bböp

22 hours ago, Albert Tatlock said:

OK, not worth a ta then.

 

Yeah, save your (ta) tas for those doing the heavy lifting...

18 hours ago, TCP said:

Psst... @bböp check the year in the thread title!! 😁

Corrected, thanks. I really did the original post in a rush this morning, just to get the setlist on the record. Will add to it later.

Four years (and a couple of months) since he last strode onto the Vic Theatre stage in Chicago to perform his annual benefit solo acoustic shows for various charities, Jeff once again found himself before a sold-out crowd that was eager to see him do his thing after missing out for so long due to the pandemic. Of course that begs the question: What is that thing, exactly? Is it playing his own compositions in a stripped-down setting? Is it a de facto comedy act in which Jeff balances songs with amusing anecdotes and crowd work? Is it a chance to have a public moment with a singer-songwriter they admire when he identifies a song requester by name? Is it actually a husband-and-wife routine in which Jeff banters with his wife/show organizer Susie, who is always sitting in the box at stage left?

 

As usual, this first show back was some combination of all of those things. I'll certainly never be able to recap every visit to Banter Corner or every golden nugget of wit uttered by the venerable singer-song writer over the course of a couple hours, though I'll try to circle back later and get to a few of them. But if that's what you're primarily interested in, I guess you'll just have to attend one of these shows yourself and bring a tape recorder with you. My chicken scratch on a single sheet of paper is not going to do justice to all of the chat, especially on a night when Jeff seemed to want to talk more than play songs.

 

Ah yes, songs — some of which people had waited in line for hours to request. That's always the question in my mind when it comes to Jeff's solo shows, and in particular, these shows. How much does Jeff want to really play songs on any given night? Sometimes he does, and sometimes he doesn't as much. So depending on what you came for, you might walk away delighted or disappointed or something else. Then again, as Jeff always reminds us at the top, these shows are for charity so, basically, you'll take what you get...

 

To refresh the memory from the last time these shows happened, Jeff had decided in 2019 to cut back the request list from 30 songs to 20 and give himself the leeway to play as many as 10 songs of his choosing to keep the show flow going. It made sense at the time, since it gave Jeff the freedom to sprinkle in songs from his then-new solo records Warm and Warmer, but also just for the sake of moving the show along. Hey, if baseball can have a pitch clock, then Jeff can surely impose his own Tweedy clock of sorts? "I used to let (the audience) pick all of the songs," Jeff explained midway through tonight's set, "and some of those shows are still happening in the past."

 

More to come, but for now here was the complete setlist as played for Night 1 at the Vic:

 

The Universe

Gwendolyn

Having Been Is No Way To Be

Radio King

Don't Forget

new song-Evicted From Your Heart

Dawned On Me

Box Full Of Letters ("broken-down version," as requested, with harmonica)

The Ruling Class

Country Disappeared

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

On And On And On

Passenger Side

Evergreen

Less Than You Think

Lou Reed Was My Babysitter

Cruel Country

We've Been Had

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

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Just doing a little housekeeping, so this one didn't slip through the cracks. I wasn't able to attend this tour-closing performance that was an abridged set as part of a taping for the venerable Mountain Stage public radio program, with Wilco headlining and being joined on the bill by Peter Case, Guy Davis and Garrison Starr, so I'm just lifting and cross-posting the setlist from the good folks at Wilcoworld as a matter of record keeping (but it would of course be nice to hear any details from anyone who was able to attend in person).

 

For now, here was the complete setlist according to the band's site:

 

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

Art Of Almost (presumably the acoustic arrangement)

Hearts Hard To Find

Please Be Wrong

Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull

Tired Of Taking It Out On You

Ambulance (presumably Jeff solo, with band remaining on stage)

New Madrid

Someone To Lose

She's My Rock [Stoney Edwards; written by Sharon K. Dobbins]

Falling Apart (Right Now)

1 hour ago, wilcolovesyou said:

Love those shows where Kidsmoke is 2nd or 3rd as it makes for some kickass energy thru the whole show.  I'm on pins and needles waiting to read what you write about last night's show..........lay it on us, Paul. 

 

I'm a little alarmed that anyone other than Uncle Albert would be on pins and needles waiting to read any of my cockamamie blatherings, but thanks for being interested, I guess?

