Shug

But night 3 LA had Wishful Thinking, Far Far Away, The Lonely 1 and really specatacular versions of Ashes Of American Flags and Spiders...

I only went to nights 2 and 3 of Los Angeles, and I'm not sure if the awesomeness of night 2 will translate to tape, but that's the one I'm going for.  Great setlist, an inspired performance and wonderful sound from where we were sitting halfway back on the floor in the center.  Sunken Treasure was sublime, You Are My Face - Reservations - Impossible Germany was a sweet three in a row run of brilliance, Poor Places was an art-rock nugget and I loved hearing John's great vocals on my first Its Just That Simple.  I'll never get tired of hearing via Chicago and Misunderstood when they are played this well and for a tour with no Monday, ending with  I Got You and Outtasite was the rock blast I always crave.  I was also surprised at how good Whole Love and Dawned On Me sounded.  I never really was that impressed with those songs, but now they sound like old friends to me. We also got what I think are the two best live songs from Star Wars in Cold Slope>King Of You and hearing Normal American Kids for the first time made a big impression. 

Normal American Kids^

Via Chicago

If I Ever Was A Child

Cry All Day

Sunken Treasure (acoustic arrangment — Jeff on acoustic guitar, no harmonica; Pat on keyboard)

Pick Up The Change

Someone To Lose

The Joke Explained

You Are My Face

Reservations

Impossible Germany

Happiness

Whole Love

Cold Slope>

King Of You

Poor Places

Locator>

Laminated Cat (aka Not For The Season)

Dawned On Me

We Aren't The World (Safety Girl)

Hummingbird

The Late Greats

--------------------------------

Misunderstood

Hesitating Beauty

It's Just That Simple

California Stars

--------------------------------

Jesus, etc.

Red-Eyed and Blue>

I Got You (At The End of the Century)>

Outtasite (Outta Mind)

They are coming to Phoenix again next month and I have a commitment I have to attend, damn damn damn!  I might have to go out to LA to see them later this year,  The time I saw them 3 three years ago still stands as one of the most powerful mindblowing shows in my entire history.  They are in a class all by themselves.

Don't forget we had this thread going a few years back.   http://viachicago.org/topic/48715-sigur-ros/?hl=sigur

Agree about John's bass playing too, of course. I love when they become the Stones circa '72 on stuff like I Got You and Outtasite, no one does that better than Wilco!

Sad to see this run come to an end. What a difference a different seat can make. Last night we were off to the far side of the balcony and the sound was echoey and we were on the rail behind the main aisle so a constant stream of ushers with their flashlights and patrons walking by was distracting. I think Wilco played great but the sounds and sights lost their vividness and the subtle details that were so clear down on the floor the night before were harder to discern for me. Ashes was the main highlight for us, so poignant and full of pathos that it brought my wife LD to tears. It means a lot to us as it was the Ashes dvd that made us Wilco fanatics and we got to see it at our first show. Nels took a long lyrical epic solo that reminded me of the Grateful Dead's Bird Song, so beautiful! To me that song is like It Makes No Difference by The Band or Take It To The Limit by the Eagles, a classic signature song that almost everyone responds to. LD responds to it like she does to Elvis' American Trilogy, with tears and an emotion that is hard to describe but obvious when you feel the song pull it out of you.

Also got immersed into Far Far Away sounding like Hank Williams Sr came back to life, it's incredible their authentic mastery of so many genres even historical ones. My first Kidsmoke lived up to my high hopes, they slammed into the riff so wonderfully hard.

So now the post show letdown is only eased by lucking into Tedeschi Trucks across the street tonight. Sure would like to have more Wilco on the calendar though, they are the best band playing now IMO.

To get one show like the 14th where all the personal and external variables fall together is a great gift and enough to keep me appreciative and wanting more!

Yeah there was a great little jam in it also one in Locator right before, a solid one-two combo as people have pointed out all tour. You Are My Face Reservations Impossible Germany was a tryptich of awesomeness too. John's vocals were so great on any songs he did backup on and of course so pure on Its Just That Simple. He is a great singer.

And I think Tweedy is the kind of artist performer who can feed off his own annoyance and frustration and channel it into a more intense performance. There was a lot of tension between Jeff and some people and I think in an uncomfortable way it fueled the show and weirdly helped it be fantastic.

That was the best Wilco show I've ever seen! They were just on fire from the first note and never letup, they steamrolled it, super tight super clean nuanced incredible vocals and so many gorgeous musical details from Michael and Pat. What a setlist too with Sunken Treasure Reservations and poor Places! Staggeringly great musical genius ensemble rock, they are at the top of their game. LD and I were blown away. Another night still to go!

I must say, one thing that stuck out from me night to night, is how powerful the Sky Blue Sky songs are in this current iteration of Wilco. I will always maintain this is the most underrated of all Wilco albums. I don't know if it has something to do with the Schmilco "lower-fi" setup, something about where the band is at currently on an energetic level, or if simply we haven't heard some of those songs much at all over the past 8-9 years (at least speaking for myself). Side With the Seeds, Sky Blue Sky, You Are My Face, and Either Way were, imo, some of the best performances of the 5 nights... and that wasn't something I would have expected.

