chuckrh

I got lucky Thursday night. I'm glad that I checked the FB Event page for the Agganis Arena show. (I recommend this for anyone looking for tix in a real time environment). Amongst the tour stories were some people looking to get rid of extra tix. Luckily, I noticed this one woman who was in the next town over. I offered her a bit below face and met her in town. I made it in with 5 minutes to spare. Here's my review: it was awesome seeing them, especially after 8 years. However, I felt that the setlist wasn't what I hoped to hear. I'm envious of NYC 1's setlist. That show had the songs that I wanted to hear. Boston was surprisingly heavy on Kiss Me & Head On The Door (5 each). I think the only old songs that I never heard live before that night were Kyoto Song, The Snakepit and The Perfect Girl. I would have preferred anything 79-84 & some of the deeper cuts on Disintegration & Wish. I definitely would have tried my best to see all 3 NYC shows, if I lived in NYC.

Glad you got to go. I wish I could've done 3 nights in NYC, too. I can't fly that  far though because of some health issues sadly. 2 hours to Vegas is about the max for me & that's like being in a carwreck. It is pretty cool about the random nature of the setlists. Not many bands care enough to do that. I saw 2 radically different shows in the span of 10 days. Fortunately, I got the Disintegration set in Vegas. All n' all though Portland was better. 2 songs from Pornography! Again, glad it worked out for you.

Seeing the show tomorrow. Listed as a 7:30 show. What time have they been coming on relative to show time? Any opener?

 

 

They will be on probably by 8:30, I think. That start time is actually a little later than the shows I saw (7:00). The opening act is The Twilight Sad & I enjoyed their set in Portland. In Vegas, I could hear them from a bad tshirt line & they sounded good. Worth catching! Might remind you a little of the Smiths. @ the show they have been giving out a flyer to let you download for free a Twilight Sad song & Robert Smith covering the same song solo. Very good. There's an opportunity to volunteer to contribute to a children's charity near where Robert lives with it. Robert seems to do a lot in that area of charity, quietly. Enjoy the show! There's a pretty good chance you'll get a "Disintegration" centric set but you can't tell this tour. They did a bunch of "Bloodflowers" the last show & debuted the song "Pornography" finally on this tour. They still haven't done "The Kiss". I felt it was a tie between the Cure & Iggy Pop for show of the year for me this year. So far! I still have Jeff Beck & 2 nights of Wilco from the front row coming up. Fab music summer!

I wouldn't mind a bit if Eddie wanted to pop in during the Wilco shows in Seattle.  Mike, either. He does own a Jeff Tweedy guitar, so...

I've seen Bill Frissell & Scott McCaugh (YFF, REM) show up more than once @ Wilco in Seattle. 

I hope it has something to do with shows that are going on at Wrigley that weekend...

Eddie is notorious for popping up at other people's shows. It was kind of a running joke with my friend & I for awhile. It seemed every show we went to, Eddie showed up. Broke the the streak when PJ was on tour. At Paul McCartney we got Krist Novoselic instead & no one at the Who. We'll see what happens this summer...

Just watched the band on Jools Holland. Really great performances. Looks like MTV decided USA couldn't handle all of Iggy. 2 songs missing on US broadcast. Here's a link of the whole thing. About 30 minutes. Awesome version of "The Passenger" at the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUkQfMCZ64c

Sweet! I saw them at the Beacon in 2011 (probably the craziest setlist I have ever seen.. When they did Three Imaginary Boys, Faith and Seventeen seconds...what a show! 48 songs in the setlist!!!

You should check out http://thecurecommunity.freeforums.net/ . Really good fan site. Lot of nice people on there from all over the world. After you post 50 times you get access to a bunch of concert downloads. I joined fairly recently & it has been a very positive experience.

Going to three in a row next week at MSG!!

Nice! I'm pretty sure you're going to get 3 very different shows. I think there are only 2 songs they've played every night (Lovesong & Just Like Heaven). I am very jealous! Although I did get to see them in a 3000 seat venue....

I'm not kicking myself too hard. I've had luck grabbing single tickets in the past due to my resiliency. The day before is usually better than the day of in my experience.

