Cold as Gasoline

Congrats, Donna, and all you lovelies here at VC! This forum was the gateway to feeding my Wilco obsession and finding lots of others who shared it. Here's to 20 years of friendships and sharing musical obsessions. 

"The air was crisp" but the atmosphere was warm. It was so great just to do something that felt like a normal thing we would do in the before-times.It was a bit weird, what with the distancing and masks, but the venue managed it quite well, I thought.  The band sounded great and were clearly so happy to be there, as were the fans. Starting with the prayer for healing and ending with "Save It For Me" was an emotional one-two punch that continues to resonate with me a couple of days later.

Thanks for enjoying the show with me, Paul and Vince and Laura and Dana!

Just a late pop-in to say the show was just beautiful in every way. Canal Shores is so close I could (and did) walk over with my lawn chair. I had gone also the night before at the same venue to see I'm With Her and Mandolin Orange, who were also just lovely, if much more mellow. Space is just an incredible boon to the neighborhood here in Evanston, and these Out of Space shows are getting better every year. They did a top-notch job configuring a golf course and American Legion post next to an El station into a magical concert venue, with kind of a Stars Hollow town square vibe. (yes, I just did a Gilmore Girls reference.)

To my ears, the setlist wasn't missing anything and they had plenty of great, varied material between Warm, Warmer, and Sukierae, with some fun covers thrown in. The band sounded tight and looked to be having fun, Jeff in particular. I agree with whoever commented that Jim E. added a lot of interesting flourishes to the new songs that really enhanced their sound.

Glad I got to see a bunch of you there and enjoy a show I will always remember, right in my hood. Thanks for coming up to E-town!

Good recap, Paul! Nice seeing all of you wonderful peeps in Chicago to enjoy our rare March sunny days (I thought to myself, "the air was crisp, like sunny late winter days" as I was walking around). I missed the first night, but last night still has me smiling.

Ah JamBase...home of the bustout. Well, I guess I’m glad that they at least cited me and were complimentary of my humble recap and that they apparently listened to and transcribed part of a recording because I knew there’s no way I could fully do justice to Jeff’s comments especially. And they deserved to be accurately reported.

 

Thanks for all the kind words, guys.

Of course, you know I agree with JamBase that your recaps are the best. And I'd love you even if your recaps were garbage (which they very much aren't). Watched that video on JamBase and got a fuller sense of the physical nuance of the moment.  Thanks for all you do to capture the moment every time, Paul. They do deserve to be accurately reported.

Paul, my friend, you deserve better than to be the primary source on JamBase. 

Thanks, Paul. It was worth the wait. Wish I could hear exactly what words were exchanged. These past couple of weeks have been emotionally exhausting. I admire Jeff for using his platform to encourage kindness and empathy.

refresh. refresh. refresh...

The show was well worth the trip to VT, despite the cold and sleet. Super setlist and Jeff sounded great. Plenty of my favorites in there, including Laminated Cat, The Late Greats, and Hesitating Beauty. I got really lost in it and enjoyed every minute, on the rail over to the right. Good crowd in general, with lots of singing along in the back half. Big fan of the new New Wave Theatre song. He understandably lost patience a bit with the dude yelling stuff out near the end and had to joke about trying to sustain a fake smile so he didn't seem like a jerk. Did that guy not have friends to tell him to shush? Great to see some of you loyal VCers once again (bböp, twoshedsjackson, knotgreen). Until next time (next weekend at the Vic!)

I want to say it's possibly on one of the Tweedy shows in the Roadcase. Might be worth double checking.

Yes, good point! I have to think it is on more than one of them, given the frequency with which they play it. Some homework for me when I get back from Solid Sound.

So sorry about that storm. It was a total anomaly and only lasted about 30-40 minutes here but was insanely intense. Many 100 year old trees were downed in my neighborhood just north of Chicago (north Evanston). It would jangle my nerves to drive through that, too. Glad you arrived safely and had a great show, by the sound of it!  Best of luck in your travels and hope to bump into you in North Adams.

I would love to see "Love Like a Wire" on any kind of formal release (b-side, EP, anything really) so I could have it in my music library. I love the song and the way they play it.

Hi Donna, I will be there! (Susan) ...and I'm bringing my friends  We will definitely check in and look forward to seeing you this weekend!  Charge up those dancing shoes.

