bböp
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Went to a Wilco show and an Autumn Defense show broke out. Haha. Apparently the M's got held up at the border and couldn't make it in time for their opening set, so the Autumn Defense (acoustic duo version) capably filled in. That definitely set the tone for a fun, loose last night of the tour.
More comments possibly to follow later...Autumn Defense opening set:
new song-Magnificent Is Your Common Sense (first line of song, probably not title)
Silence
The Sun In California
Written In the Snow
new song-The City Bells (with Glenn Kotche, Nels Cline, Jeff Tweedy and Mikael Jorgensen on percussion)
The Answer
Tuesday Morning
new song-How Wonderful You Are (not sure if this is the actual title)
The World (Will Soon Turn Our Way)
Wilco set:
Via Chicago
new song-What Light
The Late Greats
IATTBYH
Hell is Chrome
Handshake Drugs
War on War
new song-Impossible Germany (solo/jam at end)
A Shot in the Arm
At Least That's What You Said
Jesus, etc.
Walken
Theologians
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Hummingbird
---------------------------------
new song-Let's Fight
Misunderstood>
Wishful Thinking>
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
---------------------------------
Airline to Heaven
Hesitating Beauty
Heavy Metal Drummer
Kingpin
Far, Far Away
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As you can probably infer from Brianne's excellent setlist report, it was a very enjoyable show tonight in Freddy (is that what people from here call it?). The Playhouse is a nice, intimate theater -- somewhere around 750 capacity -- but people were on their feet from the start and remained that way throughout for the most part.
Personally the highlights for me were obviously the debut of another new song as well as hearing Radio Cure for the first time in ages (even if Jeff had to politely shush a couple of girls talking near the front of the stage during one of the quiet parts). But as far as the new song -- Let's Fight -- we had heard them working on it in soundcheck the other night in Dartmouth. I personally didn't think it would be ready to play for a while yet -- not because it sounded bad, but just because it seemed like the band was still working on it. I was glad to be wrong when the band launched into it tonight.
It's a proggy-sounding tune, kind of reminded me a little of Traffic on first listen. I could be way off base, but that's what first came to mind. There's not any real distinctive soloing, but it just seems of more like an ensemble piece with the keyboards coming through a little more than some of the other new songs. I jotted down some lyrics as best I could and here's what I can decipher at this late hour:
Even though I know you owe me nothing,
I keep hoping that you'll show me something
Tonight
Even though I know I don't deserve you,
I keep thinking this could be so much better
Too
Tonight, let's fight
Let's get this right
Even though you know I came to comfort you,
I cause you pain. That's all I do.
You're right, just fight.
Let's get this right
Let's fight
Anyway, I doubt that it's a finished product at this point and hopefully we'll get to hear more of it in the couple of shows left on this tour.
Generally speaking, it was a fun show with good energy. Jeff seemed to be having a good time, bantering with the crowd even a little more than usual. He talked again about how much the band had enjoyed their time in the Maritimes, tried to teach the backing vocals on Heavy Metal Drummer (to somewhat mixed success--he said, based on its effort during Hummingbird, that clapping might have been the audience's strong suit) and once again invited an audience member on stage to explain the whole Kingpin screaming routine. Jeff also thanked most the crowd for standing the whole time, gently needling a couple of guys near the front who had been sitting for most of the time.
What else? Well, Misunderstood was slated to be the closer and that would have been a good choice. I'm not sure if they ran out of time or just decided to end it after War on War, but either way it didn't get played. Oh well. In the end, it didn't detract from the show. Spiders in the middle of the set is always slightly jarring, but rather than fade it out, to their credit, the band did the fake-out ending. And there was a nice segue from What Light right into IATTBYH. It's nice to hear how What Light is coming along. I think it's probably the most immediately likeable of the new songs that have been unveiled so far.
P.S. FYI, I won't be at either the Quebec City or Ottawa fests, so hopefully somebody will post with setlists from there. Didn't want anybody to think I was holding out or anything.
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Don't let anyone mislead you with stories of a crappy setlist or technical difficulties, the Dartmouth show was incredible!!
