bböp

Pretty loose show overall, I thought, at least by Wilco standards. How often do you hear the band not be able to get it together to start a song, like they did on Hotel Arizona? And Jeff getting distracted by something or someone right in the middle of Radio Cure? The show sounded really good, though. Pretty nice acoustics in that place.

Jeff's quote of the night, after noticing someone toward the front (apparently a courtroom sketch artist) sketching them throughout the show: "We need to see those. Whenever I'm sketched, I tend to look...simian."

Here's the complete setlist, in order:

Sunken Treasure

Wishful Thinking

IATTBYH

Blood of the Lamb (w/Total Pros horns-clarinet only)

You Are My Face

Company In My Back

Hotel Arizona (started and restarted three times)

Handshake Drugs

Pot Kettle Black

Side With The Seeds

Radio Cure

Impossible Germany

Jesus, etc.

Theologians

Poor Places>

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

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

Hummingbird

Hate It Here (w/TPs)

Walken (w/TPs)

I'm The Man Who Loves You (w/TPs)

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

Heavy Metal Drummer

The Late Greats (w/TPs)

Casino Queen>

Outtasite (Outta Mind) (w/TPs)

I've scoured the site and the net for the "Addendum" to no avail, but it looks like this tour is a go.

Not to put a damper on this, but last I checked Glenn was scheduled to perform with the Kronos Quartet on New York on Dec. 5 (though I don't think tickets have gone on sale yet, so it could probably easily be rescheduled).

How long did the headliners play?

Well, if by headliners you mean the last act on each stage...Jack Johnson got 1 hour, 15 minutes, Foo Fighters got 1 hour, 45 minutes and someone called Underworld, who was headlining the creatively named Dance Tent, got 2 hours.

(Edit: Out of curiosity, I just looked up Underworld -- who also played right before Radiohead the other night at the All Points West Festival -- and apparently they are pioneers in the British techno scene. That is one genre I can safely say I know zilch about. )

Were they all at the same stage? Luckies!

Yep, same stage. Pretty lucky because Sharon and the DKs were great, as were Rodrigo y Gabriela.

The Swell Season was a nice treat as well. It was just Glen and Marketa this time and they did a cool version of Dylan's "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" off the PA and down off the stage. It's sort of hard to explain, but there was a fire lane leading to the sound tent and after a pretty short set (which also included covers of Michelle Shocked's "Fogtown" and Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks"), Glen came back and jumped down off the high stage into this U-shaped area between the barricades. Marketa soon joined him and they got the crowd to sing the chorus along with them. Most of the crowd probably couldn't see them and, unless you were along the barricades, you certainly couldn't hear them. I'm no expert on the Swell Season, by any means, but it seemed like a pretty unscripted moment. At least I hope it was, and that they don't do that every show.

Only regret was missing Chuck Berry on the other stage; a good portion of his set overlapped Wilco's and he also had the unfortunate situation of being slotted between The Offspring and Foo Fighters.

Pretty standard festival set, but it's always nice to see Hoodoo Voodoo and the Total Pros being there helped punch up the sound (which sounded pretty muted for the first half of the set, at least where I was). I think the band had a bit of misfortune being slotted right between Citizen Cope and Jack Johnson. Seemed like a lot of fans of the latter couldn't wait for Wilco to get off stage, at least judging from the chatter around me. The line "I know you probably hate me/That's okay with me" in Outtasite never seemed more appropriate...

Saw most of the guys watching Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings' set from a raised platform on one side of the stage earlier in the day and, before that, a couple of them taking in the Swell Season's performance as well.

Setlist:

War on War

A Shot in the Arm

IATTBYH

You Are My Face

Impossible Germany

Handshake Drugs

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Walken (w/Total Pros horns)

Hate It Here (w/TPs)

I'm The Man Who Loves You (w/TPs)

Monday (w/TPs)

Outtasite (Outta Mind) (w/TPs)

Hoodoo Voodoo (w/TPs)

Charleston didn't get anything...but a good show. Pretty interesting crowd, all in all. I think Jeff was amused by many of the people in the front row. He also spotted Lilac Rain again, mentioning her name in the same interlude as the guy with the SNL shirt.