I was all prepared to lead with something about the Mother Church of country music and how Wilco was finally, at long last, playing the one venue it had to play when it finally embraced the genre by putting out an album called Cruel Country. And furthermore, how the band then typically subverted that potential pigeon hole by opening with two of the loudest, skronkiest and probably least country songs in its catalog before finally mixing in some of its "country" material from the most recent record and going on to acknowledge the venue and how special it was to be playing some of this material there.

 

So anyway, that was the thread that was going through my mind to write about. But then came Ed.

 

Once again, Wilco's nightly custom during this year of touring of awarding a small trophy to an audience member for being the "Best Behaved" provided one of the defining moments of the show. From the moment Jeff spotted a ruddy white-haired gentleman wearing a Pabst Blue Ribbon bowling(?) shirt off to his left who apparently reminded Jeff of his late father and, on "a whim," decided to give him the trophy, one of the memories people will carry with them from this show was born. Years from now, I bet people will hardly remember any of the songs that were played at this show but they will almost certainly remember that it was "The Night Of Ed." After deciding to give him the trophy, Jeff asked the man's name. "Ed," came the reply. "Of course it is," Jeff said, as the crowd began to chant his name (with some encouragement from Glenn's kick drum). "Make us proud, Ed." Jeff continued on by saying something to the effect that it would be the coolest thing if Ed hadn't even planned on going out tonight but had just decided at the last minute to throw on his PBR shirt and come on down and check out the rock show.

 

That line of thinking, I believe, led into the cementing of Ed's status as a Big Lebowski-style "Dude" figure within the span of a few minutes. I forget exactly how it all got started, but Pat was apparently so taken that he made a rare on-mic comment about how we should all "look for our inner Ed-ness." Jeff concurred, adding that we should definitely "look for our inner Ed." Then he came up with the winning final line, at least getting a sign of approval from Pat, of how we should all "look Ed-ward."

 

Since we're apparently on a first-name basis as far as this review goes, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the band actually had a very special guest — Duane — join them for a song, as they have at many stops on this tour. Tonight it was someone I wasn't immediately familiar with, at least by appearance, but whose resumé in American music speaks for itself. Duane Denison is probably best known for his work with the influential avant-garde band The Jesus Lizard, which was based in Chicago in the 1990s and often played at Lounge Ax, as well as for being a founding member of the supergroup Tomahawk with Mike Patton and his own group The Denison/Kimball Trio. (Incidentally, I can report that Duane said he enjoyed himself very much because I ran into him outside after the show waiting for his ride and got to chat for a bit. He's also friendly with Nels in part from being on some of the same Lollapalooza bills in the 90s when Nels played with Mike Watt.) Anyway, Jeff obviously was pretty gobsmacked at getting to share a song with Duane, saying on stage that "you could've told me that was gonna happen 20 years ago and I wouldn't have believed you...so cool."

 

Jeff actually didn't visit Banter Corner much at all over the course of the evening, at least until these late-show excursions. Other than several mumbled "thank you for coming" and "everybody having a good time" bits between songs, he was much less chatty than other shows on this run. Not to say that he seemed to be in a bad mood or anything, just that for much of the show, there was a bit more of a focus on the music. And the song selection sort of bore that out, with more serious, intense numbers such as Sunken Treasure and Reservations making their first appearances in what felt like a little while.

 

Things would loosen up a bit by the end of the night, especially in the post-Ed set, and actually aside from creating The Cult Of Ed, Jeff probably made his most extended comments at the start of the encore when he introduced Falling Apart (Right Now). He said that when wrote the song he must have had the Ryman embedded in his mind somewhere deep down and that he was delighted to finally be able to play this song in that room. "It's probably the closest I'll ever get to playing this type of music in the right place," Jeff said.

 

From a setlist perspective, you could make the argument based on the opening trio of songs that this one was going down the "Night 3 road," based on the Night 3 setlists for the three-night runs in Chicago, Port Chester and Reykjavik leading up to this tour. The first three songs for all of those shows — and this one — were identical, but whereas the mini-residencies veered into slightly more challenging territory with such songs as Mystery Binds, Laminated Cat (aka Not For The Season) and the show-closing On and On and On, these single-night Southeastern tour shows have seemingly veered away from those other shows somewhat in the second half. Then again, those other shows were also bound by the promise of "no repeats" over the course of three nights, so it's not an exact parallel.