 

 

I also really like Sky Blue Sky as an album, but even more than that I love hearing those songs live.  A few years back at the LA Theater, Nels and the band wrecked me with a great Side With The Seeds..  I always hope for You Are My Face, too. 

Are the online requests even being looked at by the band this tour?  I've requested You Are My Face for this LA run.  I've never heard Country Disappeared and that is another tune that would probably be perfect for this Schmilco semi-acoustic tour.  I'd lose it if they played it.

The release that finally opened me up to Wilco's brilliance was the Ashes of American Flags dvd and since that was the Sky Blue Sky tour and they played a lot of those songs and I've watched and listened to those recordings more than any other Wilco recording, they hold an especially esteemed and lofty place for me.

I'm hoping for all of those songs you mentioned in LA, and hopefully, selfishly, in the last two nights.  I'll be disappointed if I miss one of my faves since I'm not going to night one.

Oh shit, sorry, I meant Late Greats. I had an almost 10 hour drive home yesterday, I was a little brain dead clearly. 

But they did play What Light on 21 Aug 2016 in Chicago at Pritzker Pavillion, so its still on the table for this tour, I'd say!

i would be so happy if I got to hear What Light live, nice that they pulled that one out, there is hope to hear it during the LA run now.

Hope is alive!  I requested the crap out of the electric version of Spiders last year before the Greek show in LA.  I had my fingers and toes crossed that they'd resurrect it after all the requests and wouldn't you know, they wait until the show after LA to start playing it again.  Glad to see it's still on the table a year later, even with the "quieter" vibe of all this Schmilco setup.  Cannot wait for those 3 nights in LA.  These setlists aregreat.  This is gonna be a fun tour to follow.

My thoughts exactly! I've never seen Spiders at all and definitely want to hear the electric version.  I did not get to see a Star Wars show when they were playing it almost every night and earlier this week I was afraid they were gonna quit electric Spiders a couple weeks before the shows we are seeing in LA.

Matt, I don't know how I missed this earlier, but yes, I'm in! I don't know if Brennan has any time these days for concert outings...he's getting his computer repair business up and running and expanding, so that's eating up all his time right now. But I think I'll talk him into one of the 3 nights. He won't be too hard to persuade, especially if I dangle Cole's and the Varnish. I want to see the Varnish myself, and it would be terrific to see you again! Let's talk when the date gets closer.

Schweet!  i'll look forward to seeing you and hopefully Brennan and you can meet my wife this time.  I haven't been back to the Varnish since that night either, so I'm looking forward to that, too.

Are hotels in San Francisco normally this pricey? Might have made a mistake booking the 5 show ticket...

Anyone have any advice on the area (or want to let me crash on their couch? )

I've stayed at the Majestic for Fillmore shows. http://www.thehotelmajestic.com/default-en.html   It was decent but worn the last time I stayed there in 2010, but it looks like they renovated and the price is higher than it used to be, still not too bad.  Good location for the Fillmore.  Hotels all over the country have gotten shockingly pricey in the last few years, it seems to me.

I'm gonna try AirBnB for the first time when I go to Austin, TX in the fall.  Does seem to be a lot cheaper than nice hotels.

I did not know the Riviera was a dump.  I don't live in SF anymore, but I was spoiled by having the Fillmore.  It is a fantastic venue and the way it is run makes the concert experience there a cut above for sure.  Its like being in Amsterdam or something, like as long as you are cool, you are safe from the laws of the outside world.  You don't see any security unless there is a mess to clean up.  You do get the guy at the top of the stairs giving away apples saying "Welcome to the Fillmore"  as has been the tradition going back to the 60s and they give away free posters at the bottom of the stairs at the end of the show until they run out of a few hundred or so.  Enjoy the run!

Did not think that Star Wars every night was something that would happen at SF... especially since they sold 5-day tickets... I assumed it would be along the lines of the Riviera residencies...

I hope you are right and that it is also true for the LA run.

Got that presale password too late yesterday to get any tickets for Thurs in LA, but I got a pair in the balcony off to the side in the general onsale this AM.

So we are going to Wed and Thur, got decent center floor seats 13 rows back for Wed from the Wilco presale.

Looking forward to hitting Cole's French Dip and The Varnish again!

kidsmoke, are you in?  Is your son coming again?

Like knotgreen, I still want to know if they are gonna do Star Wars every night in LA and SF.  I sure hope they don't, but they did it at all the two-night stands earlier this year and last year, I think.  Not knowing that Is what kept us for going for all three LA shows.  If they do Star Wars every night I definitely do not want to hear it three nights in a row.  Two nights in a row is pushing it, but I could deal with that if I had to.

 But to deny that Garcia was the most important is also silly.

Dude, I don't know what to tell you. Just kind of a lighthearted discussion, and you seem really upset. Feel like I'm getting dragged into some kind of bigger issue you have. I'd suggest you just ignore me in the future if it's that upsetting to you. 

Its pretty simple.  I'm asking you to be polite and respectful to this community and not call the opinions of others silly. Is that too much to ask?