Haha! Fancy plant lady fan club? That is pretty weird, though...

I'm normally a Home Depot Garden Center or grocery store impulse purchase kind of plant buyer, but my niece (the one you have met) loves that place because they have cool terrariums (terraria?) and succulents, which appeal to her artistic sensibility. Also, it's a couple doors down from a good taco place and across the street from a guitar store. Crazy world!

Have to share this one. I have been known to frequent a fancy plant shop in my adopted home town of Evanston, IL. One day a few weeks ago, just as I walked in, they started playing Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Last night, at the Tweedy benefit show at the Vic, a lady sat next to me. We were making small talk and she said she had a shop in Evanston. I said, "I feel like I've met you before."  It was the owner of the shop (Cultivate Urban Rainforest and Gallery on Main Street in E-town). Small world!

What an amazingly accomplished woman she is. Congrats to the Kotches!

Just to comment on bbop's point, Rahm was definitely there and walked past me several times (I sat on the center aisle). Thursday was definitely the most enjoyable night for me of the three that I've attended. Count me among those that would like to see more variety.

Sadly, I missed my favorite of the non-repeat songs tonight (the Lonely 1) because a drunk jerk in my row physically shoved me out into the aisle and proceeded to make out with his girlfriend in front of my seat. When I claimed my seat and asked them to please vacate, it turned into a kerfuffle that ended with him yelling at me that "in Wilco world, that's considered not nice."  Ugh.

On the plus side, shout-out to everyone that met beforehand at the State and Lake Tavern. It was great to catch up with some Wilco friends and make some new ones!  Thanks for including me.

Thanks for the recap, Paul! It's the first time I've seen the "fauxliage" and I love it. Chill-inducing parts of the night for me were "Ashes of American Flags", "Reservations", and "The Late Greats".  Great crowd energy, though it was a little too chill in the balcony boxes for my taste.  The floor looked like the place to be for the enthusiastic fan.  

Excellent to see some Wilco friends there, too. Let's do a few more, shall we?

Just read this article, which apparently was published on paper a while ago but is just available online.  So good!  Great discussion between 2 wonderful artists.

http://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/courtney_barnett_vs._wilcos_jeff_tweedy

Sample:

Courtney: Have you ever recorded something that you love so much that you keep it a secret? Does that even work?

Jeff: No, I don't think that would work, because then you get stuck, and then you become the person that's ruining it. I actually do have a lot of recordings that I don't listen to all the time, but when I do I feel like they're my favorite things I've ever done, but I don't know if the world would think that much of them. There are a handful of things like that, but I don't dwell upon them. I always imagine they'll come out on some box set someday or something and the pressure will be off, because it'll just be crazy fanatics buying it and they get what they deserve.

My memory is terrible, so thanks for the recap, bbop!  These were 2 exceptionally good solo shows, very warm and entertaining.  You could feel Jeff's pride to have his kids up there with him on Saturday. Really good, attentive crowds both nights, too!

The whole weekend gave me the warm fuzzies too.  Though I'm not much of a socializer, it was a joy to see some old friends and meet some new ones.  There were a few people I was looking out for that I didn't connect with, but there is always next time.  Thanks to everyone involved for making these shows such a wonderful experience.

Michael Kiwanuka tonight.

Damn!  I would've bought your ticket.  I'm keeping my eye on Cash or Trade, Craigslist, Ticketmaster resellers; any other ideas?  Also, watching for the Deer Tick aftershows to go on sale.

Watch this space.  Still underwhelmed by each and every announcement save FOTC (whom I am seeing already in Chicago).  I reserved a hotel, but may cancel if it doesn't make sense for me to go.  I hate the after-market thing of marking up tickets above the face value, so would much prefer to sell at face to a real music lover

Thanks, Paul, for the detailed recap, as usual!  What did you think of the new song? 

After a couple of tries, I got row AA in section 202 (first row in the second section).  As a height-challenged individual (I'm 5'1"), line of sight is everything for me, so I went with that.  There really aren't any bad seats in the pavillion though.  The ticket price is usurious, but I'd rather pay a high price and have it go to Wilco and the City of Chicago than some weasel on StubHub.

I bought the 3-day pass but have been underwhelmed by all the announcements so far.  Until FOTC.  Now I am stoked!  Love those guys.