dvigs24

Pictures, setlist, and fan-shot video of Genetic Method/Chest Fever and Long Black Veil here:

 

http://www.jambase.com/Articles/118943/Wilco-Welcomes-Garth-Hudson-At-SPAC-AmericanaramA-Stop

Both of those are really great!  Garth's organ playing has such a wonderful, distinctive sound, and the band w/Jim James do an excellent job with the vocals on Chest Fever - it very much approximates how all those voices blend together to make a wonderful whole in so many songs by The Band.  Good stuff!

Jeff and Jim were also on stage with Bob for Thunder On The Mountain.

I know it says this on expectingrain.com, but they most definitely were not. 

Pretty great show last night in Bridgeport.  I think Colin Linden will be an excellent addition to the band if he sticks around for a while.  He definitely looked intent last night and genuinely thrilled at the end of "Watchtower".  He seemed to be paying an incredible amount of attention to Dylan's piano-noodling, which he was trying to accentuate with guitar fills.  It will be interesting to see how this dynamic develops over time, as at times last night it sounded pretty great. 

I posted a pretty complete show review in the "After the Show" section if anybody is interested...

Thank you so much for the detailed description.  You were so lucky to be there to see Jeff, Jim, and Bob all together!  I've been listening to the cover of Waterloo Sunset that Wilco did at Solid Sound a lot and it is really stuck in my brain.  

dvigs24, that was a fantastic writeup. You really conveyed what it felt like to be there. I'm hoping to have exactly your vantage point in 5 days. I had no idea what to expect with Ryan Bingham--I had figured it would be just him, not a band. And really cool to feel your enthusiasm for seeing Bob, Jeff and Jim up there together. I'm not quite there with you on Jim--yet--but I'm open to being converted. Thanks so much for taking the time to write such a personal account.

Thanks for the kind words!  With a much clearer head this morning I went back and edited a bit. 

Just got back from the show which was probably the best value I've ever gotten for $68.  Very impressed with Ryan Bingham and his band - very country-rock, bluesy (almost Zeppelin-esque on one song near the end of the set), they had a cool sounding fiddle in the band and were very loud, particularly the lead guitarist (at least from where I was standing).  Ryan himself plays a pretty mean slide guitar.  In my opinion they fit in quite nicely with the "Americanarama" theme.  I'm sure Wilco will work him into their set at some point ("California Stars" seems like an obvious easy-entry point).  MMJ played a solid set, either you like Jim James and his schtick or you don't (It's hard to imagine any other front man making his hair such a big part of his onstage act), but 75 minutes of them is definitely enough to get a sense of what the band is capable of, which is quite a lot of rocking alternated with mid-tempo balladry and a lot of howling from James. "Gideon" was the highlight for me, as it's my favorite MMJ song and the one I really wanted to see them do.  Definitely worth checking out at least once.  Wilco's set was very strong.  I has a spot on the rail right in front of Nels, who was really nailing everything tonight.  His solo at the end of "Art of Almost" was amazing to watch from that close.  "Misunderstood" was a highlight for me, nice to see "Waterloo Sunset" again (I was at Solid Sound), and of course opening with "Was I In Your Dreams" was a nice surprise.  I know it's played all the time, but IATTBYH is my favorite song, and I never get tired of seeing it live.  I love when Jeff starts strumming that first chord over and over during that cacophonous intro, and the emotional payoff when the band kicks back in after the last "I am trying to break your heart" just kills me every time. Very little banter from Jeff due to the short set I'd imagine.  Having now seen Wilco a number of times, the guitar techs were definitely working double-time to speed the transitions between songs in order to maximize the time.

