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Well, all I can say is Jeff must have had a decent enough time at Denver’s relatively new Mission Ballroom to cause him to adopt the “hot take” that he actually preferred playing at the clubish space over the much-beloved physical marvel that is the nearby Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Gasp, went the crowd, and the local alt-weekly Westword actually made Jeff’s statement the headline of its review of the show. This all came after Jeff had said virtually nothing for the first half of the show, and I’m sure he probably delighted in stirring the pot a little bit — no pun intended. (Not to mention, he

Wilco should go on the embittered city tour sometime. Philly, San Diego, Florida...

As an old journo cast about by the media revolution myself, I figured it was something like that. Damn shame. (Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the show, btw.)

Yeah, that was a pretty solid recap as usual by Finn. Why is he no longer writing for the Star, if you have any idea?

Also the reviewer apparently neglected (or declined) to mention that Tweedy band member and recent KC transplant Liam Kazar joined the band on electric guitar for California Stars.

175 minutes is five minutes shy of three hours. With virtually the same setlist (swapping out a few songs), the longest they had played since OTJ came out has been 2:20, maybe 2:25. Believe me, I’ve timed about 35 of these shows...

I wasn’t able to get to KC this time, unfortunately, but no chance in hell that was a 175-minute show unless NovaCat and Impossible Germany took up 30 minutes each. Haha. And also, the writer gets docked points for using the A and S words, as in “the ashes of the seminal...Uncle Tupelo.” Nice to see that Too Far Apart got played (not “busted out”), though. [Editing my post to get the complete setlist, as played, somewhere near the top]: Bright Leaves Before Us Company In My Back War On War Handshake Drugs At Least That’s What You Said One and a Half Stars Hummingbird White Wooden Cross

While Ye Olde Sit-Versus-Stand Debate threatened to mar this show, in the end it was rendered a moot point by Wilco's sonic onslaught. More from the land of T-shirt song requests and other oddities when I get a chance, but the band's Cedar Rapids (don't call it CRap) debut was hardly dull... For now, here was the complete setlist as played (didn't glimpse a printed setlist, so can't say if there were any changes): Bright Leaves Before Us I Am Trying To Break Your Heart War On War Handshake Drugs Side With The Seeds One and a Half Stars Hummingbird White Wooden Cross Via Chicago How To Figh

When chronicling the musical history of Wilco and the people who have directly influenced/collaborated with/befriended Jeff over the years, of course the two Jays — Farrar and Bennett — dominate the conversation. But fewer people mention Brian Henneman, who was an early sounding board for Jeff’s songwriting as well as a friend, touring companion and likely drinking buddy (at least until Jeff quit) during the Uncle Tupelo days. And of course, after UT broke up, Henneman wound up playing lead guitar on A.M., even while his own band the Bottle Rockets was beginning to establish itself (and woul

I learned tonight that this was apparently a bit of a boo-boo by whomever typed/printed the setlists (Matrix?) in that it was actually monitor tech Jared's birthday. And I assume that was the intention of the "Impossible" mention (Matrix does have a sense of humor, but perhaps spaced out on the 'J' names among the crew?) Anyway...extreme fan nerdery here.

But it sure does look purty...

Anything I can do to help clarify the status of the Shirtless Wonder...

Well, thanks for filling in the deets in my stead (and oh so promptly!). I guess I need to start getting a Red Bull or something in me and pumping those reports out more expeditiously... Too bad about the relatively sparse attendance. Wonder if they will play that new room in town next time. What’s it called, Paristown something or other? Or is that too small? Glad to hear people stood, though, and there was no blowback. I wonder what it is about some crowds or venues where people just stay glued to the seats and others where people are up right away. Guess it’s the enduring mystery of the t

He’s currently working for Vampire Weekend, I believe.

Sometimes the stars just align, Californian and otherwise, when it comes to a Wilco show. On a personal level, I was happily able to upgrade a mediocre seat in the back half of the room to a third-row center seat when a ticket magically became available just hours before the show. And on a general level, for a Tuesday night show in a reserved-seat auditorium, things went pretty much as you would hope and expect they would. That is to say that if you could script a show on this Ode To Joy tour that you would want your parents to see or if you were introducing a friend to Wilco, you might cons

Thanks for preserving that one! That's why I wanted to quickly quote the other one...

This might be the single best post on VC ever.

Well, the cold, chilly climate in Charlottesville certainly caused some chompers to chatter...ah, never mind. (Is anyone alive out there? ) Anyway, more when I get a chance, but for now, here was the complete setlist as played (didn’t get a look at a printed list, so not sure if there were any changes): Bright Leaves Before Us I Am Trying To Break Your Heart War On War One and a Half Stars Handshake Drugs At Least That’s What You Said Hummingbird White Wooden Cross Via Chicago Bull Black Nova Laminated Cat (aka Not For The Season) Random Name Generator We Were Lucky Love Is Everywhere (Be

I don't pretend to know everything about how shows get booked, but I'm sure a lot more goes into it than we know. First off, the band has a booking agent for a reason. Wilco obviously could say yay or nay to a venue, of course, but I'm sure they specify the types and sizes of venues they're looking to play and then leave the specifics up to High Road Touring. It could be that a market like Pittsburgh doesn't have a suitable general admission venue (a November show at Stage AE isn't a possibility, I'm guessing?) of a certain size to fulfill Wilco's requirements. Or it could come down to availab

Well, a man has to retire sometime...

Haha, that is weird! Well, as evidenced by my full report (now updated above), I'd say that the crowd was definitely on the wrong end of the deserving this time. If I might ask, what pray tell prompted you to go back and seek out that old recap?

Although Pittsburgh has historically been a preferred place for Wilco to play, I would have to say that a group of pretty passive patrons — not to mention some possible potty problems on Jeff's part — probably played into tonight's performance being the closest to a professional one thus far on the Ode To Joy tour. And in this case, "professional" did not necessarily produce a positive payoff. Picture a relatively perfunctory production...if you please? In other words, if you don’t do alliteration, the band always enjoys playing in Pittsburgh but the audience didn’t really bring it this tim

And then there was one...songs from Ode To Joy left to be performed live, that is, after Wilco finally debuted Citizens tonight before a crowd that probably didn't deserve that honor — or, frankly, as good a show as it got. But c'est la vie, I guess. And you could also make the point that this was the first OTJ audience, I believe, to miss out on Everyone Hides... One does wonder why Jeff decided this would be the night to finally play a song I heard the band has been soundchecking since at least the Boston shows nearly a month ago. I guess I’m just glad I was there to hear it, since you ne

yeesh indeed

People seem to dig them. They should be right up my alley, but they've never really done it for me for some reason. They definitely do all the things an indie band should, though. Like playing hard and seeming to care. Like paying attention to their stage presentation (i.e. the lit sign with their band name on it and their frontwoman standing atop it for her guitar hero moment). Like hanging out at the merch table afterward. I'm sure they're very nice. It's just that none of their songs really grab me.