last cigarettes

one other great moment- the band giving over spiders to the crowd for an a capella sing along of the chorus riff for a few minutes before kicking back in right in time. first time i've heard that.

thanks for filling in, bbop- i usually wait to post until i've read your wondeful recaps but i was on such a show high i had to get the thread started once we got back to the hotel. one quick edit- bull black nova was actually the full electric version. and it rocked.

wow.

i'm gonna leave the full breakdown to you pros out there who will do a much better job than i (you know who you are) but all i can say is wow.

for those who missed the banter last night, this set was a classic. jeff gave a beautiful speech about how this festival is so special because we need to inspire each other, to make music and art and share them with each other, and to be together. emotions ran the full spectrum, from poignant and thoughtful to funny as hell (listen for an all-time great lyric flub in via chicago- jeff got dive bombed by a bird or bat or something) to full-on rockin'.

to paraphrase jeff, "That can't win. and you know what i mean by That. This is better." (please feel free to correct if anyone got the exact quote...)

 

tonight is why seeing this band with people i love is my favorite thing in the world.

i am square. missed the photo this morning by 15 minutes, but i've gotten a ton of compliments on my shirt all day.

also would like to add that while the arrangements were (as noted) very close to the album versions, i love the flavor nels adds to the guitar solo in hotel arizona. had the good fortune of catching it live a few times and he always shreds it.

well, that was something.

it'll sure be interesting to see what kind of set they throw together for us tomorrow, now that so many staples have been played...

also, special thanks to mother nature for holding off on any major rainfall until after the show. sounds like we might have a damp morning, but the forecast from midday on looks beautiful. ☀️

just about to leave boston with our crew! 4th time for my wife, son and i, 3rd for my daughter (we missed 2011 because she was only a week old). hope to finally meet some of you in person- please say hi if you see us. my name's isaac. we plan on being there for the group t-shirt photo tomorrow morning- we'll have our kids and i'll most likely be wearing a sox or celtics cap, though those new solid sound hats look pretty sweet. see you all there!

WOO HOO!

best news i read all day (not that it's a very high bar at the moment).

looking forward to being there, back in [our] old neighborhood...

i know. i'm usually not one to give up hope given the boston sports miracles we've been part of in the last 15 years, but i think this one might be a foregone conclusion. it was a hell of a year, though, and danny and the ping-pong balls have us set up well for the near future.

sorry to hear you'll miss solid sound this year, tim- wishing you a speedy recovery and looking forward to more great shots from you soon.

jokes are no fun when no one gets them.

 

 

there's gotta be a Celts fan around here somewhere, right?

and as soon as they realize those guys are not coming through that door, the better this town will be for all of us because there are young guys in that room playing their asses off...

can't be there this year, but will be attending my fourth solid sound with the wife and kiddos, so i can't really complain. the 2012 show was really fantastic, along with being my daughter's first wilco show (at age 1).

speaking of first shows, were any of you other long-timers at the 1999 newport folk festival? i believe that was my first-ever time seeing jeff and the (old) boys. just looked up the setlist again- short, but pretty sweet. if only i could find a recording, it would make quite the little time capsule for the collection...

ryan adams

jrad.

getting in touch w/ my early 90's massachusetts indie rock freak self tonight- dino jr and buffalo tom at house of blues (in the shadow of fenway). love you, boston.

the head and the heart. declan mckenna opening,

jrad at lupo's in providence. they killed it two nights in a row in boston in november...

here's my review and photos from the weekend:

https://digboston.com/fotobom-wilco-weekend-at-the-orpheum/

you captured it perfectly, tim- i've always enjoyed your photos but never realized you were such a fine wordsmith as well (aside from all your work on here, of course)...

george, my heart goes out to you and your friends. that's the only time i've ever heard a personal dedication at a wilco show- a moving moment, even more so knowing the context. hope it helps you all in healing and celebrating his life.

went to this one on a whim after both nights in boston. my friend had two GA floor tix she couldn't use, so i called my cousin on saturday to see if he'd be into going. his first time seeing wilco, so i was pretty pleased he said yes. never been to CSMH before, but it's a pretty decent venue. we only got to the show about 10 min before wilco went on, so my hopes of being up front were quickly dashed. found a decent corner at the back of the first floor section, to the right by the ramp and rail. sadly, we found that there was a disproportionate number of taller than average showgoers last night- i'm 5'11", but was struggling to get broken views of the band all night. it also seems like they could have terraced the floor sections a little differently- the two-steps down in between each level was kind of weird. at least the sound was good- not as boomy as i anticipated and the crowd was mercifully low on talkers...

this one seemed closer in energy to the friday orpheum show than the night before. again, not a lot of banter, but there was a choice jeff quote as soon as SW was finished. he thanked the crowd, said that was their new album, and then adivsed "everyone should listen to albums". after cheers and applause, he added something like "seriously- just shut the fuck up once in a while and listen to an album". also liked his response to the IG requester-"we play it every night. the only surprise is going to be when."

this was one hell of a barn-burner. i loved friday, as it was our first chance to hear star wars live, and it plays so well as a piece. wasn't sure about hearing it in full two days in a row, but it was just as good the second day. particularly love you satellite, and magnetized, which feels like a lost track from sgt. pepper to me. as soon as the applause dipped when SW was finished, and the first notes of spiders began, the whole of the floor went pretty bananas- with great reason. i can't recall my last live electric spiders, and i love the acoustic one, but this was such a perfect shot of pure energy to kickstart the second half of the show. i was bummed to read it had gotten dropped as a first encore from friday, but honestly i think it was better in this position...

at that point, i didn't care how many repeats we got- it was clear that the energy in the old room was gonna be special on saturday. loved the bouncy groove in you are my face, and box full of letters was a welcome addition too. IG is always brilliant, but on this one nels seemed to shine even brighter than usual. for me, though, the ultimate highlight was the triple blast from being there to end the set. just so much fun. i like AM, but BT was the first wilco record i really fell down the rabbit hole with, and i'm always happy to hear it featured prominently at shows. bands playing old albums in their entirety around major anniversaries seems to be a growing trend these days, and i would give anything to see BT get this treatment from the boys (10/29/16 will be its 20th birthday. just an idea for the next tour.

wilco- my first triple-header! looking forward to the GA floor tonight for a change of pace.

wilco

Boston Herald review

 

http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/guestlisted/2016/01/last_best_show_wilco_at_the_orpheum

 

 

cue homer simpson voice: "mmmm... meaty delights..."

great show- what it lacked in length it certainly made up for in impact. the lack of banter was noticeable but it did make for an all-killer, no-filler sort of feel to the night. i thought the crowd energy was pretty good- a bit talky but i'll take talking and standing over quiet and glaring at you for standing at a rock show any day. my highlights were you satellite, company, art of almost (seems to be in pretty heavy rotation at this point, but i never get tired of it for some reason), via chicago and the hoot-style misunderstood and shot in the arm. curious to see as the first two-night stand on this tour whether they play star wars in full again tonight or give us a deep-cut geek-out show. my preference is clearly the latter, but it will be a great evening of music no matter what. also just talked my cousin into sharing my friend's spare pair for new haven, so i'll be pulling my first back-to-back-to-back...

getting psyched, boys and girls... fingers crossed for my long-shot requests to pop up (shake it off for tonight, acuff-rose for tomorrow), but i'm just thrilled that it's finally here- feels like solid sound was a long time ago. we'll be orchestra row N (left center) and i'll have my bernie shirt on tonight. my name's isaac- say hi if you see me. have a great show, everybody...