I'm a huge Dylan fan and have seen him about 25 times (most recently this past fall), I'm familiar with all the recent albums, knew exactly what to expect and certainly was not disappointed.  If you're a casual Dylan fan, or even a pretty big fan that listens mostly to the albums, I'll admit that it's probably very easy to be disappointed seeing him for the first time at this point (or maybe even if you've seen him in a late-period touring high point like 1999 or the early 2000's).  One of the things I love about Dylan is the constant re-working of songs that he's done throughout his career (tonight was no different as he had some new lyrics in "Simple Twist of Fate" and "Tangled Up In Blue" that I hadn't heard before), and I have no trouble recognizing tunes at this point.  When Dylan is starting every show on the tour with the opener "Things Have Changed" (from the Wonderboys soundtrack), you better listen up and take him at his word.  Five songs into the set the oldest song he had played was off of 1997's Time Out of Mind album.  You're definitely not going to get a greatest hits set, although there are plenty of huge songs peppered throughout.  Highlights for me were "She Belongs to Me", "Simple Twist of Fate", "Things Have Changed", "Blowin' in the Wind", "Blind Willie McTell" and "All Along the Watchtower".  It's nice to be up front for Dylan because you can see all of his little stage idiosyncrasies, and how he interacts with the band, and even the fact that he's smiling and clearly enjoying  himself up there.  It's easy to imagine during a song like "She Belongs to Me", a young kid up there with nothing but his acoustic guitar and harmonica keeping the crowd spellbound, tapping his foot much the same way he does now as he stands center stage and does his "song-and-dance man" routine.  Another interesting thing about seeing Dylan is watching how intently the band watches him in order to follow along with his musical whims on stage, particularly as to when to actually start singing a verse of a song.  To me it seemed that a large portion of the crowd tonight was there to see Dylan, and stayed to the end of the set.  It was definitely the most crowded up front leading up to and during Dylan's set. 

Of course, the moment of the night was when Dylan called Jeff Tweedy and Jim James back to the stage to play a tune. From where I was standing I could see through the legs of Dylan's piano, then barely through the curtain to the backstage area - I saw a figure with a hat and a guitar, which I was pretty sure was Tweedy, with a few songs left in Dylan's set and was hopeful we'd get a collaboration.  A few songs later, seeing Tweedy and James sneak through the curtain while the stage was dark, almost kid-like running over to the back of Dylan's stage set-up, and then just hearing Dylan say "Jeff Tweedy", was thrilling in itself.  Although I didn't know the song (apparently it was "Let Your Light Shine On Me" by Blind Willie Johnson), which had a call-and-response verse structure and sing-along chorus, seeing Tweedy and Dylan, two of my musical heroes together on stage was a spine-tingling moment for me, and was certainly what I was hoping for the second I heard about this tour months ago. 

Bingham played 30 minutes, MMJ 75, Wilco just a bit over 80, and Dylan was probably somewhere between 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  The whole show started promptly at 5:30 and was over by about 11:20.  Pretty impressive to see the crews work on this show.  Considering the amount of gear that needs to be set up and broken down, there was really minimal wait time between the sets. 

I picked up a ticket to the Jones Beach show next Saturday where Beck replaces MMJ, and can't wait to catch Americanarama again. 

I think the excuse about field conditions is BS to downplay how poorly tickets have been selling. They could have taken measures to protect the field, as they did with the Wilco ballpark shows back in 2009. I'm really peeved that I'm traveling from Pennsylvania for an arena show now...

 

With today's weather forecast:

"TODAY: Sunny and HOT!  Heat index values near 110 with temps in the 90s to near 100. TONIGHT: Muggy and humid with temps in the low 70s."  From WTNH 8 (New Haven)

and the fact that it's already way too hot at 9:30 AM, I'm not sure how well I would have done standing on the field for 6 hours this afternoon/evening.  I'm thinking the move inside will definitely be for the best, even if it sacrifices some of that outdoor, summer festival feel. 

Show sounds great so far...wishing I was there on Joe's Field at Mass MoCA, but alas, I made the decision to drive home back to CT last night after the show to see my son's pre-k graduation this morning and my daughter's dance recital this evening...now that they're both in bed, I'm listening and trying to get up the will to drive back up tomorrow morning.  If only there was one more Wilco set tomorrow...

Yet they have said for months that the first night was going to be an all covers show. Maybe you should have planned to skip Friday night?

To be fair, the Solid Sound website says:

"Wilco’s Friday night set at Solid Sound will be comprised exclusively of fan-requested songs, including covers."

Which, to me, reads as if it would be a mix of covers and requested originals.  Having been there last night, I can definitely say that it was an awesome and unique experience, but to be honest, my attention lagged a bit during songs I didn't know so well, and the stump the band portion of the show was not very entertaining and ate up the amount of time that was probably equivalent to two more songs in the set.  I thought Hodgeman's comedy bits were getting tired by the end as well.  I could definitely see this format having worked better as maybe a tight, ten to twelve song set of covers, followed by some Wilco originals.  Not complaining, definitely wouldn't have traded the experience for a more "normal" Wilco show, having already seen many fantastic ones, but definitely can see how the show could have been a bit of a letdown for some.  IMHO, people experience subjective things like art and feel the way they feel about them - nobody else's opinion on the matter invalidates those feelings.