It is a shame that some people on here have seen the band so many times that they are so jaded and resort to critiquing the setlist and complaining of technical difficulties. Perhaps you should cut back on your number of shows attended, it gets to be like an old married couple, nit-picking at every little thing and forgetting the wonderful things that made you fall in love in the first place!!
I can't speak for anyone else, but I almost completely agree with you on all counts. My reporting about the technical issues wasn't meant as trying to slam the band or anything, just reporting what did in fact happen. I totally respect that, for many, this was the first chance to see Wilco live and I mentioned how the crowd was very enthusiastic despite the few technical glitches. And personally I would never complain about a setlist--you'll never see me screaming out any requests because whatever they want to play is ultimately fine with me.
As someone writing a review of the show, though, I'm trying to point out things that made the show unique, interesting, etc., and that's what I did. Believe me, it's not nitpicking.
Glad you had a good time, Nayer.
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Wow, Brianne was quick posting that setlist. Great job!
Well, I guess I can add some comments about the show. The Alderney Landing Events Plaza is basically a big outdoor stage at one end of a huge building that houses the ferry terminal for the Halifax-Dartmouth ferry as well as a bunch of other stuff. Anyway, the stage looks out on a great view of Halifax harbor and Jeff commented on how lucky the Haligonians and Dartmouthians were to live in such a beautiful place. "Atlantic Canada rules!" he said, to plenty of cheers from the crowd.
Apparently the show was a pretty big deal for the local music community, considering that the cover of the local alt-weekly boasted, "You can say you were there when WILCO played Dartmouth." Unfortunately, the big crowd probably didn't get the band's best performance -- largely because of technical difficulties and an 11 p.m. curfew. The first sign of trouble was during Handshake Drugs when Jeff went to switch to his electric guitar and join Nels in their freakout only to discover that he was completely without power. I'm not sure if that was exactly the problem, but it seemed like there was a problem with one of his pedals and the result was that there was nothing coming out of the guitar. So basically Nels (and, to a lesser extent, Pat) had to carry the song and did so admirably. It was eerily reminiscent of the last DVD show at the Vic, for those who were there.
And that wouldn't be the first time that something went awry. As Mike launched into the piano intro for Walken, a frustrated-lookng Jeff once again found himself without power in his guitar and literally had to wave at Mike tio stop playing. It took a few minutes for the problem to be resolved again, but it felt like a lot longer even though Glenn and possibly Pat tried to get a little jam going. Once the power came back, things went fine.
But two songs later, during I'm The Man Who Loves You, Jeff broke a string toward the end of the song and basically couldn't complete his solo. He asked, "Are there any guitar players out there? You're seeing a real showcase tonight."
That was the end of the technical issues, but the accumulated difficulties might have prevented the band from playing at least one more song. It looked like their guitar tech was bringing out another guitar after Spiders, but by then, the curfew had already passed and Jeff had to say goodnight. Despite some of the problems, it was still a fun show and a good portion of the crowd that had never gotten the opportunity to see the band live before brought a lot of enthusiasm and walked away seemingly satisfied.
Also of note: Impossible Germany was once again played with the solo/jam in the middle of the song; the Kingpin screaming routine was explained by Jeff and not an audience member (basically because the crowd was about 12 feet back from the stage behind a barricade and it would have taken forever to get someone up there); and Spiders had the fake-out ending we've come to know and love.
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the etree source of this show has a slight skip on I'm A Wheel...are there any other sources for this show? this is kinda picky but i treat my shows like babies.
just out of curiosity, you mean that if there was something wrong with your baby, you'd go out and look for a different one?
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shit - I drove by Aeolian Hall just to see if stuff was still going on at about midnight. I looked deserted, but there were plenty of hookers on the stroll and crack deals going down - so the husband and I called it a night. Damn , Damn, Damn - both about EB and missing you.
I'll try to figure out how to get the Pics off the cell phone and post them up.
- T (aka the BROOD pimper)
I didn't realize that you were the Brood pimper, T. (I do know that you're a Wrens pimper.) Anyway, too bad you didn't swing by the show that night--it was a nice, relaxed atmosphere and they closed with Powderfinger and Ring of Fire. I agree, though, that the Aeolian Hall looked deserted from the outside. It took me a while to even find the entrance! We'll definitely have to say hi some other time...