Feels like it was the first show in a long time without A Shot in the Arm.

The complete setlist, as follows:

Sunken Treasure

You Are My Face

Side With The Seeds

IATTBYH

Company In My Back

Blood of the Lamb (w/Total Pros horns-clarinet only)

Handshake Drugs

Impossible Germany

Pieholden Suite (w/Total Pros)

Forget The Flowers

Summer Teeth

Jesus, etc.

Hate It Here (w/TPs)

Can't Stand It (w/TPs)

Heavy Metal Drummer

Walken (w/TPs)

I'm The Man Who Loves You (w/TPs)

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

Misunderstood

Cars Can't Escape>

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

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

The Late Greats (w/TPs)

Monday (w/TPs)>

Outtasite (Outta Mind) (w/TPs)

Will you be at the Charleston show?

If you're talking about me, then yeah.

I think they got shut down at 11 by the Theater.

 

--No One Wing, nor Sunny Feeling

One Wing was on the setlist in the first encore, but apparently they decided not to play it. Sorry, Rob! (Great to see you, though!)

And Passenger Side was listed as the intended show closer (as a third encore, I think) but I guess they ran out of time.

Good lord, how I loved that b&b. I want to move in permanently.

Maybe you'd get some semi-live entertainment, finally...

Mike would definitely make you eggy casseroles.

"sunny feeling"

 

not sure I'm going to like this one just from the title...

Well, for one, that might not necessarily be the title (although that's what it's listed as on the setlist). But the chorus is "Sunny feeling's taken away" repeated like four times, so the song has a darker theme to it. It's one of those songs that has a cheery arrangement, but actually sad lyrics. There's also a part that goes something like "I was on my way home from high school/Got stuck at the crossing (?)/The kids are still cruel."

When the band played the song at the Anchorage show under a gray sky and amid a steady rain, Jeff commented that the song was about a day like this one.

Fun show, despite steady rain throughout. It was the 12th anniversary celebration for the Moose's Tooth Pub/Pizzeria/Brewing Company (which had excellent pizza, fwiw) and there seemed to be a good-sized crowd despite the horrible weather. The stage was at one end of their parking lot, which made for a pretty interesting scene. As for the show itself, the band changed up their setlist pretty nicely from the Fairbanks show. I'll let others elaborate on Jeff's hidden soccer prowess...

Setlist was as follows:

Via Chicago

Either Way

You Are My Face

new song-One Wing

IATTBYH

Company In My Back

Remember The Mountain Bed

Handshake Drugs

Impossible Germany

It's Just That Simple

Forget The Flowers

Misunderstood

Jesus, etc.

new song-Sunny Feeling

Walken

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Hummingbird

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

The Late Greats

A Shot in the Arm

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

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

Heavy Metal Drummer

Hate It Here

Casino Queen

Outtasite (Outta Mind)

I'm A Wheel

Hoodoo Voodoo

My ex (who got her PhD at UAF) tells me I've been to this place before but I don't remember it. Would have been cool to be there, but I still think if they were going to play that close to Arctic Circle that close to the Solstice, they should've done it outside under the arctic twilight.

The show was outside. We didn't even step foot inside the place which, on the whole, kind of looks like a roadhouse and is right off of the Parks Highway.

Just a quick recap for now. Got out of the show around 10:30 PM and it was still broad daylight. Gotta love Alaska summers.

Big news was the debut of two new songs, neither of which was the one played at the recent Obama benefit (I don't think). One Wing was a three-guitar psychedelic jam, while Sunny Feeling was more of a straightforward, yet jaunty pop tune.

The setlist:

Either Way

Company In My Back

You Are My Face

Side With The Seeds

War on War

A Shot in the Arm

new song-One Wing

Jesus, etc.

Impossible Germany

new song-Sunny Feeling

Summerteeth

Handshake Drugs

Pot Kettle Black

Poor Places>

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

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

California Stars

Hate It Here

Can't Stand It

Walken

I'm The Man Who Loves You

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

Heavy Metal Drummer

Red Eyed and Blue>

I Got You (At The End of the Century)

Monday>

Outta Site (Outta Mind)>

Hoodoo Voodoo

Last note this morning to bbop....you were correct. The copy of Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation DID sell before the day was out, to a young African American woman who said it was one of her fathers favorite albums. She was extremely pleased to get it.

