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Strangely, more people have recognized me for the poppycock I post on here than the video appearance. Perhaps I should consider some sort of "I'm the Lyft driver" signage instead?

Hardy har...

Though I’ve never been the frontman of a band like Wilco (or any band, for that matter), I imagine that sometimes you get lucky and don’t have to work very hard to connect with an audience and other times it can be a bit like pulling teeth so you have to give things a little nudge. And sometimes that nudge leads to more of a connection than you necessarily bargained for, so it can be a fine line. Such was the case for Jeff tonight at the 4,000-seat Pavilion at the Toyota Music Factory, a relatively soulless Live Nation-booked venue that might be described as a large concrete indoor theater. W

Fwiw, I noticed that they had one slight boo-boo with that track-by-track breakdown in the magazine. I had heard that the initial version of the track Courtney Barnett recorded for this project was just her doing a solo piano Dawned On Me, which was what is alluded to in the text of the track-by-track breakdown. But apparently at the last minute, she and/or her camp changed their minds and decided to record a solo acoustic guitar version instead, which is what ended up on the CD. Anyway, I do hope that this will see an official release beyond just the Uncut promo CD. A vinyl version for Reco

Well, you knew this was probably going to be a good one. I mean, has there ever been a less-than-stellar Wilco show at Cain's Ballroom? Not that I can recall, and I think I've attended all four now. Whether it's the lingering ghosts of past performers like Bob Wills and Hank Williams, the always-enthusiastic audiences or the intimacy and charm of the 95-year-old room itself, the band always seems to reach a slightly higher level once it hits that vaunted stage. There have been a few changes since Wilco last played Cain's more than eight years ago (the Tweedy band also played a show there in

Parking for now. [Edit: Our long national nightmare is over... ] When it comes to attending a concert and then recounting and/or assessing it afterward, the reality is everyone probably has a different perspective. There are so many variables at play, from where one is situated in the room to the people in the immediate vicinity to one’s familiarity with the music to one’s mood that day. And on and on and on, no pun intended. So whenever I offer some thoughts on a show, I always strive to be as objective as possible and stick to what I’ve observed or experienced. But I am also aware that I a

Hey, thanks! Appreciate the kind words. As I’ve said before, glad my — let’s say couple dozen!?! — readers get something out of my blatherings. Makes doing them worthwhile.

Not sure why anyone would want to read my thoughts at this point, but I finally updated my initial post above... Also, forgot to mention (and it was discussed in the Radio City thread) but I got a much better look at the black guitar Jeff has recently switched to for a number of the OTJ songs and it actually has a Western theme with some cool images of cowboys, horses and the like on it. Also, as someone else pointed out, it once featured the word “RODEO”, although the ‘R’ and ‘O’ have fittingly been blacked out to leave the word “ODE.”

I have no idea. Often the “seat numbers” on tickets mean nothing if the ticket is otherwise GA. Seems like the box office would know if it was going to be seated, but I guess the Anthem is pretty flexible from show to show...

Could it possibly be GA seated?

Finally getting a chance to sit down and put finger to keyboard in an attempt to recap this show which, as I stated earlier, is almost certainly a fool's errand since it's nearly two days later now and since anyone who cares enough to read whatever I come up with probably already watched/listened to the show themselves via the webcast (which, by the way, I heard was quite good after some initial sound issues). So what's the point of adding any commentary at this point? I don't know, really. I guess maybe no matter how good a webcast is, it can't fully capture the dynamics of a particular roo

Ah, also makes sense. And also, not anymore I guess...

Got a much better look at it tonight in Brooklyn. It turns out it has a Western theme with drawings of cowboys and the like. I think it also used to say “YODEL” at the top, but the Y and L had been blacked out to leave just “ODE.” Pretty cool.

Yep, my bad

Thanks for the reminder about the extra bit of banter regarding the mop incident. I added it to my post. Had it scrawled down in my notes, but couldn’t decipher my own handwriting tbh. And yeah, I think anyone who was at those shows in 2004 and is still around interested in Wilco 2019 probably felt a little twinge of nostalgia going back there last night. Good to hear your story about it.

Generally speaking, when it comes to Wilco shows, experience has taught me that ones taking place in truly iconic venues such as the Hollywood Bowl or the Sydney Opera House often don’t quite measure up to ones in less heralded locales. There are exceptions to this, of course — Red Rocks Amphitheatre comes to mind — and I’m not including rooms like the Fillmore or the Ryman Auditorium. For a variety of reasons, though, the legendary venues often seem to leave me a bit cold. Part of it probably has to do with expectations that few, if any, concerts could live up to. Then there’s the setup of

Since some of these issues seem to be at the heart of discussion around where the band is today, I figured this Esquire article from the guy who purports to have coined the term "dad-rock" in his negative Pitchfork review of SBS way back when would be an interesting read (and discussion point)... I Introduced the Term 'Dad-Rock' to the World. I Have Regrets. By Rob Mitchum Oct 11, 2019 When Wilco released their sixth studio album, 2007’s Sky Blue Sky, I wrote a scathing review for Pitchfork that introduced the world to the term dad-rock: “An album of unapologetic straightforwardness. Sky

Ticket is sold

Looks like a good ‘un! Crazy about the PA going out, but sometimes that makes for an even more memorable show... Thanks for the quick reports, and a special shoutout to knotgreen for following the titling “protocol.” It didn’t go unnoticed!

Yeah, I think it’s been pretty well known (among the folks who frequent this board, anyway) that Tony decided to retire at some point during the hiatus. So the band doesn’t really have one figurehead manager anymore, but instead more of a management team as spelled out in the album credits.

I forgot I have an extra ticket for Brooklyn Steel as well, in case anybody is interested. Face value, of course. Transfer available through the AXS app. Please post here if interested.

Wilco was on right at 9 and off by 11. But I wouldn't necessarily take that to be true for every venue because as I mentioned in my full recap above (now posted), Lord Huron got a full hour set to open, which is double what most of Wilco's support acts have gotten recently.

After a solid month of touring abroad and an all-too-short week off, Wilco finally brought Ode To Joy to this side of the Atlantic for its first performance since the album's official release last Friday. It came on a chilly night on the shores of Lake Ontario — not quite America yet; that will have to wait until tomorrow night in Boston — at the rather uncreatively named Budweiser Stage (née Molson Amphitheatre). Truth be told, I'm not exactly sure why the band was booked into this large outdoor shed on a Tuesday night considering most of the other theater-type venues it is playing on this

Cool, but I think I’m gonna go for Cardi B’s Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1 instead...