 

Thanks for that Denver link. That was going to be my other question. I hope that they release every song performed from this tour somehow.

 

I'd also like to ask permission to retract my statement about Bloodflowers being lumped in with the last 2 records. Bloodflowers is excellent!

Agreed about Bloodflowers. I'm listening to Denver again right now. Bloodflowers night. Most shows they are doing a ripping version of Wrong Number. Reeves just goes off!

Don't kick yourself too hard. I tried getting tix the minute they went on sale and could never get anything. I'm going to have to suck it up and pay more than I want, but I really want to see this tour.

Go! I had been trying to see them for 25+ years. Something bad always came up (most extreme example: my mom died the day of the show in 1992) & I was cursed. So when this tour was announced I got very excited when I saw Seattle was on the list. Turns out it was the Sasquatch Festival. It's a 2.5 hour drive each way & you had to buy a 4 day pass for $400. Bummer. Physically, I can't do the festival thing anymore & you get a shorter set at those shows. So, I bit the bullet & got a ticket for the Vegas show from a broker. It was probably the smallest venue on the tour (3000 seats). Well, it was fantastic! They started with the 1st 3 songs from Disintegration & I almost had a heart attack. They couldn't fit their whole video/light rig in the theater but the lights were impressive anyway. So, I got home & a week later was looking at the Portland show. It was in a shed & the reserved seats were pretty much sold out. I managed to get a single ADA seat that was pretty good for $40. Turns out they hadn't played Portland in 20 years & the show was even better than the Vegas one. The video & lights were fantastic & the set was a little more of an adventure. Over 2 shows, I got 66 performances of 45 different songs. I would go see them again in a heartbeat. The band is playing on an unreal level & seem to be really enjoying themselves. Reeves Gabrels is fully meshed into the band now & his guitar playing is really adding something great to the mix. & Robert is playing real well, too. I had pretty high expectations & the band far exceeded them. The opening band, The Twighlight Sad, were very good also. I don't think you will be disappointed if you have to get a ticket from a broker. There is an excellent tape of the Denver show up on DIME & panicstream.net. Check it out & I think your mind will be made up.

Maybe? He's kind of hit & miss for me. Cuz I'm a loser baby, why don't you kill me!

Hopefully there will be a tour. Nick is such a phenomenal performer. Have been lucky to see him several times. He seems to like Seattle. Sadly, I think this record is most likely going to be pretty dark with the death of his son. I can't even imagine. Hopefully it will help him & give him some peace.

RIP. They didn't call him the greatest for nothing! He will be missed.

Rock & good news! On a lark I went on Ticketbastard to see what was left for the 2nd Seattle show. I'm going solo to that one. I put in for 1 ADA seat & much to my surprise 1 ticket came up for the front row! So, I'm sitting front row both nights of the Seattle stand. Center 1st night, a little off to side 2nd night. My wallet is hurting but I'm excited! BTW: there are still balcony tickets available for the 2nd show. Woo hoo!

I have a 3 day pass to Bumbershoot but I am thinking of trying to unload it ($165 US if you're interested).  The lineup is weak compared to other times that I've gone to the festival. One year I saw Bob Mould, the Breeders, Superchunk, Redd Kross and the Men all in one day! This year's lineup is geared more towards teenagers...or maybe I'm just getting old.  

Anyway, when I visit Seattle I always check out (and would recommend you do to) Easy Street, EMP, La Carta de Oaxaca (Mexican restaurant in Ballard), Sonic Boom Records (up in Ballard near La Carta), Archie McPhee and The Beer Junction (near Easy Street in West Seattle).  

Mariners are in the middle of a homestand the same weekend and I would recommend checking a game out if you're into baseball. The ballpark is fantastic. Friday and Saturday games are at night but they play in the afternoon on Sunday and Monday. 

As for safety...the only time I've felt unsafe in Seattle was when I was wandering around the infamous intersection of Pine and 3rd alone at night trying to find a corner store.