 

At any rate, I'm obviously nitpicking a bit here. Jeff and his bandmates have almost always been sensitive performers, tailoring setlists to match certain venues, reading a given audience in the moment and adapting as necessary or whatever it might take to put on the best possible show for the most possible people. We all have songs we want to hear and ones that we could go a long time without ever hearing again probably, but when it comes down to it, if we're truly embracing our inner Ed, then I suppose we should just all roll with the punches and let the good times roll. Or something.

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played (there were no changes/omissions from the printed setlist):

 

At Least That's What You Said

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

The Universe

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

Handshake Drugs

Hearts Hard To Find

Whole Love

Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull

Side With The Seeds

One And A Half Stars

Impossible Germany

Sunken Treasure

Reservations

Jesus, etc.

Either Way

Box Full Of Letters

Dawned On Me

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

Falling Apart (Right Now)

California Stars (with Duane Denison on electric guitar)

The Late Greats

Heavy Metal Drummer

A Shot In The Arm

7 hours ago, Albert Tatlock said:

Yum. Nine meaty paragraphs. Ta.

 

You haven't picked up on the fact that's always what I aim for? (You'll get nine grafs out of me, and you'll like it!)

1 hour ago, Albert Tatlock said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCyw0BDkWms

 

Byrne kind of butchered it, didn't he? If we're being honest...

1 hour ago, DiamondClaw said:

Thanks as always for the recaps @bböp.  They're always a pleasure to read. Are you surprised that "A Lifetime to Find" seems to have fallen out of the set entirely?

Yes and no. There’s a lot of tricky wordplay in that one, and maybe the allergies make it a little tougher to focus or something? 

Seven songs into tonight's set, Jeff finally broke the silence by acknowledging Wilco's return to the state of Alabama. Ordinarily such a proclamation might have been more dramatic since the band doesn't necessarily get to this part of the world to perform every year — or even every few years — but in this case, you could say that the return wasn't especially long awaited. "We were just (here) a couple of days ago," the frontman observed genially. "We can't stay away."

 

Despite the fact that it hadn't been very long since a show in the area, local fans didn't seem to mind having another one to put into their memory banks. And this one was both a contrast with and a nice companion piece for the previous performance in Birmingham. That one had taken place outdoors on a delightful spring Saturday evening and had the vibe of a neighborhood block party, while this one was on a Monday night indoors in a relatively formal theater. If you were to pick a song to represent each night, a good one for the former would be a breezy California Stars that Jeff delightfully turned into "Alabama Stars," while for the latter, it would be Via Chicago with the sweeping, cinematic Many Worlds instrumental coda tacked onto the end, surely a nod to Huntsville's moniker as "Rocket City" and its role in the space program.

 

Perhaps the biggest commonality between the two shows might have been Jeff mentioning both nights how his allergies were running wild and seeking a little empathy from like-minded sufferers. (Tonight Jeff even took a couple of swigs of a beverage on stage, which he almost never does, so you knew something was bothering him, even though he seemed to get through it OK for the most part.)

 

That mention of allergies somehow led to one of the funnier moments of the evening, when out of nowhere, a guy pretty close to the stage with a very pronounced and nasal Southern accent sort of interrupted Jeff by loudly yelling out, "Come on, Pat!" Jeff gave a quizzical look in the guy's direction, and replied, "What would you like Pat to do?" Pat then chimed in on his own behalf, saying, "I'm trying my best up here." Then Jeff quickly brought the interlude to a snappy close by taking the one-liner opportunity handed to him on a plate: "It's true...I've seen him do a lot worse." *Cue rimshot*

 

Of course turnabout is fair play when it comes to band members giving each other "the business," and Jeff would get a taste of his own medicine a bit later in the show when he started rambling a bit while introducing Box Full Of Letters. He mentioned how it was the third song off their first album that the band was going to play during this show. "We're feeling fairly nostalgic, I suppose," Jeff said. "I'm just telling you what's going on in my head." Someone in the crowd yelled out, "You're killing it!" To which Jeff replied, "Oh yeah, I'm killing it. I've been doing this a long time and I've learned how to talk to an audience..." Meanwhile, behind Jeff, Glenn howled with delight as he continued to let the frontman ramble on and on, and eventually Jeff started calling attention to how his bandmates would usually save him from himself by starting the next song. "Glenn knows he can start the song anytime," Jeff quipped. "He could throw a life raft..." as Glenn continued to hold off. "Whenever you're fuckin' ready," Jeff finally yelled at Glenn in mock exasperation, and Glenn finally gave in. Maybe you had to be there, but take it from me, it was an amusing moment.