Yeah, EB -- it's a group, not a guy -- apparently got switched to later in the program. So that's why they didn't go on until so late. I got out of the Wilco show and cabbed it over there and even got there in time to see the full set by the Rheostatics guy before the Brood.
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Thanks so much for your timely setlist updates. I tune in each morning for the latest setlists, and your show reviews. I think I owe you a few of these
the next time our paths cross.No problem, man. Just trying to do my part.
And no, Judy, no PFK for me this time. And alas, no crepes either. But I did have a nice smoked meat sandwich at Ben's, does that count?
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First of all, for setlist purposes (and no one else probably cares about this besides Rob), the newest song that I had been calling "There's a Light" should probably be switched to "What Light," which is how the band has it written on its setlists. I guess I had been slightly mishearing the chorus, which goes, "There's a light, what light/There's a light, what light/Inside of you." I thought it had been "one light."
The coolest thing about What Light tonight was the way Jeff kept singing the chorus as he backed away from the microphone, and that ended up being how the song faded out. It sounded pretty awesome.
What else of note from tonight? Well, somewhat to my chagrin, the Canadian "Wilco is cock" flag from the other night traveled with the band from London to Montreal and was draped over Mike's keyboard stand the whole night. Fortunately no additional comments were made about it.
More notable was that, just to show that some of the new songs are still definite works in progress, a slightly different rendition of Impossible Germany emerged. Apparently in soundcheck, the band decided to flip Nels' solo and the subsequent jam with the second verse, so that now the solo and jam comes in the middle of the song and then Jeff closes it out with the second verse. Who knows if that's how it will end up?
Oh, and they did the fade-out ending to Spiders for the first time since the beginning of the tour. I liked the fakeout ending, but I think there's also something to the fade out.
Seems like Jeff's getting tired of explaining the whole Kingpin screaming routine, so for the second show in a row, he had someone from the audience come up on stage and explain to the rest of the crowd exactly what to do. I sense this will become pretty routine.
Jeff has been very good with singing the right words, but he flubbed a couple of lyrics tonight. Including accidentally switching the lines in Monday -- singing "He's waiting for a postcard" the first time through and "with the left arm tan." Haha.
All in all, a pretty fun show -- maybe the last real club show for a while?
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Setlist first, with some brief comments to follow...
The Late Greats
IATTBYH
Hell is Chrome
Handshake Drugs
A Shot in the Arm
new song-Impossible Germany
Company In My Back
Jesus, etc.
Walken
Theologians
War on War
At Least That's What You Said
Misunderstood
new song-What Light
Hummingbird
-----------------------------
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
Airline to Heaven
Forget the Flowers
Kingpin
-----------------------------
Heavy Metal Drummer
I'm The Man Who Loves You>
Monday
I'm A Wheel
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(PS - Played where's Pauldo with the Cell phone. Got a couple shots of our favourite 'Outta Head' bopping back and forth at the front of the crowd. Went down to introduce myself after the show and sadly, like a fabled shadow, he was gone)
Awww, I would have loved to say hello.
Someday...I was down there for a little bit -- at least long enough to say hi to Wendy, who was also coming down from the balcony -- but I did book out of there shortly thereafter to go over to that Six Shooter showcase that someone else mentioned. I had told the Elliott Brood guys that I would try to make it over there to see them. Turns out I should have hung out at Centennial a little longer 'cause EB didn't go on until like 12:30 a.m. and didn't finish until about 2. I reiterate my hearty recommendation that people should check them out if they ever get a chance.
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Not to respond to my own post, but I wanted to correct one of my posts from the Toronto show. Regarding the new song, which I'm calling There's a Light, a more accurate set of lyrics for the first couple of verses are:
You feel like singing a song
You want other people to sing along
Just sing what you feel
Don't let anyone say it's wrong
You try to paint a picture
Not sure which colors belong
Just paint what you see
Don't let anyone say it's wrong
And then part of the chorus definitely goes:
There's a light, what light
There's a light, what light
Inside of you
After getting a second listen to it tonight, I'd say it's probably the most straightforward pop song of the newer songs we've heard thus far. The arrangement is pretty simple and it has a neat little melody.
