The Inside of Outside

I did not get into Monster much when it came out, but recently I have been listening to it quite a bit. It is a big-time rock record - it sounds to me like Peter Buck wanted to rip it up on this record.

I am surprised it sold so quickly as well.

 

Sadly most of Via Chicago can’t go because we’re all teachers! *sob*.

This cracked me up. At first I thought that, of course teachers cannot go - they are working in late January. Then I realized they are also generally not compensated well enough to do this. So that is two strikes.

Which are the two reasons I will not attend. I hope those who do so have fun!

I haven't heard Warmer yet, so I can't directly comment on that. I will say I feel just about the opposite between Star Wars and Schmilco. I love Star Wars and rarely find myself wanting to listen to Schmilco.

I'm with you on the Star Wars/Schmilco front.

I find the instrumentation on Schmilco to be pretty blah for a Wilco record. It could just be me, though - I prefer their more uptempo rock in general.

I like several songs on Warmer. Others have not stuck yet. I'm warmer on Warmer than I am on Warm.

Looks like Jeff will be playing at a new festival in Fort Worden, WA, THING, which is happening Aug. 24-25, 2019.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwkWt5KlSpk/

That's a pretty good line up, as far as festivals go.

Paul:  Among many i am so very grateful for your earnest and stellar reporting of the shows you attend. Your reviews/recaps really fill the void of not be able to attend in person and always convey a real and honest sense of the performance, venue, crowd and vibe. Thanks so much for always taking the time and energy to do so, it is so very much appreciated and a quality/fun read even about the shows i do make it to!  Look forward to seeing you down the road as the Wilco wheels start to turn. 

 

Steve 

Ditto.

Twenty-ninth in line at the Bull Moose in Lewiston, Maine on Saturday morning. No free-for-all there - each person went through the RSD titles in order, in the order of the line. Took about 40 minutes before my turn came. I grabbed the third-to-the-last copy of Warmer, and picked up the live Matthew Sweet as well. My neighbor got his Pink Floyd LP (he was not the last middle-aged guy with a paunch to get one - they had 3 more), another neighbor got the REM and the Minus 5. A win all around.

Put me in the camp that likes Warmer better than Warm.

So glad Jeff got out of Georgia, and that we got a proper concert recap. And love the story about SarahC!

I am heading to my second RSD tomorrow. I got there about 45 minutes before the Bull Moose store in Brunswick, Maine opened last year, and was probably 20-25th in line. Got the Wilco Live at the Troubador lp last year, and hoping to get Warmer this year. If I do not get it, no biggie.

Trying the Bull Moose location in Lewiston, Maine this year. Next year, maybe it will be the Scarborough or South Portland locations. The crazy number of Bull Moose stores within 35 minutes of my house is reason #28 why living in southern Maine is hard to beat.

In my experience, RSD is a free-for-all for sure. Last year, one of the people I went with wanted the re-release of whatever early Pink Floyd record was on the docket. I grabbed the last one and handed it to him, much to the chagrin of two other attendees. Lo and behold, there's another early Pink Floyd re-release out there this year. Which middle-aged white guy with a paunch will get the last copy this year?

^^^^I loved reading that.

Always great to read your reviews, bbop. I love to hear about the banter; in this case, it sounds like the "Open Kimono" bit was priceless.

This is from a Variety article:

As a big Wilco fan, RSD’s Kurtz is particularly excited about Jeff Tweedy’s “Warmer.” “Jeff is releasing an album that’s completely unique for Record Store Day, which I think is one of the few times we’ve done anything quite that amazing — at least it is for me,” Kurtz says. “When he made his last album (‘Warm’), my understanding is he recorded two albums, and one of them was for the general release and one of them was for Record Store Day.” The LP, limited to 5000 copies, will initially be sold only as part of RSD, although the release will also be sold at the annual Wilco-hosted Solid Sound Festival in late June.

I think I saw a release date in June for a CD version of Warmer, but I may have dreamed that.

^^^^I wanted to hit a like button.

And based on those photos, she did appear to be in the middle of the orchestra section....

If you don't mind driving a bit, there are still a few decent looking Airbnb's available near Bennington and lots of hotels down toward Lenox and Pittsfield.  Honestly, there is virtually no traffic and the scenery is lovely - 25 miles is easy.   

Agreed. We used to stay at a motel on Route 7, just north of Williamstown, just before the Vermont line. The $ just did not justify it by 2015, so in 2017 we rented a house near Pittsfield, 22 miles away. No regrets - doing it again in June.

Very happy with the bill. No complaints whatsoever.

I am interested in seeing most of the acts; several have been artists that I have almost pulled the trigger on seeing (Courtney Barnett, Jonathan Richman, The Feelies), and a few are new to me and sound good on a first listen (Wand, Foxwarren, etc.).

The Minus 5 = gravy.

Another's uneducated guesses:

Ohmme

Sharon Van Etten or Jenny Lewis

Filthy Friends

Robyn Hitchcock

Jupiter and Okwess

Buck Meek

Mountain Man

Bob Moses

Courtney Barnett or Cate Le Bon (or DRINKS)

Longshots:

Norah Jones

Billy Bragg (w/ a Friday night Mermaid Avenue theme)

https://twitter.com/AidanJohnMoffat/status/1096182171692339200

This made me laugh. Or really sad. Or both.

This review (it's from October, 2018, so apologies for its staleness) made me laugh.

 

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/greta-van-fleet-anthem-of-the-peaceful-army/

 

Someone asked me why I don't care for Greta Van Fleet, and my thoughts were always along the lines of "I'll just put on a Zeppelin album if I want to hear Zeppelin."

This is hilarious. A friend of mine went to see them in Arizona not too long ago. Said it was the worst show (and worst sound mixing) he had been to in years.

I HATE this week. This is the week where it's down to 4 teams. I try to pick the two teams I like the most. It ALWAYS, I mean 90% of the time, is the other two teams. 

 

This year it's Saints #1 - I'd like Drew to get another ring and then retire on top. That's always a nice ending.

 

#2 - Chiefs - because I remember Len & Podolak and Otis Taylor and Willie and Stenereud  and all those guys. It's been a LONG time.

 

So it'll be Rams/Pats. Write it down haha.

Look on the bright side - your percentage inched above 90%!

...is busier than the other two combined.

This cracked me up.

Thanks for sharing these. I encourage folks to check out the Best of 2018 link above - lots of great art in those photos.

tbh i have zero interest in giant festivals like coachella, so the fact that really no bands i like are gonna play shitshows like that is more than fine with me. 

My sentiments exactly. No interest in ginormous crowds, parking hassles, etc.

That was super enjoyable to listen to.

Good God there's a lot of teachers who post regularly on Via Chicago.

I taught special education for 25 years, middle school assistant principal for the past 3.