bböp

Dammit! RIP Mose. Was just reading about how he was an early influence on Alex Chilton.

Once again, it's tough to find time to do a comprehensive recapping when there are early-morning transit connections to make and packing to be done (and redone). I know, I know...these are good problems to have. Nonetheless, I'll attempt to keep this relatively brief and perhaps other folks will be able to fill in with anything I've missed... The Volkshaus is the kind of venue that Wilco doesn't play much anymore, especially in America, so it's always nice to see a show there. It's basically a roughly 1,000-1,200 capacity hall with a relatively low stage, an open floor and balcony seating in

I believe it actually started as a tribute to the Shellac drummer Todd Trainer, fwiw. I was about surprised he did it last night in Vienna but he also did it on the first night in Utrecht. And I believe he did it a few times in South America last month as well. So it seems that it's being revived a bit, maybe when the crowd seems right...

I can confirm the accuracy of the above setlist. I believe this was only Wilco's third show ever in Austria, and only its second headlining gig. Don't have any time to really offer many details at the moment as an early flight beckons, but I personally had a lot of fun and it seemed like the band members were mostly back to their usual selves for maybe the first time since Election Day. Jeff had his "soapbox moment" again, as I'm sure dasradiohead or other attendees can describe. Otherwise, just a good solid show with surprisingly good sound up front — front fill monitors are always appreciate

Grazie mille for your report, and for your kind words about mine! I actually had a ticket for the show in Milano, but the travel was too difficult to go there for just one day and then back for the rest of the tour, so I decided unfortunately to not attend and stay in Utrecht for the massive record fair that they had there over the weekend (as well as the rest of the Le Guess Who festival, which is a very eclectic and enjoyable one). So I'm glad to hear about what I missed in Milano. Sounds like it was a pretty good venue to see the band, though a bit unfortunate about the organization of th

Day Two in Utrecht and Day Two of Jeff and the other members of Wilco and all of us, really, continuing to grapple with the world post-President Trump. It's hard enough to write something coherent in the middle of the night having just gotten the news about Leonard Cohen's passing — RIP Mr. Cohen, such an inspiration — but when you're still struggling to come to terms with what's changed at home, it makes it even more of a challenge. So as we deal with these increasingly turbulent times, we once again fall back on music and art and community to help us cope. It didn't take long for the band t

No, they stayed on but just kind of stood and watched Jeff and Nels on NAK.

During the first encore tonight, a man near the front loudly said to Jeff in Dutch-accented English that "you can stay here if you don't want to go back to Trumpland." The comment, I think, was meant to be empathetic, but the tone of it was a tad too sharp and on this night of nights, Jeff couldn't help but respond. "Don't tell me that you don't have your own Trumps; I know you do," he said. But then, in a spirit of unity, Jeff added that "they will all be defeated. They'll all die and we'll rejoice. Until then, we play rock shows and sing to each other." Music as catharsis. Yeah, that was th

Man, that was way more fun a show than it probably had any right to be for a Monday night in a city not necessarily known for its exuberance (at least when it comes to cultish American rock bands) and in a venue that wouldn't necessarily portend a super engaged crowd. But for whatever reason, after the first few songs, the vibe shifted from one of a passive, relatively disengaged dynamic between band and audience to one of connection. And that's always a good thing. First a few words about Tempodrom, which the band has played at least once before and which is a decidedly odd kind of room. It

You've been doing good work! Thanks for doing that. Guess our European colleagues haven't had much to say about these shows, at least on here. Too bad, because even a few words about the crowd, venue, how the band played or any funny/unexpected moments would have been interesting. I'll be on the back half of this tour, starting tonight in Berlin, so will try to report at least a little bit...

Sad news about saki. Always sad to hear about any record store closing, but I figured it would happen sooner or later. Just not enough profit to be made solely off new vinyl. For a store to really thrive these days, in my opinion, finding a way to get quality used stuff in regularly has to be the main focus. Gotta be really smart with what and how much new stuff you stock... And FYI, the owner of saki (and Carrot Top Records/Distribution) Patrick Monaghan is married to Julia Adams, who used to be Susan Miller Tweedy's partner in Lounge Ax. So the connection with saki and the Tweedys was a pr

Glan Kotche? I prefer Geoff Koch...