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Seemed like there was much better energy tonight than last, owing mostly to the GA standing crowd and, to a lesser extent, more than a few American ringers in the crowd, especially up front. As the band was leaving the stage after the main set, someone threw at them a Canadian flag on which was written "Wilco is cock." I personally wish that old, old joke would be put to rest, but the guys had some fun with the flag during the encores, at one point draping it over Jeff like a cape. Haha.
Setlist as follows:
new song-What Light
The Late Greats
Misunderstood
Far, Far Away
Company In My Back
IATTBYH
Handshake Drugs
new song-Impossible Germany
War on War
At Least That's What You Said
Jesus, etc.
Walken (Talking To Myself About You)
Theologians
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Hummingbird
---------------------------------
Airline to Heaven
Forget the Flowers
She's a Jar
Kingpin
I'm A Wheel
---------------------------------
A Shot in the Arm>
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
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what'd you think of the new song?
also, was Faggy McGee there?
No Faggy. Maybe one of those others we were discussing...
As for the new song, it's definitely on the ballad end of things. But I liked it. I don't know how else to put it, but to me it had a "bright" melody and that goes along with the lyrics. I guess you could say Beatlesque, which is obviously a pretty generic description. There's no big solos or anything by Nels, just mostly Jeff on an acoustic with the other guys supporting him. Like some of the other new ones, if this makes any sense, I'm maybe more impressed by their arrangements than the actual songs themselves at this point. Whatever you might think of the lyrics or the tempo, I think they just *sound* great with the whole band interacting and playing off one another.
I tried to scrawl down some lyrics, but just caught a few of them...
The first verse is something like:
You try to sing a song
Sing what you feel
Don't let anyone say it's wrong
You try to paint a picture
Not sure which colors belong
Paint what you feel
Don't let anyone say it's wrong
And then the chorus starts off something like:
There's a light, one light
There's a light, one light
Inside of you
I'm probably butchering the lyrics, but I was caught a little off guard by it being the very first song, so like Impossible Germany, once I get another listen to it, I'll have a better idea. Maybe tomorrow night...
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In terms of Jeff interacting with the crowd, it was one of those nights when he didn't for the first 50 minutes or so of the show. And then it was pretty much the usual, "Hello. Is everybody having a good time?" Usually that lack of banter is a sign that things are going well, but he must have seen or sensed something he didn't like because after I'm The Man Who Loves You, Jeff said, "Is this a Sunday night or something? Is it the seats? What do we have to do?" And shortly thereafter, something like, "If we don't see more energy out of you motherf*ckers, we just won't come back out," which sounds bad but I think was said at least partly in jest.
Anyway, pretty much everybody got shamed into standing up after that. So they launched into Jesus, etc., and during the singalong part, Jeff apologized for calling the crowd motherf*ckers. And after the song he talked about how the next time the band comes to town, he wants to see the audience leave that delightful Canadian politeness at the door and behave like it's a rock show.
I thought the crowd was pretty dead most of the night. The seats definitely contributed to that and for whatever reason, people around me for the most part just sat or stood stone still, even during Spiders.
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A pretty eventful night (if somewhat low-energy crowd)--another new song played for the first time live, Jeff calling the audience motherf*ckers...and then apologizing, setting the protocol for the next Toronto show, etc.
Setlist first, some comments to follow:
new song-There's A Light*
IATTBYH
Handshake Drugs
new song-Impossible Germany
A Shot in the Arm
At Least That's What You Said
Misunderstood>
Wishful Thinking
Airline To Heaven
Hesitating Beauty
Walken (Talking To Myself About You)
Theologians
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Jesus, etc.
Hummingbird
----------------------------------
War on War
The Late Greats
Heavy Metal Drummer
Kingpin
-----------------------------------
Via Chicago>
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
*
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So did anyone who was at the show happen to notice a certain elegant guitarist sitting in for the first third of the Black-Eyed Snakes' opening set? (The BES are an excellent side project of Low's Alan Sparhawk, by the way.)