Well, I think it's silly. Sorry if you disagree, not meant to be a personal attack, don't take it that way. I'm sure there are plenty of opinions people hold about all sorts of things you find to be silly too. Have you heard what some people think about this guy called Jesus? Or Donald Trump?

So now you are making assumptions about what I think or don't think and you don't even know me or haven't even met me?  What the fuck, dude?  Just because you make judgements about other people's differing opinions doesn't mean that I do.

I don't agree with you that Jerry was the main attraction in the Dead but I don't think your opinion is silly.  Apparently you do think its silly if someone disagrees with you on this point about Jerry.

I'm not taking it as a personal attack on me, I'm just noting that its unpleasant to have a discussion with someone who feels the need to invalidate the opinions of others that he doesn't agree with.  You could easily just state your opinion about Jerry being the main attraction without making judgements about dissenting opinions.

I don't know. All the hearsay seems to be stacked up against one guy, which makes me suspicious. 

So when the majority of the evidence over years and years indicates one guy is consistently a dick, you become suspicious of the evidence?  For someone who acknowledges repeatedly that he doesn't know much about a given band and that he isn't more than a casual fan of the band and claims that he doesn't have a dog in the fight, you sure do seem to be siding with one guy in this band.

If you think that CR was the Crowes, I question the depth of your understanding what made the Crowes great. Without Rich and Steve and Marc Ford and Eddie Harsh, the Crowes would not have achieved what they did based on CR's talents alone.

Well, you have to consider all the years that Gorman and Rich have put up with CR and said nothing about it publicly, which to me indicates they have shown a lot of restraint.    Gorman said what he said AFTER CR nixed the 2015 tour and he only did it after a lot of time had passed and after Rich made his public statement.  I think CR's way of saying he didn't want to do the 2015 tour was the last straw for Rich and Gorman.  Instead of saying "I don't want to be in the Black Crowes anymore"  he apparently said "I will be in the Black Crowes for one more tour if the rest of the band including the remaining founding members and the guy who wrote most of the music for all those years become second class members of the band and I get a way bigger share of the money than they do."  It was just a big fuck you from CR to the rest of the band, at least that's how I see it and how many other people see it.

Its no secret that CR can be "difficult" if he doesn't like something.  Its no secret that he can be controlling, opinionated and aggressive.  I don't know if Rich is equally difficult to work with, but there isn't a lot of evidence to suggest it. You probably do have to have followed the Crowes for a long time to know about all this stuff.  Gorman was a founding member and he had a huge following amongst Crowes fans.  Many fans would regularly state that he was, in their minds, an essential member of the Crowes and not replacable.  Hardcore fans freaked out when the Crowes did a couple weeks of shows in Spring 2005 without Gorman because he was reluctant to the reunion.

I think the vitriol comes from people losing a band that they really loved and the way CR chose to handle it, by being so disrespectful to the other guys in the band.  He could have done it way more gracefully, I think.  Note that he never denies what Rich and Steve have said.  He chooses to avoid specifics.  He sounds like an evasive politician to me.  I just don't respect that.

I get that he doesn't want to be in the Crowes anymore and I can respect.  His voice can't handle the old stuff well anymore anyways.  I just wish he weren't behaving like such a dick towards the other guys in the Crowes.

Silly to not think that Garcia was the only indispensible member of the band?  Really?  I don't understand why people can't just have their opinion without having to attempt to invalidate a differing opinion.  Its a discussion, not a contest to be correct.

I think there are plenty of people who value the Weir/Barlow catalog as much as the Garcia/Hunter.  And plenty of folks who get that Weir's angular weird chords/rhythm stuff worked fantastically as a foil for hot Jerry soloing.  You can't have long intense jamming that was the hallmark of early Dead like in '68 and '69 and in '72-'74 without the drumming and bass and keyboard rhythm to provide a foundation for the whole thing.  And I think all those guys did all that in a unique way that made the sound what it was.   I hear that you don't hold that opinion, but it certainly does not mean that its silly to not hold your opinion.

Figured Izzy wouldn't do it....His stuff with the Ju Ju Hounds is quite good, especially the first one. Has a Keith /Expensive Winos feel to it....

I love that first Ju Ju Hounds album, too.  Rick Richards from the Georgia Satellites was perfect for that band.  Shuffle It All!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKBgbbFaF2U

I somewhat agree with ya about Jerry's impact on the band on a given night, but there is also the saying "When Phil is on, the band is on" if you subscribe to that notion.  I also don't underestimate the importance of the drummers having a good night being a big factor in how the train was rolling.  I tend to think that all members of the band had an important role in how the ensemble as a whole performed.  Some members' contributions were clearly more obvious than others, but I have a suspicion that even stuff Weir was doing had a signficant impact one way or another.

I'm a bit surprised, over on archive.org, how strong the prevailing notion is that Jerry was far away the most important person in the band and everyone else was secondary, as if he was the one carrying the rest of the performers into brilliance.  I mean, I can see a few people thinking that way, but I would think most Heads would see that the Dead and their ethos was about the collective being bigger and more important than any one person's contribution. There is a whole lot of Weir and Brent bashing that goes on over there and its surprising to me.