it doesn’t extend to the songs.

So by all means, open the vinyl and check it out before you get home.

Yeah, it's very handy to be able to not only stream via WiFi in higher quality formats than Bluetooth, but also to use my phone as a remote.  I don't think I've ever touched my volume knob.  And being able to hook my TV sound up wirelessly to the stereo is nice.

I can't speak to Sonos, so I'll leave that to others.  

You basically need three things:

1) A receiver/integrated amp; 

2) Speakers; and

3) A phono pre-amp.  Some of the receivers/amps in your price range may have an included phono stage, but you may be better off spending $100 on a decent independent pre-amp, IMO. For many of the current models, the phono input isn't that great.  That being said, if you run up against the budget wall, you can wait until later.

A quick note:  quality is all relative, some audiophiles (real and imagined) may come in here and say you can't get anything worth having for your budget, or tell you to save up another $500 (or whatever) to get something "good", and, well...        They aren't *wrong*, per se, but down that road lies madness.  Once you upgrade your speakers, your receiver isn't good enough.  And then you start wondering why you're basing a $1500 system around a $300 turn table, so you'd better upgrade that.  OH, and the stylus can really be improved to take advantage of the highs that those diamond tweeters, so pick up an Ortofon Bronze to really make it sing...  I can tell you that a system like the one below will sound pretty darn good, and will hold you over until you're ready for more.  Moreover, each component is not overkill for your TT, or an obvious weak link. 

1: The Receiver/Integrated Amp.

Assuming you are planning on filling an ordinary-ish sized room, and don't want to mess around with vintage gear (which would be cheaper but, IMO, trying to shop for used/vintage carries with it its own set of headaches and I didn't find it to be that much cheaper, honestly.  People are wise to the resale value of their stuff. ), I would recommend something like this NAD.  Quality unit, no frills.  That being said: always try to go to a place and listen for yourself.  NAD, Cambridge Soundworks, Marantz, etc... all make good units that would suit you and run between $400 and $600.  Yamahas are solid, too, and run about the same price range, although they tend to also have receivers (which is neither good nor bad, just kind of something to consider: do you want internet radio? Terrestrial radio?). Receivers tend to be a bit heavier/boxier than integrated amps, though.

If you are waffling and think you might want to use the system for streaming, I'd spend the extra $100 and get this one. With Bluetooth, and more importantly WiFi, you'll allow yourself some flexibility. It also has a phono input, which may eliminate the need for a pre-amp (at least for awhile). 

2) Speakers:

Speakers are tricky.  There are a lot of cheap speakers and a lot of really expensive speakers, and a gulf in between.  After doing my own research, i decided that ELAC makes the best of the cheap(ish) speakers, and are the best bang-for-your-buck until you want to devote $800+ on speakers, alone.  They aren't the most stylish things ever, but they aren't hideous, either. 

So we're at $800.

3) Phono Pre-Amp

If you need a phono pre-amp, I recommend the U-Turn Pluto (it's what I have). It's highly regarded for its price range, and kind of like with the speakers, unless you want to spend a lot more to get a good tube pre-amp or something, you're better off getting the best of the lower-priced options than getting something that's $150 more expensive but only arguably "better".  

And that brings you to about $900.  So you'd have $100 left over for speaker stands and cords! 

Re: speaker wire: get a heavier gauge but don't break the bank on it.  Same for the component cables: some people swear by the $50 varieties but the claims are dubious at best and in any case, at the level of system you are putting together, it would be overkill to spend more than $12 a set.  

I went through this process about a year ago.  Like you, I had a half-decent (not fantastic) turntable and not much else worth a damn, and wanted to put something together for about $700-$1000.  I researched the bejeezus out of it, so hopefully I can be of some (limited) assistance.  It's gonna be alright.

A couple of questions to get you started: 

1) do you plan on using the stereo system for anything other than the turntable?   Streaming?  Connect to TV?  

2) how much room do you have for speaker placement?  Will they need to be right up against the wall, or can the speakers be placed even 8-12 inches out from the wall?

3) how big is the space that you are looking to fill?

What kind of TT do you have, by the way?

Do you need speakers and a preamp, too?