Anyway, despite his attempts at going incognito with a black cabbies' cap and sunglasses, that was indeed Nels. He seemed like he had a good time.
I'm not sure if Nels was leaving anyway, but about a third of way into their set Alan seemed to be having some problems with one of his guitar cords, so Nels gave him his and left the stage at that point. Alan said, "Put your hands together for Shorty." Haha.
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First of all, props to the venue for allowing those who wanted to stand to come fill in the pit area. I would prefer that Wilco almost always play general admission venues, but realistically with the level the band is at now, I think a venue like the Burton Cummings (no relation to Dick Cummings
) is the best possible compromise. You can come stand if you want or you can sit if you want. Everyone's happy.Props also to the Winnipeg crowd. Considering the band had played here all of two times previously -- once as a headliner -- most of the people around me were dancing and singing along. And not only just to YHF and AGIB stuff either. So I give the Winnipegians credit, well except for the dope who inexplicably yelled out "Al Capone" during the quiet part of Via Chicago. Guess he just did a little too much Canada Day celebrating before the show (Jeff also pointed out some people to his left that perhaps had a bit too much booze and needed a little nap.)
We didn't get any Guess Who covers or Neil for that matter (although opening band Elliott Brood closed their set out with a rockin' Powderfinger--definitely check these guys out if you can because they're pretty damn good), but there was definitely a lot of energy in the building and that came through. A Shot in the Arm ratcheted up the intensity level and then probably the highlight for me was getting Spiders so relatively early in the set and the segue from IATTBYH into it.
What else of note? They were going to play New Madrid, but Jeff obliged some crowd requests for Via Chicago instead. And Is That The Thanks I Get? was also on the setlist, but they sort of modified the second encore due to an 11 p.m. curfew.
Setlist as follows:
Airline to Heaven
Forget the Flowers
Handshake Drugs
A Shot in the Arm
At Least That's What You Said
IATTBYH>
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
Hell Is Chrome
War on War
Jesus, etc.
Hummingbird
Walken
Theologians
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Monday
--------------------------------
Passenger Side
Via Chicago
Kingpin
--------------------------------
California Stars
The Late Greats
I'm A Wheel
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Having gotten another listen to Impossible Germany tonight, I feel a little more confident saying a few things about it now. First off, I was almost right on the lyrics I quoted last night. That part goes, "This is still new to me/It's not what I planned/Impossible Germany/Unlikely Japan." Then there's another sequence that goes, "But this is what love is for/to put us in place/Gorgeous alone/and face to face."
Another line I caught was something like, "The fundamental problem/I need to say/is I know you're not listening."
Upon further reflection, in terms of describing the song, I would say it's sort of almost prog-ish sounding with a dose of Television thrown in. I think the song is probably still evolving a little bit in terms of how they're playing it live, but tonight Nels launched into his solo and then near the end, Jeff came in with a sort of counter solo of his own that sort of intertwined with Nels'. The first thing that went through my mind was Marquee Moon, except of course that it wasn't 10 minutes long. But it had that kind of feel to me. Not sure whether I missed it in Calgary, but the two guitar lines interweaving gave Germany a whole new dimension to me. Leading up to the jam at the end, to me, the song had sort of a mid-70s prog-ish feel. It's basically mid-tempo, to be sure, but it's not ethereal the way On and On and On and On and, to a lesser extent, Either Way, sound to me. There's some slick (and not in a bad way) playing, almost jazzy.
After reading that Duluth interview with Mike that Heidi posted, if the writer's paraphrasing of Mike about the new record being more riff-based and groover is to be believed, I think Germany fits right into that. Right now I can envision almost half the record taking shape with Walken, Germany, Is That The Thanks I Get?, Either Way and maybe even The Good Part (if they decide to resurrect that one). The only one of the new songs that have been played live that maybe doesn't fit in as well is On and On and On and On. But who knows how things will change in the studio and all that? I'm just trying to get a grasp on how the new record seems to be shaping up at present...
P.S. Regarding the Edmonton show, the whole stand up/sit down debate was a familiar one. Jeff didn't say anything about it, like he sometimes does to sort of shame people into standing. That's going to happen anytime they play a seated theater show, so just be prepared for it. Sometimes a crowd is very enthusiastic and everybody stands up and there's no problem, but other times people are much more interested in sitting.