I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to witness something unique from one of my favorite musical acts. 

Does anybody know if we'll be able to bring in backpacks tonight at Newport? I can't find anything that says they're forbidden, but nothing that says they're allowed either.

No rain, no rain, no rain, no rain...

Starting tonight I'll be at Newport, then Mass MoCA and Hartford next week. Can't wait.

Hoping for no rain tonight! My last two Wilco experiences were all heavily influenced by rain. I had a ticket for the second night in Central Park last fall, and ended up not going because I had missed a bunch of work that week being sick and couldn't justify standing in the rain and prolonging my illness, then before that Solid Sound 2.

I'm bringing my kids tonight (4 & 5). It'll be their first "real" rock show, unless you count The Fresh Beat Band, which I don't, so hopefully all goes well!

This was the one I was thinking of...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCazUypX1vk

Hmmm. At first I thought this was the one, it is fairly similar to the image I have in my head, but I'm not sure this is the video. I'll have to keep looking. It's a cool moment regardless.

Maybe it was Walken. Now I'm really confused!

I could have sworn I saw a video on Youtube a few years ago where the band is doing "Airline to Heaven" and Nels is frantically changing the strings on his lap steel in order to play his part near the end. Jeff is looking over and grinning at him the whole time, and he gets it done just under the wire, and immediately launches into an inspired lap steel solo. I've never been able to find this video again. Am I crazy? Has anybody else seen this video? If it actually exists, can somebody point me to it, as I'd love to see it again. Thanks!

Got 3 in Orchestra C Row D for Hartford! Also picked up some tix for Newport.

Here is a link to a detailed seating chart for Mortensen Hall at The Bushnell in Hartford (in case anybody is looking):

Mortensen Hall (.pdf file)

As Jimmy Conway says to Henry Hill after the Air France heist, "It's gonna be a good summer!"

Does anybody have any idea why these dates are being released at a slow motion trickle? I'm dying to plan a trip to Mass MoCA with my dad and kids!

I guess things must be still up in the air a bit after Camden?

It's killing me right now, but I'm bailing on this show. First time since high school that I've had tickets to a show and am not going (and that was because my Dad wouldn't let me go see The Black Crowes on a Sunday night after having seen Tom Petty the night before...school night - he paid my $10 for the ticket and my 3 friends went without me). Have fun everybody - do your best to stay dry and be safe!

Any chance tonight's show gets postponed and/or cancelled? Forecast is calling for pretty heavy rain right through the time of the show.

I've had strep throat all week, missed 3 days of work, and am having a tough time justifying standing in the rain tonight (especially after Solid Sound, even though that was certainly worth it). I'm terribly upset about having to miss this show...especially since I've had most of the new album running through my mind these past few weeks...

What does everybody think?

I agree--The Whole Love has some of the bands finest moments: Art of Almost, I Might, Whole Love, One Sunday Morning. And the record at large is really damn good, on par with AGIB or Summerteeth. Yes, Jeff might not be writing songs that are driven by addiction, pain, existential whatevers, etc, but the songs--at least this time around--are just as strong.

I agree as well. It seems that whenever formerly troubled artists begin to mature and start writing up-tempo, major key songs that don't necessarily dwell on the darker side of life...a certain segment of people interprets this as the artist losing their greatness. Others find happier songs to be just as good. Any artist who hangs around long enough is bound to have peaks and valleys. Imagine if there had been a Dylan board in between the release of Blonde On Blonde and Blood On The Tracks?

All of this album sounds great to me. I'm loving where this band is going right now, and happy to follow where they lead.

Staying off-topic, I am not embarrassed to admit that I really like listening to You Never Know. Every time. Just a straight ahead pop rocker. I know that puts me in a distinct minority around here. Maybe the band feels the same way most of you do: at JazzFest this year Tweedy introduced it by saying that Glenn was the only one in the band who wanted to play it. And staying with the W(TA) theme, One Wing is always outstanding live. To my ears anyhow.

I don't think you should ever have to say things like "I am not embarrassed to admit" when it comes to music. If you enjoy the song when you hear it, then it's a good song to you, and really, what else matters?. Music is highly subjective, and tastes change. People shouldn't care about what other people think of their musical taste. As far as You Never Know goes, the thing I don't particularly like about that track is that I feel it's too long and doesn't really do anything in the 4th minute that's not evident in the 1st minute. I like the sound of the song fine, but just would like, say, 3 minutes of it instead of 4:22. I also enjoy One Wing live, especially when they segue from I Am Trying To Break Your Heart.