There are plenty of food places nearby the Palace, ranging from a bar next door (Wild Tymes), to the Great Waters Brewing across the street (decent brewpub), to upscale fare like Meritage (french/oysters) and Kincaids (Steaks).  If you're wiling to walk a few blocks, there's a good coal-fired pizza joint called Black Sheep and another brewery around the corner from there called Tin Whiskers.  There's also a decent Thai place called Sawatdee there too; all about 5 blocks from the show. 

As for when to show up for the line, I can't help much, but I'd say try to get in before 7:30 if you don't want to be stuck near the back.

Anyone know why the second St. Paul show is sold out? And was sold out yesterday for the artist presale?  

Oops, nevermind. It's up.

I'm all for the NCAA, Gen Con, Angie's List + many city / states not paying for travel to Indiana.  That is REAL MONEY.  2,500 seats at $60 or $150,000 in ticket sales, of which Indianapolis does not receive a ticket tax and Live Nation is paying a guarantee, is SQUAT.  For possible the first time ever, Wilco has 5K comments on a Facebook post and a few national news pieces have picked up the story, all the while a large percentage of people are going, who's Wilco.  The ONLY losses here were the fans and local restaurants in the area that were hoping for a better than average night. Since the band and management have decided to continue business with many states and companies that many of us and them do not believe in, I ask, what is the point?

Do you recycle?

I dunno.  I thought their first go-round of reunion shows (Summer 2009, and Summer 2010, in Minneapolis) were very good.  The problem is that they turned that into a full-blown tour, and the setlists stagnated aside from the stuff from the newest album.  You could tell it went from being a one-off "This is fun, I remember this" to being a full-time endeavor, being "The Reunited Jayhawks" again.

If Olson allowed Louris to play more latter-day Jayhawks stuff in the sets, it might be different.  But you have to feel for Louris:  he (and Marc Perlman) kept the Jayhawks up and running without Olson, and put out some music that feel proud of, but they can't really play it when they tour with what most people consider to be the "REAL Jayhawks."  

Good show.  Bob referenced being from Minneapolis for the first time in a long time, apparently. 

So can someone clarify the times that bands came on, and the approximate length that they played for?

From the looks of it, Bob Weir played for about 40 minutes, MMJ played for about 70 minutes, Wilco played for about 75 minutes, and Dylan played for about 80 minutes.

 

Same logic for Wilco and when they choose to play [new song I dislike] rather than [old song I prefer]. Even though I got really annoyed anytime they played Capitol City over the last year.

Well, there always seems to be the New Song That You Just Don't Want to Hear (i.e. the Pissbreak Tune).

In the YHF/AGIB tour days, I felt that way about "Jesus, Etc."  Good song, but it was always the one where I found myself looking around at the crowd more than the stage.   Nowadays, I wouldn't mind hearing it.

Dylan's set looks pretty good, to me.

You get (only) three songs from his most recent album, two "big hits" in Tangled Up in Blue and All along the Watchtower, a few well-known songs that even moderate fans should recognize in Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat, Ballad of a Thin Man, Simple Twist of Fate, and She Belongs to Me.  Then you get a couple centerpieces of his latest career incarnation (i.e. the road-warrior troubadour) that he's been playing a lot of over the past 10-15 years in Things Have Changed, High Water, and Love Sick (and I guess Thunder on the Mountain).

Seems pretty well balanced to me. 

Question… Do you believe that as a male over the age of 40, you had any chance of getting into the first 2 rows for either show? The answer is no!

I sat in the 3rd row on Tuesday, right behind the pit. There were plenty of older people on stage left, and at least one of them was a man. Therefore, you had a chance. It sounds like you're just mad it wasn't you.

 

When I met the upgrade guy on Wednesday and asked for an upgrade he lead me to believe that he is required to look for young (20’s) girls or couples.

He "lead you to believe". I see. But he didn't actually say that, now did he? Again, it sounds like you're just mad that you weren't picked and happened to see some young girls that did get picked.

If I had no history with the band, or never got up close...

i.e. "I deserve it more than anyone who hasn't been to 20 shows! This is despite the fact that I've already had great seats while most other people haven't! I MUST ALWAYS HAVE THE BEST SEATS!"

or didn’t know that they give the first 2 rows to twentysomethings...

