chuckrh

the elephant in the room is that this is probably the last chance most of us will have to see them. everything seems a bit more inspired this tour. i'm pretty jaded but am excited for this show (august 14 for me). keeping an eye out for a tape of the second show.

i really like that they changed a third of the set list. bodes well for the tour. nice to be surprised at a big show like that.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/magazine/universal-music-fire-bands-list-umg.html?curator=MediaREDEF

the list of artists that lost tapes in the fire. no wilco, thank God

As I've said before, I think originality and ceaseless "creativity" for its own sake is way overrated by lots of artists and fans.  I'm all for it if it results in art that is strong and high quality.  I'm not for it if it results in stuff that is mediocre or weak.  I think Wilco's last three albums are mediocre at best especially compared to their earlier stuff (I know many disagree with me).  As for what they play live, I just want to hear their best stuff, whether its old or new.  Its not about nostalgia for me, like trying to remember and relive old times, its about I want to hear a killer band playing their best music.  Its about what I perceive to be high quality and low quality.  If the new stuff were as good to me as the old, I would be wanting to hear it. But for me, with Wilco and a lot of other bands I like, I like the earlier or mid career stuff best.  I think there is a fairly observable trend that artists create their strongest work when they are young and hungry and they mellow out as they age or put out more and more music.  I get that many songwriter performers want to focus on their new stuff, and I'd guess that wanting to feel relevant and having a judgement and aversion to "becoming a nostalgia act" is motivating them, consciously or subconsciously.  I just wish they'd take a tip from what the Grateful Dead did and not even consider a song's age in deciding whether to play it or not, play what is good, keep a large repertoire from the entire catalog going at all times and don't do a shit ton of repeats.  What is a bummer and a shame to me is this approach of playing the new music heavily on the tour when it came out and then dropping nearly all of it for subsequent tours to again focus on the next batch of new stuff.  An example is what they did with One Sunday Morning, playing it almost every night or close to that for a year and then suddenly dropping it for years.  To me a great song like that, probably the best song on Whole Love, would be great to hear every once in awhile  If they had thrown that in every fourth or fifth show on the last few tours I think many fans would look forward to hearing it, I know I would.  Its almost as much of a bummer to play the old warhorses every single night, another thing that the Dead never did and something that I wish all my fave bands would not do or hadn't done (Tom Petty was, of bands I follow, one of the worst offenders of this).  That's why at least on this tour Wilco has a cool two night few repeats pattern.  I will see them back to back in Austin and know I'm getting variety, even if its predictable variety.

 

If Wilco ever makes another record as good as A Ghost is Born or Sky Blue Sky, I'll be the first to be excited to hear it live.  Until they do, I'll continue to want to hear their best music, which for now, is still their stuff from 10-15 years ago, IMO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN_3o59HFAc

Forgot to mentioned that Jagger's harmonica solo during Rambler was a major highlight, too.

Mick is a great & underrated harp player. I don't think he is any slouch on guitar either. I'm more of a Keith guy but have much respect for Mick as a musician. I was lucky I got to see them 3 times before it became the Rolling Stones Revue in 1989. I have seen some stellar shows though since 1989. We are lucky they are still playing. The law of averages being what it is, I don't think there are going to be many more chances. It should be interesting to see how the tour unfolds.

listened to the tape. not bad for first night of the tour! very cool segue into "You Gotta Move" during the Rambler. excellent Jumpin Jack Flash. i prefer it when they play that closer to the original rather than a long drawn out version. excited for the tour in general. i'm in contact with the guy who runs IORR. he's probably the number 1 stones fan in the world. think i'm going to take him out to dinner or something when he hits town. i am willing to bet he has some great stories!

i have to wait until mid August. like the return of the B stage. pretty sure they will be changing those songs up. i know they rehearsed "play with fire" & "sweet virginia" for that. it always takes them a bit to get into the swing of things for a tour. i just dl'd a tape of the show. word is ronnie is doing a joe walsh & playing great in his sober old age. i seen shows where that was definitely not the case! keith will limber up & hopefully keep the drinking down to a reasonable level. that catches up to everyone, even him, at some point.

excellent set!!!! finally sat down & watched it.

There's even another version on the album Real Live (1984). I have not heard that album in years.

some great mick taylor guitar on that record

i found this. can't remember if allowed to post here. moderator: if inappropriate, apologies & please delete.

http://kigonjiro.com/2019/06/17/wilco-paradiso-amsterdam-2019-mkv-720p/

It's disappointing that for all the narratives they made up, they still included Allen Ginsberg. I mean, you're making stuff up, why not just exclude him entirely? 

he was larger than life, didn't need fiction.

upon reflection, with the exception of the actual performances, the whole thing is a giant p*ss take. & hilarious! i can just see bob & scorcese giggling like school boys when they were  planning this. the whole kiss thing, sharon stone, lucas tanner for God's sake! most of the performances are stellar. i'm not huge on joan baez but she's fantastic in this. any chance to see mick ronson playing is a treat. bob is just intense when performing. i'll have to watcht this again.

Gorgeous album. I can’t stop listening. The first track, Hitch Hikin’ is particularly beautiful.

i'm with you. i'm hit & miss on bruce nowadays. this is a home run & awesome that it's out just before he turns 70. gives hope for some other bands who haven't put much music out in past few decades but keep promising it.

this is fantastic!

the new springsteen record is a stunner. here's a nice write up about it from patterson hood:

http://read.tidal.com/article/patterson-hood-western-stars 

for those of you who haven't seen this, it is a must read. by the grace of God this doesn't affect Wilco but it is a cautionary tale.

Another great one gone. Going to the red temple to offer up a prayer for him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=F7aLXehSXAo

after not receiving any emails from REMHQ for years, there has been a fair amount of activity lately. this is a good thing!

meet the new boss, same as the old boss....

Jeff's headlining a new festival by the folks who used to have the Sasquatch Festival. I'm sure it will be ok but I can't do festivals due to health issues. & it's spendy. Lowball $95.

https://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/music/article/music-fest-Thing-Sasquatch-Port-Townsend-PNW-13785823.php

Shawn passed away on April 5 from diabetes complications at age 53. He was a musician's musician in Seattle. Also played a big part on "Black Love" by Afghan Whigs. 1 of my favorite records of all time. April 5 has bad mojo for Seattle music. Kurt, Layne & now Shawn all died on that day. He will be missed.

how about those Mariners! best start in franchise history. i'm dumbfounded.

Where you there?? Or was it shown somewhere? Yeah agree was nice Robert looked really happy

footage is up on the cure fan forum. the transcript of trent reznor's induction speech is up multiple places. very heartfelt & emotional. reports from people who were there said robert appeared moved by it. i watched the cure set on youtube & they sounded amazing. starting the set with "shake dog shake" was awesome!

the cure induction was stellar. trent's speech, robert's speech & the band's set. they did the whole thing right.