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nalafej

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Posts posted by nalafej

    Solid Sound May 27-29 2022

    in Just A Fan

    Posted

    2 hours ago, summerdai said:

     

    They are booked for festivals in Europe late June this year. This would not have been the case had it taken place in 2021, I would expect them to return to the normal weekend. Whether next one will be 2023 or 2024 remains to be seen. 

     

    Solid Sounds/MASSMoCA socials said 2024

    • Like 1

    Wilco - Cruel Country - New Album

    in Just A Fan

    Posted

    https://www.jambase.com/article/wilco-new-album-cruel-country-single

     

    from the ashes alert, but more context from Jeff/band on the release.

     

    “there have been elements of Country music in everything we’ve ever done,” frontman and guitarist Jeff Tweedy said. “We’ve never been particularly comfortable with accepting that definition, the idea that I was making Country music. But now, having been around the block a few times, we’re finding it exhilarating to free ourselves within the form, and embrace the simple limitation of calling the music we’re making Country.”

     

    Tweedy also commented on the live approach to recording. “It’s a style of recording that forces a band to surrender control and learn to trust each other, along with each others’ imperfections, musical and otherwise,” he said. “But when it’s working the way it’s supposed to, it feels like gathering around some wild collective instrument, one that requires six sets of hands to play.”

    The title Cruel Country works on so many levels and the album as a whole serves as “a loose conceptual narrative on the history of the United States,” press materials for the LP noted. “It isn’t always direct and easy to spot, but there are flashes of clarity,” Tweedy continued. “It’s all mixed up and mixed in, the way my personal feelings about America are often woven with all of our deep collective myths. Simply put, people come and problems emerge. Worlds collide. It’s beautiful. And cruel. The specifics of an American identity begin to blur for me as the record moves toward the light and opens itself up to more cosmic solutions—coping with fear, without belonging to any nation or group other than humanity itself.”

     

    For Jeff, country music is a good vehicle for him to navigate the problems facing the country, as he explained:

    More than any other genre, Country music, to me, a white kid from middle-class middle America, has always been the ideal place to comment on what most troubles my mind—which for more than a little while now has been the country where I was born, these United States. And because it is the country I love, and because it’s Country music that I love, I feel a responsibility to investigate their mirrored problematic natures. I believe it’s important to challenge our affections for things that are flawed.

    Country music is simply designed to aim squarely at the low-hanging fruit of the truth. If someone can sing it, and it’s given a voice… well, then it becomes very hard not to see. We’re looking at it. It’s a cruel country, and it’s also beautiful. Love it or leave it. Or if you can’t love it, maybe you’ve already left.

    • Like 1

    YHF Anniversary Shows

    in Just A Fan

    Posted

    Any word on what's on the new 7inch? I assume the alt take of ITMWLY that is in the Foxtrot X Wilco popup promo picture, but what's on the flippity flop?

     

    edit: Wilco posted a pic on instagram. Alt take of War on War.

    Live! Tonight!!

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Chez said:

    Was supposed to go with the family to see Ratboys at Thalia Hall.  They cancelled.  Kind of relieved, but was looking forward to it. 

     

    Same. Well, was supposed to go until I had to isolate myself. Glad they rescheduled to a date I can attend.

    • Thanks 1

    Live Is The King

    in Just A Fan

    Posted

    22 hours ago, Chez said:

    I seem to recall that Jeff did the same thing when he released "Warmer."  You had to purchase "Warm" and "Warmer" together which was mildly aggravating for those who already owned "Warm."

     

    True with the slight exception of those that were able to score a copy of Warmer on Record Store Day where it was a stand alone.

     

    It's hard not to see the manner of releases like this as a way to boost sales.

    Wilco — 22 October 2021, Las Vegas, NV (Brooklyn Bowl)

    in After The Show

    Posted

    This show really had no business being good but just landed so solidly. Very small and new bowling alley clearly not ready to host serious artists judging by the blown taps by the time Jesus Etc rolled around. 
     

    We can’t complain about this setlist. They are changing up to a significant degree, they played deep YHF & Ghost cuts and I actually thought they weren’t going to play IATTBYH, HMD or I’m the Man which would have been nuts (and appreciated) but the latter two were welcome in the encore. 
     

    loved the comments about Wilco in Vegas: ‘The Hit’ especially since our hero and rail riding friend partook in the Rod show the evening prior.  


    and, everybody, listen: Vince is right. BBN absolutely slayed. I was hoping for a NovaCat but it was all good. 
     

    other random observations- 1. Mikael was just so solid on Wishful Thinking. Not sure I’ve ever heard him that far up in the mix?? 2. Wilco’s merch table is really pathetic. What’s up with that? I go to shows at 100 person venues and the headliners have stronger offerings. 3. I love it when pat gets his due. Fun to watch him count off Born Alone and take his role on for BFoL. 4. How can you not play Casino Queen in Las Vegas?????
     