Again, this did not happen, as evidenced by the older people sitting/standing in front of me on Tuesday...

 

I would have thought they were great shows, but… I guess my expectations are too high. Also made me think that I am way too into them.

Wait...you said above they were great shows! Wait, hold on, here it is:

Although I saw two great shows…

what you're really saying: "I've been to 20 shows! I deserve the special treatment! Where I sit now matters more to me than the performance on stage."

I guess the worst part is I see them slowing down and there isn’t that raw “we’re really having fun with this” that there used to be.

Honestly, it sounds like you're the one not having as much fun with it anymore. Here's what I think: you've been to an ass-ton of Wilco shows, you feel entitled to be treated better than people who haven't seen them before or aren't as big a fan as you. OK. But the problem is, Wilco does try to cater to fans like you (and me). They have pre-sales for the fans. I got the 3rd row seats that way. A buddy of mine got 6th row seats. Some serious fans were around me. You just got unlucky. It happens. Don't take it out on the band, and certainly don't come in here with this bullshit that the shows aren't as "energetic" or "fun filled" or whatever characteristics you can invent to give yourself a slap on the back for, "like, totally being there when they were awesome, man. Those were the days!"

I guess I better stop living in the past?

"When you wake up, feeeeeelin' old..."

One non-musical gripe: I was pretty disappointed with the show posters for both nights. 30% of the art was taken up by a representation of a window frame, and there was no clever/colorful integration of "Wilco". Just kind a muted design on both nights that were almost identical to one another.

Respectfully disagree. Although a good show, the set never took off like night 1. I felt like it wavered between contemplative and fun until the encore, when there was some continuity in tone.

Yeah, according to WIlcobase.

http://wilcobase.com...rt_calendar.php

 

Cicero's 11/17/94

Minneapolis, MN 11/21/94

oh well!

Who's going tonight as well?

Great show!

A fair amount of the mildly unexpected (full set list will be posted, I'm sure, in a little while), including "Box Full of Letters" (dedicated to their "home away from home", Minneapolis, where they played their first gig), "Magazine Called Sunset", "Sky Blue Sky", "She's a Jar", and "Pot Kettle Black."

No "Jesus, Etc." or "IATTBYH" (which pleased me).

Good crowd, everyone stood (at least on the floor, except for the right pit which, for some reason, sat en masse until Jeff heckled them to stand). Jeff was smiling a lot after the first 7 or so songs, which he noted were a little heavy.

Security was tight: no pictures, and people running to the front for the encore were summarily pulled back.

I'm going to both Minny shows this week. If one of them (preferably tomorrow when I have 3rd row seats) has a set like this, I'll be more than content.

I could do without IATTBYH. I think they've played it all 11 times I've seen them, and JEtc is usually a sit-down-and-rest/get a beer song for me.

Speaking of which, how are the shirts for this leg of the tour?

Touring with Mick Taylor again would probably be the only way that I'd be interested in seeing them (again).

What a crock of shit. The "Skip the popular albums by the Beatles, Stones, and Dylan" caveat just points to what this author's real agenda is. It's not about actually loving the best of what rock and roll has to offer, it's being definable to music snobs by your musical collection, which is something else entirely and not something I've been particularly interested in pursuing since I was about 22.

What a bunch of pretentious crap.

"Heaven and Hell" is pretty good.

I wonder if they listened to some of these in prepping for "No Line..." "Heaven and Hell" sounds a little bit like "Moment of Surrender," and I'm not sure of any other songs by them that have that soul quality.

"Lady With the Spinning Head" (extended mix) might be my favorite U2 song ever, and is certainly the one I play to emphasize to non-believers what a shift "Achtung Baby" was from "Rattle and Hum."

"...so you had 'All I Want is You.' And then, nothing for about 18 months. And then they start recording...this [click]"

It is an interesting relic of gonzo journalism that every 'writer' feels the need to inject themselves as a part of the story.

 

That's a good point. It's like everyone that read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and became a journalist assumes that the key to writing like Hunter S. Thompson is to talk about your own experience. In fact, the key to writing like Hunter S. Thompson is be a really observant and insightful writer.

IMO, Bill Simmons is the worst offender.