 

Speaking of amusing moments, the nightly trophy explanation and presentation has usually provided another one over the course of this year's touring and tonight was no exception. After the usual spiel about how the audience members had all been entered into a competition and been unknowingly monitored for who should win the "Best Behaved" trophy, Jeff turned to his right and decisively awarded the prize to Yunhee, the wife of our very own Sun Caught Fire (aka Steve). After asking her if he had pronounced her name correctly — ah, Jeff and Asian names...IYKYK — he awarded her the trophy and then jokingly(?) said she would have to share it with Steve. It's unclear if Jeff was aware it was actually Steve's birthday, which made the award perfectly timed, but in any case, it allowed for yet another bit about how the band knows all of its fans by name.

 

What else? Well, from a setlist standpoint, it does seem like the band has settled into a relative groove in terms of what it's going to play at these reserved-seat indoor theater shows. Of course there could be something out of left field anytime — and maybe there will be as soon as tonight at the Ryman in Nashville — but with five shows left on this run, it seems unlikely that the wheel will get reinvented. That said, it's always nice when we get a Bull Black Nova or a Shouldn't Be Ashamed thrown into the mix, both of which might not get played every night but are being performed often enough now that the band is starting to really lock in on what could be termed light-to-moderate rarities.

 

The thought had occurred to me during the show that this might have been Wilco's first performance in Huntsville, but a bit of light research reveals that the band had not only played a show in Huntsville previously, but it had even played the same venue back in 2006 (featuring an encore with the true rarity Let's Not Get Carried Away)!

 

Hopefully it won't take another 17 years for the band's next gig in Huntsville because, although this one was far from a sellout, it seems like there are more than a few Alabamans who would like to have the band back in town before another couple of decades goes by. "You're the best Tuesday night audience we've had in a long time," Jeff said, by way of offering a sly compliment (never mind the fact it was actually a Monday). "I feel like we should do this again sometime." Then, taking a brief glance around the room, he added, "Bring your friends next time..."

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played (the printed list I saw had I'm A Wheel as the final song of the show, but it was swapped out for Outtasite (Outta Mind)):

 

Handshake Drugs

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Hints

One Wing

War On War

If I Ever Was A Child

Hearts Hard To Find

Impossible Germany

Bull Black Nova

Story To Tell

What Light

Shouldn't Be Ashamed

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Passenger Side

Box Full Of Letters

Falling Apart (Right Now)

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

Via Chicago>

Many Worlds (coda only)

Jesus, etc.

Monday>

Outtasite (Outta Mind)

11 hours ago, nalafej said:

How are the A's go over in the opening slot?

 

Found them through Tiny Desk - really loved their episode there.

 

I think there has been some level of either indifference or bemusement, unfortunately — indifference in the sense that it seems like a lot of people haven't even arrived yet by the time they go on, and bemusement because a lot of the people who are there don't seem to know what to make of them. The latter could be because they kind of have adopted this stage presence that is like a combination of, like, 1950s-era "sister" groups with their matching pink dresses and songs featuring yodeling and harmonies and a comedic duo act with their kooky banter and minimal instrumentation.

 

And for people who had maybe looked them up and taken note of the fact that Amelia Meath is one half of Sylvan Esso, there might have some preconceived notions based on that band and The A's are nothing like that.

 

Then again, maybe I'm being too cynical. Certainly there have been at least a few open-minded folks each night who have seemed to genuinely dig them — one of them being Jeff, who has watched from side stage at least once or twice so far.

As I was gathering my stuff after tonight's show and trying to let the people who were further down the row exit past me, the woman who had been in the seat next to me turned to me on her way out and said, "Best show ever?" And I looked back at her and replied, "Was it?" I swear I wasn't necessarily trying to be snarky in the moment, and I don't think she took it that way since she sort of muttered, "Yeah," and continued on her way. This is the kind of interaction I find somewhat fascinating since this was a lady who, from our seats just off center in the second row, remained seated for nearly the entire show and displayed almost no discernible emotion whatsoever (while I was obviously "into it," standing for most of the show and singing along).