That was the last year I went to Bumbershoot, also. I saw the Breeders, Bob Mould, Eric Burdon & the Zombies (excellent) that day. I'm probably not going this year but if Tame Impala & Chevy Metal play the same day, I'd be tempted if its not on the day of Wilco or Ray LaMontagne. I didn't include Sonic Boom because they are in the midst of changing hands & I don't what the situation is. Usually when selling a store, inventory gets a bit iffy. Closer to the time, I'll post about some concerts & restaurants. As far as the safety, I was just giving a head's up. Since Cowboy Poet is staying at the Moore Hotel, he's kind of in the nexus between 3rd & Pike & Belltown. Awareness is good. I'd recommed the Ms, too, if into baseball. We may be in the heat of a pennant race at that point. Peter King on MMQB mentioned going to Ms game & walking back to hotel at night on Occidental last year. The comment was regarding the aggressive panhandling & lack of police. It has gotten worse in recent years. We don't want out of town Wilco fans to have any sort of bad experience!

Thanks for the info! I really hope to get over to that side of Seattle when I'm there as I love visiting record stores. Grimey's in Nashville is a fun place, too. As for seeing any rock stars, one can dream! 

Eddie actually has to drive by my kitchen to get to his house. He lives about 3 blocks down the hill with only 1 road in. I have a nodding acquaintance from my years in the music biz in town. We don't bug him. PS: I'm happy to be a resource in Seattle for any of you folks visiting from out of town. Night of the 1st show not sure what my plans are as its a work day & need to work out logistics with my friend. We kind of live at opposite ends of the Seattle metro area & it can get a bit tricky with the commute. I may end up going night 2 but will wait & see. The budget would only take 1 show when the tickets went on sale. I've seen Wilco several times going way back & as I hit the jackpot on the presale I may be happy with just doing Friday night. We shall see. I have a lot of shows at the end of August, start of September. Jeff Beck, GBV, Ray LaMontagne & Wilco. I'm probably forgetting someone. Good music summer in the area. I'm still recovering from seeing the Cure twice in the last few weeks. They were my bucket list band & they exceeded expectations by far. I got 2 very different show with at least a third of the set being different songs. I think it was 66 performances, 45 different titles. They were amazing!

Re the EMP Museum, we definitely plan on visiting that and the Chilhuhly (Sp?) glass museum. My brother and his family visited Seattle a couple of summers ago and highly recommended both of those. 

I would check with the Chilihuhly museum regarding access during Bumbershoot. It too is on the grounds of the Seattle Center & Bumbershoot is spread over the whole thing. The EMP may have access though as they have an entrance on the street outside of the Seattle Center. There will be big crowds.

That was a fun ticket buying process! 

 

Excited to see you in a few months! 

Is Easy Street records the place with the Mother Love Bone mural (which Jeff Ament just painted again)? I definitely want to see that. 

Yes, that is where the mural is. Also, the record store day Sonics release was recorded there. & Pearl Jam a few years ago. Ocassionally, you can spot Eddie Vedder there & I've seen Duff McKagan, too. The store goes back a long time. The owner Matt's dad started it long time ago on the eastside of Seattle. He (dad) also managed Queensryche in the beginning. Originally, the store in West Seattle was called Penny Lane & that's where I went when I was a kid. Matt bought it & changed the name to Easy Street. It is a West Seattle institution. West Seattle is a neighborhood across Elliott Bay from downtown. Easily reachable from downtown. I've lived here (except for a few years in LA) most of my life. Not a bad spot. You're in the city & close to everything but there's a nice separation. If you go to Easy Street, recommend the cafe for breakfast. They do lunch, too. Good food, nice waitresses & good prices. No, I'm not a shill for them, haha.  Not a lot of record stores left standing & this one is still pretty good.

Thanks for getting back to me! That's all good info. Easy Street is now on my list. I've actually heard of Silver Platters before and Zion's Gate which I also want to check out. A little sterile is fine for me, our only record store closed down a few years ago so any time I'm actually in a real record store now it's a pretty big deal.