Also noteworthy was that the band cut the third and final riff section out of Spiders. I've never heard that before, but for those who know what I'm talking about, you know how they basically take it all the way down before exploding for one last hurrah? Well, tonight they simply let the song fade out after taking it down. An interesting outro, although I personally like the final explosion.
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That's the best we can ask for -- it's difficult for anyone to describe non-genre songs (excepting Uyen, who seems to have a freakish knack for describing strange music).
She does seem to have a freakish knack that way, doesn't she?
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How very Sooz of him!
Thanks for the info, especially about the new song. Anything that provokes a comparison to Nels' Ashes solos is something I'm REALLY looking forward to hearing.
First or second album?
I told him that he and Sooz would make quite a pair!
And second album, but after a night's sleep I'm not sure how confident I am in my LF comparison-it was just one of the first thoughts that popped into my head.
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can the new tune be compared to anything else in their back catalogue?
oh, and thanks for the setlist!
As for comparisons, I dunno. It's hard for me to compare songs other than tempo. It's definitely not a rave-up rocker like Dreamer In My Dreams or a punky number like Outtasite or I'm A Wheel. I guess I want to say Ashes of American Flags, but probably only because of the Nels solo. I'd have to get another listen to it to make any sort of decent comparison comment, though.
Not that I like to compare songs anyway, but actually my first thought was that it sounded almost like a Loose Fur song. But I'm so bad at describing songs, so who knows?
Oh, and Jen, I meant straightforward as in tempo not necessarily the lyrics...
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Wow, where to begin?
Well, first off, Jeff came on stage wearing a seersucker suit...and a big black moon boot over his lower right leg! He proceeded to hobble around most of the night. Poor guy.
There was this white chair on stage all night behind Nels that had a cool-looking Wilco design on it (apparently drawn or painted by one of the band's techs) and Jeff apparently had doctor's orders to sit down for the show. Instead he toughed it out like a hockey player, though it couldn't have been easy to negotiate all of his pedals with that boot on. Obviously there wasn't much of a Hummingbird dance, either. As Jeff eventually explained to the crowd, he has stress fractures from too much running. He seemed to suggest that he has them in both legs, but apparently the right one is significantly worse. He also said that his wife had instructed him to tell the audience that she said he was "a dumbass." On top of all that, the band debuted a song. According to the setlist, it's called Impossible Germany. I would describe it as another fairly straightforward mid-tempo tune, but with some nifty lyrics, most of which I barely caught. I hesitate to even mention any lyrics, for fear of getting them wrong, but I think part of the chorus goes something like, "This is still new to me/It's not what I planned/Impossible Germany/A lack of Japan." For me, the highlight of the song was a solo by Nels that started out sort of lilting a la Ashes of American Flags, but then gradually built and built in intensity for several minutes until he was really shredding by the end. I'm anxious to hear it again to pick up more of what I missed. Since it came so early in the set, it kind of caught me off guard...
Another highlight for me was the first encore. There was a nifty little segue from Misunderstood right into Wishful Thinking that I don't think I had heard before. And then another segue right into Spiders.
The first show of the tour, so I think everybody was a bit rusty. It wasn't the technically best show, not by a long shot, but unless you've really seen them a lot or are a good musician, you could barely tell that there was some shaking off of the cobwebs to be done as the tour kicked off.
Here's the setlist:
Handshake Drugs
Impossible Germany*
IATTBYH
Muzzle of Bees
A Shot in the Arm
At Least That's What You Said
Jesus, etc.
Walken
Airline to Heaven
Forget the Flowers
Hummingbird
Theologians
War on War
Kingpin
I'm The Man Who Loves You
-------------------------------
Misunderstood>
Wishful Thinking>
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
-------------------------------
Heavy Metal Drummer
The Late Greats>
Monday
*
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Didn't Paul claim he could eat his weight in caprese?
No, I like the ravioli actually. Well, like might be a bit strong.
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Suffice it to say, I think you guys have been outed as hardcore.
7/16/06 -- Florence, MA
in After The Show
Posted
Oh, hush!