 

Now I have nothing against this lady and, frankly, barely noticed her during the show. But collectively, she was sort of representative of the crowd around me, which unfortunately didn't do much to boost the energy level in the room or give much back to the band. I could just as easily have mentioned the couple who couldn't be bothered to get to their front-row seats in front of me until three songs into Wilco's set or the couple next to them, who sat there like stones for most of the night — clearly, the female half of the couple was one of those people who had been dragged to the show by their partner and couldn't wait to leave — and then took off right after the main set.

 

I'm willing to concede that this could have just been limited to the immediate crowd around me (and luckily, I wasn't "shouted down" by anyone for standing up, as a friend of mine elsewhere in the pit later told me she was) and I certainly am aware that people enjoy things in different ways. As Jeff himself has previously suggested, it would be pretty terrible to perform for an audience of people like him who internalize their emotions and keep everything inside. Different strokes for different folks and all that, I get it. But in my experience, Wilco is a band that gives back what it gets and when the band and an audience really get in sync, it can make for a truly transcendent experience. And when they don't, well, let's just say it's OK, too — but it's most definitely not the "best show ever."

 

Which is too bad, because Athens, Ga., certainly is a special place for American music and a place that has surely witnessed any number of legendary musical evenings. Even Jeff couldn't believe that it had been so long since Wilco had last played a show here, noting that it had been 13 or 14 years and quipping, "You guys graduate yet?" A little later, Jeff was still talking about how he couldn't believe Wilco hadn't played in town since 2009 since "Athens is a place that means so much to us...and we wouldn't be here without you all, really."

 

Like that show in 2009, Jeff and Co. also welcomed a special guest to sing a song with them. Back then it had been R.E.M.'s Peter Buck (as well as Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin), who unsurprisingly joined for California Stars. This time, however, it was a newer friend — rising Atlanta singer-songwriter Faye Webster, who incidentally was 11 years old back in 2009. Webster, dressed in an orange fleece pullover and baggy pants, lent her vocals to Jesus, etc., taking an entire verse on her own, and gave Jeff and Nels hugs and Mike a high five afterward on her way off stage. Unfortunately from where I was standing, the sound mix wasn't too sharp for the guest appearance and you kind of had to struggle to make out Webster's vocals, which can be pretty quiet anyway, but it was still fun to see her collaborate with Wilco.

 

The other big to-do during the show was, as usual on this tour, the nightly trophy presentation for the "Best Behaved" fan. Jeff actually didn't make too much of it tonight, but he clearly had already earmarked the award for a young woman named Airy (spelling?) at stage right who had been up and dancing for most of the show. After that, however, there was some hubbub on that side of the room and, before long, a trophy that someone had apparently brought for the band was making its way up on stage. Jeff cheerfully accepted the trophy, which was a bit larger than the ones the band is giving out and appeared to have a golfing figure on it, and announced that it was labeled "Best Rock Band 1993." "You know we weren't a band in 1993, right?" Jeff asked. "We do appreciate it when audiences give back."

 

A trophy was one thing, but apparently participation was another, as Jeff noted a few songs later after a relatively ho-hum rendition of The Late Greats. "Just because you gave us a trophy doesn't mean you don't have to clap," Jeff said, with a mild touch of annoyance. "It's stupid, but let's do it. What else do you have to do with your lives?"

 

It wouldn't be the only time over the course of the Sunday-night show that Jeff dropped a thinly veiled (though, I'm sure, lost on most of the crowd) comment that revealed something about his state of mind vis a vis the audience. Earlier he had joked that "this is the best Monday night audience we've had in a long time," and had also tried to almost will the audience into loosening up a bit when he said, "We're gonna have fun." He also checked in at least one other time to ask if "everybody is having fun" and added, "Really?" before joking that it was his duty to check in periodically.

 

If not everyone in the audience seemed to be visibly enjoying themselves, at least it was heartening to see the band still being playful with one another. It put a smile on my face to see, for instance, Mike throw a pillow at Glenn literally just seconds before the latter was supposed to hit the cowbell to kick off I Got You (At The End Of The Century). Glenn caught the pillow and threw it aside, shaking his head at Mike and giving him a playfully annoyed look, before striking the cowbell right on cue. It's small moments like that, which are probably missed by most of the audience, that help me understand how the band members keep things entertaining for themselves night after night, regardless of what any given audience might bring to the proceedings.