     

    • Like 2

    Jeff Announces Starship Casual

    in Just A Fan

    Posted

    14 minutes ago, lost highway said:

     

    My take on every exclusive, collectors thing Wilco/Tweedy does is whatever you're down with, do it. I'm not into buying work of art, unprecedented packaging for hundreds of dollars, like the special edition Ode to Joy, but how could anyone be pissed at an artist for making a thing and selling it? 

     

    Agree.

     

    I mean, a track with Glenn, Spencer and Andy Shauf (today's release) deserves compensation.

     

    I'm so delighted to see that Andy and Jeff collaborated on this.

    Live! Tonight!!

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    22 minutes ago, uncool2pillow said:

    So, funny story, to me at least. I didn't see an opener announced on the ticket, website, or anything. There was an opener. They said their name, but I didn't catch it. Nice enough jangly pop, none of it recognizable. Then they played "Out Of My Head" by Fastball. They then proceeded to play two more Fastball radio hits. It WAS Fastball. 

     

    That is super funny. Oh man, The Way was an ear worm for me for a solid year back when it came out.

    Wilco — 20 August 2021, Columbia, MD (Merriweather Post Pavilion)

    in After The Show

    Posted

    Great narrative from VC’s reigning content champ, bbop, as always!

     

    It was a nice night to ‘check in’ with Wilco. I thought it was a fine performance from the band. It really seemed liked they picked up where they left off in 2019 which is probably both a good thing while at the same time perplexing. My favorite moments of the night were the opening number, The End, Always in Love and the first two songs of the encore.
     

    I think Jeff has done a great curatorial job with the setlist. That said, spontaneity is a good thing and the OTJ songs really just don’t match the quality of the rest of the set and drag it down imho.  
     

    This was the 35th US state I’ve seen Wilco in and it was a nice enough venue (holy shit- The Who and Led Zep on one bill at this place?!!) aif not in the neighborhood of a Red Rocks or 930 Club. The sound wasn’t great up front in the pit.  We parked ourselves in seats for SK and it was better back there. 
     

    super glad we made this one. Might have to check in again back home in Chicago next weekend. 

    • Like 1

    Wilco — 13 August 2021, Maryland Heights, MO (Saint Louis Music Park)

    in After The Show

    Posted

    2 hours ago, bböp said:

    Would it be sacrilege to say I thought the opening sets by Nnamdi (although just 20 minutes long) and Sleater-Kinney were both excellent and the headlining set by Wilco was just pretty good? OK, I won't go there and maybe it was just the contact high hitting me harder than usual, but I can't deny that the thought didn't occur to me at least once over the course of the 90 minutes Jeff and his bandmates were on stage before they were forced to end their set somewhat abruptly because of an apparent 11 p.m. curfew.

     

    "We're running out of time," Jeff announced to the crowd at the 4,500-capacity Saint Louis Music Park before the final song of the main set, I'm Always In Love. "We'll be back. We always come back. Wilco's like a bad penny." (Note to Wilco management: Maybe that should be the next T-shirt design. Also, on a personal note, maybe don't have the band play venues where they won't let you bring in an empty poster tube to protect the poster that you wanted to give money for. So stupid. I guess it's a Live Nation venue, so you know there's gonna be plenty of inane rules, inflexible protocols and overpriced concessions.)

     

    At any rate, the SLMP is a pretty new concrete pavilion/amphitheater with several sections of floor seating and, behind that, a large bleacher-like structure with more tiered seating that is located a stone's throw from the Hollywood Casino and adjoins a large ice rink that is apparently the practice facility for the St. Louis Blues hockey team. Apparently it's so new that Jeff mentioned that he looked it up on Google Maps to see where it was situated and the picture was still of a construction site. It's also located a good distance northwest of downtown St. Louis, which sort of led to a running joke throughout the show when Jeff mentioned on several occasions that he "grew up here, or about 18 miles from here" (or some variation of that).

     

    Much of Jeff's banter over the course of the show focused on his local roots. "I grew up near here," Jeff quipped at one point. "Even if I can't remember it, I know it's true." After mentioning that he had written Box Full Of Letters in town, he asked John if he remembered practicing the song in Maplewood for the first time. And regarding the increasingly strong cannabis odor that developed as the evening went on, Jeff said he knew that the marijuana situation had changed since he was younger but "it smells like I'm at the Checkerdome. It feels like I'm at a Triumph concert." I'm sure that particular comment conjured up some distinct memories — or lack thereof — for St. Louisians of a certain age.