I told ya, didn't I? I wasn't entirely optimistic with just a few hours to go in the fest, but I'm glad it went to a good home. Hope you cut her a good deal. It is a pretty awesome record.

This was fun...very fun.

 

After a night at the Hideout seeing the Wacos and Burlington Welsh Chorus, I went back the next night to see this. I caught most of Adam Fitz's set, who was completely on. Then into a long stretch of the three vintage soul singers backed by the Checkmates. First off was Wiley and the Checkmates, who burned it up, followed by Harvey Scales who told funny and somewhat off color stories about his various soul pals and then finally Ralph "Soul" Jackson, screaming and singing like crazy. Towards the end of the night a bachlorette party of some sort showed up so the entire front row was filled with young attractive females, which brought out the "best" in the performers.

 

Anyway it was fun and I got a copy of the new Birmingham Sound Comp II as well.

 

LouieB

Cool, Lou...glad you made it.

I gotta give a shout out to my personal favorite Joel tune -- Summer, Highland Falls.

I feel like when it comes to ol' Billy, being a New Yorker (or at least having some New York roots) definitely helps...

Pat is on bass, jeff accoustic, glenn on a small kit. Sounds great!

I knew there would be a Wilco "power trio" incarnation someday!

New song...yay!

Ah, thanks Maudie! Figured it must have been, but too comatose from Fourth of July revelry to look for it.

just got back at it was an awesome show. I've been listening to them for 23 years and they are as tight as ever.

 

Kim Gordon is so amazing. I hope I look like her when I'm 54.

 

don't have a set list, but the ended with Schizophrenia and 100%.

Wow, I didn't know you hang around here Kim...

You looked great up there today, even if you flubbed some lyrics. My friend has a crush on you.

Happened to be looking at the Lolla schedule (though I'm not going or anything) and noticed that Jeff is seemingly slotted at the Kidz stage on Day 1--between The Terrible Two's and Tiny Masters of Today:

Lolla Day 1 schedule

There are no set times listed or anything, so it's not clear whether he's collaborating with someone or doing a set of kids songs or a short solo set or what. Or maybe it's just a misprint. Anyway, I hadn't seen any mention of this yet so I figured I'd at least see if anyone knows what's up.

Actually I was more refering to here....

 

Hey it is my thread let's hijack the fuck out of it. See you at Pitchfork I guess. I wish I could say I was totally looking forward to it, but it should be okay. Besides how many people are really going to log on here to talk about the Handsome Family?

 

As long as we are talking about the shitty ecomomy, it has to be taking its toll on traveling bands as well.

 

LouieB

Yeah, the ridiculousness of gas prices must be keeping some bands off the road (or at least closer to home). It has to be having an effect when gas is almost $5 a gallon some places. Makes me glad I don't have a car right now.

And as for not being around here as much, I'm always around. Just can't keep up with your epic pace, Lou. (Nice primer on Chicago, btw.)

Well, you just did

 

(You'll get away with it if you decide to ignore the $$$ and come to Mallorca )

Yeah, yeah. Seriously, being able to get to Mallorca would be so so awesome but I don't think it's gonna happen. I was thinking, though, that these Spanish shows might be the closest Wilco/Jeff ever get to playing Africa. If they ever did that, I'd be there for sure.

It was probably Jonathan Richman's Egyptian Reggae, which they often play.

Yeah, that's kind of what I thought it might be, but I wasn't sure. Thanks for the clarification.

(Hey Paul...long time no see.)

It was just last month, Lou...Well, I guess that is long for me.

What can I say? The damn economy is taking its toll on everything, I guess. But I'm planning to be in town for Pitchfork in a couple weeks. (OK, done hijacking the thread. Back to discussion about the awesomeness of the Handsome Family. )

The Handsome Family is my vote for a collaboration with Jeff Tweedy some day when he wants to duet with people.

Agreed. Not everyone's thing, but a very underrated band.

Jeff did sing backup on a few songs on their Through The Trees record, I'm pretty sure. And of course, Jeff and Rennie collaborated on the great Golden Smog tune "All The Same To Me."