There's some of the artists playing at Bumbershoot that I definitely would have wanted to check out, Andrew Bird, Margo Price, Father John Misty, but the 3 day passes are pricy, that's pretty disappointing if it use to be free. 

We'll drive home on Sunday morning, hopefully the roads won't be too busy since it's the middle of the long weekend.

They will put single day tickets in the near future. It's about $100 a day. Also, I haven't seen a list of who is playing on what day/venue yet. I luv me some Tame Impala but I'm probably not going to deal with it. Interesting artist on the list: Chevy Metal. It's Taylor from the Foo Fighters 70's butt rock band. Dave Grohl plays with them often. Shhhh!

Sorry took so long to get back to you. Was recovering yesterday as I didn't get home until 2:30AM after a very intense Cure show & 5 hours roundtrip of driving. Let me address your quesions. The Moore Hotel is very old, like the theater. I hear it is well kept up though. The area around the Moore can be a problem late at night. Use common sense & don't go wandering around in the dark without people around. Downtown can be deserted late & we have a huge homeless problem. A lot of them seem to congregrate in that area. Driving in downtown Seattle is a nightmare as we have become very unfriendly to cars. There is a huge amount of construction going on. You should be ok on the holiday weekend though. 

Record stores are becoming rare. Probably the best left standing is Easy Street in West Seattle. It's about a 20 minute drive from downtown. I live in that area & its nice. There is a good cafe attached & I have breakfast there on the weekends. Silver Platters is south of the stadiums & is huge but sterile. They have a big used vinyl section though. 

The EMP is pretty cool but access/parking will be tricky that weekend. Its on the grounds of the Seattle Center & that is the home for the Bumbershoot Festival. Bumbershoot used to be free & cool but national promoters have taken over. It's lost some charm & is very expensive. You pay for access to the grounds & you can be shut out of the bigger shows when they reach capacity. That's after standing line for a long time. The smaller stages aren't a problem. 

Other things going on that weekend: Dave Matthews is playing at the Gorge. Its a 2.5 hour drive over the mountains east of Seattle. Not my thing but some people like him. The other show I'm going to that weekend is on Monday (the holiday). Ray LaMontagne with My Morning Jacket (minus Jim James) as his backup band is playing at the Chateau Ste. Michelle winery. Its in Woodinville, a suburb. Very nice place to see a show. It's sold out but you could get a ticket from a broker. I recommend Epic Seats if you're interested.

If you want more info, I'm happy to help you out. Just let me know. I know I've painted a somewhat negative picture in some ways but I'm just being honest. I've lived in Seattle most of my life & its going through some big changes, a lot not for the better. We're kind of turning into a smaller version of San Francisco. Good in a lot of ways but not so much in a lot of others. You will enjoy the Moore. It's very old & small. Was restored with Microsoft money, like the its big brother the Paramount Theater. I'm only going to the first night due to budget & energy issues. I did score front row on the presale though! Pretty excited.

Well I was originally worried about where to stay, but the wife just discovered there's a decent hotel right next to the Moore Theatre, so that takes care of that.

How's driving downtown? How's the Moore Theatre area at night? Best record stores? Is the EMP Museum worth visiting? 

Sorry haven't responded. Been on the run getting ready for a roadtrip today. Going to Portland to see the Cure tonight. I will post some thoughts tomorrow. PS: They call me the warrior poet at work for my sometimes scathing (if you read between the lines) emails. I get results though, haha!

I'm driving to the outskirts of Portland to see the band play again today. They were so mighty a week & a half ago!

In for September 2nd and 3rd in Seattle. I got decent seats both nights but probably not the ones I would have wanted, but I don't know how in demand Wilco would be in a venue like that so I took what I could get. 

If anyone has some advice for the city, it'll be my first time in the US, let me know! 

What would you like to know?

I got front row center for the first Seattle show yesterday. Woo hoo! I'm very excited.

I hope Gordon enjoys the tour & it gives him some comfort. I've seen them several times & they are truly a great live band. Gordon is a very unique performer & will be missed. 

Labor Day weekend is looking pretty good in Seattle. Wilco 2 nights & Ray LaMontagne with MMJ backing him.