Sorry to continue the off-topicness...I'll try to make up for it.

I find the Almost clip to be intriguing, mainly because I'm a sucker for anything that shows bands working on recording/album making. I also really love I Might.

Disclaimer: I really enjoy Sky Blue Sky, but Wilco (The Album) is my least favorite (even though I don't think it's bad, it's definitely the album I play the least), so I hope I enjoy the The Whole Love more...but following the theory of reversion to the mean, I think I will.

I've sold all the tickets. If anything falls through and I end up with extras again, I'll post a new thread.

One ticket has been claimed. 2 left. I would prefer to sell both of them to the same buyer, but please PM me even if you can only use one. Thanks!

I bought 3 tickets during the original pre-sale for NYC 9/22. The second show is much more convenient for me, being on a Friday, and I was fortunate enough to snag 3 tickets during the pre-sale for 9/23. Though I would love to, I can't go both nights, so I need to unload my tickets for 9/22.

I paid $46 per ticket x3 ($138.00), $18 for service charges, and another $12 for delivery for a total of $168, or $56 per ticket with fees.

I would prefer to sell all three tickets to one buyer, mainly for my own convenience, but will be willing to split them if there are no takers on all 3. If you want to buy 1 or 2, by all means let me know.

If interested, PM me and we'll work out the rest. Thanks!

OK, now totally confused about the pre-sale for the Boston show. I thought the Front Gate pre-sale starts today. But when I click on the info link for the Boston show, says the Wang Theater pre-sale is tomorrow. Are there pre-sales today and tomorrow for Wang?

 

And, according to the Wilco statement, there's a strict 4-seat limit and multiple purchases are not allowed and will void all purchases. So, does that mean I can't purchase 2 tickets in a pre-sale, and then try to get better seats by purchasing another 2 in the general public on-sale?

 

They've got me stumped with that one.

From the Wilco website:

ATTENTION BOSTON FANS: As part of Wilco’s effort to discourage scalping and keep tickets affordable, there is a strict 4-ticket limit per person. Multiple purchases are forbidden and violation of this policy will result in the buyer forfeiting ALL purchased tickets. All tickets will be WILL CALL ONLY and name changes will not be permitted. When arriving at the venue, simply show the credit card you used for purchase along with photo ID. When you receive your tickets, you must immediately enter the venue. No exit and re-entry from venue is permitted. Will Call opens at 6:00pm on show day and we encourage fans to arrive early to avoid delays entering the venue. Thanks for your cooperation & we’re looking forward to a great show.

My take on this is that if you buy tickets in the pre-sale and the general on-sale, under the same name, with the same credit card, then you will void your purchases. This was the same policy that was in place for the Tweedy solo show at the Bowery Ballroom earlier this year. There are no tickets, you show your ID and credit card at the door, and your name is on the list and you go right in. I saw people show up and get turned away because they were not the person who bought the tickets. When I showed my ID and credit card, they asked me who I was bringing in with my other ticket (it was my wife), and the person had to be right there with me at that time otherwise no entry for them. Very strict, but a pretty good way to prevent scalping.

The problem you will have is that if you do get better seats in the general on-sale (even under a different name with a different card), you won't be able to get rid of the ones you originally bought.

I was at that Worcester show. I was already a big Wilco fan, and was thrilled at the double bill with Neil. I have vivid memories of Wilco's set. This was definitely a Neil crowd, It was pretty clear to me that most people had no idea about Wilco when they hit the stage. They opened with Via Chicago, and I stood there and watched heads snap and jaws drop as they worked their way through the calm and chaos of Via Chicago. By the time they finished that song they had the entire crowd in their hands.

I agree with this completely. When I saw Via Chicago live, I was instantly hooked. Neil was a bit of a letdown for me after that (all too short) brilliant Wilco set. Not that Neil didn't rock, he always does, but I remember him meandering off in to a bunch of new songs in the middle of the set, and I got kind of bored and walked around the venue looking for some friends.

i don't think that Wilco was the cause for those ticket prices.

 

and $75 for GA was the best deal in town for that particular night.

I worded that kind of awkwardly, I just meant that the main reason I went, despite NEIL'S high ticket prices (I had just paid $100+ to see him on the first leg of the Chrome Dreams tour the year before), was because Wilco was opening.

My run on sentences and continuous use (abuse?) of commas sometimes makes my writing hard to understand.