     

    One of the highlights of Wilco's set, for me at least, occurred when the band came back for a quick one-song encore. "We can't leave without playing my dad's favorite song," Jeff said, dedicating Casino Queen to his late father Bob. According to Wilcoworld records, three of the last four times the band has played the song live have come in St. Louis and there probably haven't been too many St. Louis shows it has ever played when it hasn't been performed.

     

    For me, the other highlight of Wilco's set was another blistering Art Of Almost. Maybe it's just because it kind of disappeared from the setlist for a while, but I feel like since it has come back during this tour that it has some extra energy, some added juice, especially during Nels' outburst toward the end of the song as it erupts into controlled chaos. Along with his usual creativity during songs such as Impossible Germany, Side With The Seeds and Either Way, it caused Jeff to remark at one point, alluding to a plaid or checkerboard Western-style shirt that Nels doesn't often wear, "Nels is on fire tonight. It's the cowboy shirt."

     

    So why would I suggest that maybe I enjoyed the opening sets a tad more than Wilco's tonight? I suppose part of it has to do with Wilco's set sort of following its usual arc for the most part. The middle-to-back half of the set, in particular, just sort of feels a bit inevitable at this point. Is that because I've seen too many Wilco shows? Probably. But you can't tell me that substituting out Box Full Of Letters, Jesus, etc., or I'm The Man Who Loves You for something else every once in a while wouldn't freshen things up a bit for everyone, band included.

     

    More than just setlist quibbles, though, I also felt like both Nnamdi and Sleater-Kinney got the crowd involved by encouraging people to come dance in the aisles and urging folks to clap and/or sing along. (S-K also keep adding different songs to their set as the tour goes on, which I didn't necessarily expect either.). By contrast, the Wilco audience — despite standing up from the get-go — didn't seem super energetic. I'm only judging by what I could see in front of me, and I was about 15 rows back in the middle, but it didn't seem like many people were bobbing their heads or moving much at all — even during Casino Queen. The guy next to me asked me what song Art Of Almost was — "you seem like a fan, bro," he told me — and seemed pretty concerned with sparking his joint, while the couple in front of me was respectful enough but seemed kind of bored and wound up leaving early.

     

    Could it have been too much weed in the air? Maybe. But when did Wilco become a total stoner band? Maybe just in good ol' St. Louis. I don't know. Am I just lame? Probably. #JustSaying #NoOffense

     

    Here was Wilco's complete setlist, as played (didn't get a look at a printed setlist, so can't say if there any changes/omissions):

     

    A Shot In The Arm

    Random Name Generator

    At Least That's What You Said

    Love Is Everywhere (Beware)

    I Am Trying To Break Your Heart>

    Art Of Almost

    If I Ever Was A Child

    Impossible Germany

    Box Full Of Letters

    Side With The Seeds

    Either Way

    Everyone Hides

    Dawned On Me

    Jesus, etc.

    Theologians

    I'm The Man Who Loves You

    Heavy Metal Drummer

    I'm Always In Love

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

    Casino Queen

     

    And Sleater-Kinney's complete setlist, as played, was as follows (for the couple of people on here who might care):

    High In The Grass

    Hurry On Home

    Price Tag

    A New Wave

    Shadow Town

    Can I Go On

    Jumpers

    Down The Line

    The Fox

    Complex Female Characters

    Bury Our Friends

    Bring Mercy

    Worry With You

    One More Hour

    Tomorrow's Grave

    Modern Girl

    One Beat>

    Entertain

     

    I can smell this review. Thanks for the great recap, as always.

     

    I was sorta hoping their limited time allotment on this tour might spark the same setlist creativity that we saw on Americanarama, but I guess as headliners they feel obligated to stick to the favorites. I'm really looking forward to catching the tour at Merriweather Post next week.

    • Like 1

    Wilco (kinda!) — 12 August 2021, Kansas City, MO (Grinders KC)

    in After The Show

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, bböp said:

     

     

    —I do wonder if we’ll actually start to see any collaborations between the two bands as the tour goes on. Clearly from the IG stream and since they covered the song on the tour split single that is being sold at shows (except KC, apparently), S-K seems most comfortable on A Shot In The Arm. But since Wilco has been opening their sets with that song, it would seem like they would have to switch their set order around to have the S-K ladies come out and join on backing vocals. Or perhaps they all still have something up their sleeves that remains to be seen. I don’t personally see S-K coming out to do backing vox on, like, California Stars, for example. So it’ll be interesting to see what happens over the next couple of weeks…12 shows left!

     

    Hope so too! Looked like they were singing along to Theologians. That could be another option.

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