Well, you definitely had the best view during the Fillmore run! Thanks for the clarification/confirmation/attention to detail. Interesting that they would switch from the double bass arrangement, but I guess that must've been part of the new stripped-down setup.

Guess he's no longer going by Yim Yames?

Almost certain he does play bass on Locator, though it's kind of hard to tell the first time you see it. Looks like a guitar (well, it is a guitar). Anyway, I missed it the first time I saw them play it. Don't think he plays it on Just Say Goodbye, however.

Thanks for the report (and the setlist)! Sounds like it was a very "made-for-radio" production. Look forward to hearing/seeing it!

Couldn't ask for a much better day or setting to close out a West Coast tour as well as watch what most likely was Wilco's last "real" U.S. show of 2016. And you couldn't really ask for a more fitting cast of guests to help the band cap a successful run of shows in California than local resident Bob Weir, not to mention esteemed guitarist Bill Frisell and pedal steel stalwart Greg Leisz. (You could ask for a little jolt of oxygen to help with the altitude and some Dramamine to help with the motion sickness from all the switchbacks you have to take to get up there, however! ) Anyway, fortunat

Now that's more like it, Los Angeles! All in all, a pretty great way to close out an ever-eventful, three-night run at the Theatre at Ace Hotel. It seemed like there was much less in the way of crowd shenanigans than the first two shows — though an enthusiastic young woman in the front row briefly threatened to derail things —and that led the band to what was probably its most relaxed and assured performance of the run. Don't really have time to maybe craft as thorough a recap as this show probably deserves, but I'll definitely try to hit the highlights as best I can... First off, I gues

Damn, that sucks! Probably didn't sell enough tickets. They were kinda insanely pricey for a band that's never played there before, I think. Too bad, though.

Wow, that's never happened to me with VC before. I had a decent-sized recap written and was just about ready to post it...when my computer suddenly crashed. I don't really have the energy to rewrite it all now, so I guess I'll just have to let it go. Sad trombone. What I had written really wasn't that good (honestly), and I didn't have a great seat to hear or see a lot of the audience back-and-forth that once again seemed to perplex Jeff anyway, so hopefully others that did will chime in and pick me up...

Another interesting crowd tonight. More commentary to come... Here was the complete setlist, as played, for Night 2 in LA (didn't get a look at a printed setlist tonight, but I suspect there weren't any changes): Normal American Kids^ Via Chicago If I Ever Was A Child Cry All Day Sunken Treasure (acoustic arrangement — Jeff on acoustic guitar, no harmonica; Pat on keyboard) Pick Up The Change Someone To Lose The Joke Explained You Are My Face Reservations Impossible Germany Happiness Whole Love Cold Slope> King Of You Poor Places Locator> Laminated Cat (aka Not For The Season) Dawned

At least this is different than the usual stand-up, sit-down debate (which seemed about half and half on the main floor, at least until last third of the show or so).

After five shows within the cozy confines of San Francisco's Fillmore, Wilco returned tonight to the type of reserved-seat theater setting that I suspect will be the primary sort of venue for however long the Wilco Schmilco tour lasts. As those types of rooms go, the relatively new Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles is a pretty nice one. It is relatively intimate, offers good sightlines and more than holds its own acoustically. Not to mention that Jeff played two well-received shows there with his Tweedy band just about 18 months ago. But for all of the Ace's positives, most of the

Cool, good for you! (A- on the snarkiness. )

Just a potential update on this...I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the taping last night and they were saying it might actually air on Wednesday 9/14 instead of Thursday 9/15 as originally scheduled. I don't know for sure, but might be worth setting the old DVR for both nights just in case. I'm not going to spoil it for anybody whether Jeff wins the Internet or gets the (dreaded?) red light, but suffice it to say that he held his own pretty well. There was also a change in the lineup as originally scheduled. Jen Kirkman still appeared, but instead of Reggie Watts, the third conte