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played (I'm pretty sure there were no changes/omissions from the printed list):

 

Via Chicago

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

Handshake Drugs

Muzzle Of Bees

Hummingbird

Love Is Everywhere (Beware)

Pot Kettle Black

Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull

Say You Miss Me

Box Full Of Letters

Impossible Germany

Story To Tell

Jesus, etc. (with Faye Webster on vocals)

Hate It Here

The Late Greats

Heavy Metal Drummer

A Shot In The Arm

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

Falling Apart (Right Now)

California Stars

I Got You (At The End Of The Century)>
Monday

Once again, I must apologize to my by-now surely dwindling readership for not being able to immediately provide a report with the level of detail I would ordinarily like. But such is the curse of independent travel and the necessities of getting at least a few hours of shuteye and also making it to the next gig...

 

For now, I'll just report that it was beautiful night in ol' Alabam, and Jeff copped to feeling like doing a little pandering to the audience by the end of the evening. If Stars Fell Over Alabama at one time, then surely Woody Guthrie could also be imagined to have laid his head on a bed of Alabama Stars on his travels as well. And that's the pandering Jeff was referring to that almost immediately became evident when he changed the lyrics of that old Wilco/Billy Bragg chestnut in the encore.

 

More to come, hopefully, but for now, here was the complete setlist as played (it appeared there was at least one change at the end of the main set, with Dawned On Me possibly getting cut, but I didn't see a printed list to confirm):

 

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

Handshake Drugs

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Hints

One Wing

If I Ever Was A Child

War On War

Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull

Tired Of Taking It Out On You

Impossible Germany

Whole Love

Shouldn't Be Ashamed

A Shot In The Arm>

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Hummingbird

Jesus, etc.

Box Full Of Letters

I'm Always In Love

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

Falling Apart (Right Now)

California Stars (sung as "Alabama Stars")

Monday>

Outtasite (Outta Mind)

I wasn't able to make it to this one, having to abandon my brief tour of F-L-A to get back to Chicago for Record Store Day and a brief off day. So just a little housekeeping on my part to kick things off, with setlist borrowed from Wilcoworld. Seems like it was a classic "Night 3" situation, borrowing from the three-night runs in Chicago, Port Chester and Iceland. Feel free to chime in, anyone who was in attendance (or just wants to make a cheeky comment)...

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played:

 

At Least That's What You Said

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

The Universe

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

You Are My Face

Hearts Hard To Find

Whole Love

Mystery Binds

Side With The Seeds

One And A Half Stars

Impossible Germany

Sunken Treasure

Laminated Cat (aka Not For The Season)

Reservations

Jesus, etc.

Either Way

Hate It Here

Dawned On Me

Falling Apart (Right Now)

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

The Late Greats

Heavy Metal Drummer

A Shot In The Arm

Super early flight, so just stopping by to set things up for myself when I do get a chance to fill in more details. A brief preview: I guess there is such a thing as a nice shed; apparently when you double the guitar power on Impossible Germany — and with no less a player than the legendary Derek Trucks — things can get pretty epic; and hey, it's probably a good thing if the singer of the band can hear himself sing in his monitor on a fairly regular basis.

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played (didn't see a printed list, so can't say if there were any changes/omissions):

 

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

Handshake Drugs

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Hints

One Wing

If I Ever Was A Child

War On War

Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull

Tired Of Taking It Out On You

What Light

Shouldn't Be Ashamed

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Hummingbird

Jesus, etc.

Box Full Of Letters

I'm Always In Love

Dawned On Me

Falling Apart (Right Now)

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

California Stars (w/Derek Trucks on [electric] slide guitar)

Impossible Germany (w/Derek Trucks on [electric] slide guitar)                               

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

Monday>

Outtasite (Outta Mind)

Picture, if you will, your faithful correspondent traipsing across black-sand beaches on the southern coast of Iceland, trying not to be overtaken and swept into the frigid North Atlantic by a powerful "sneaker wave" on Sunday morning, then making a mad drive across half the island back to the airport to catch a flight back to Chicago, arriving home just long enough to catch a bit of shuteye and throw some clothes into the wash before waking up and dashing to another airport on Tuesday morning and, after a few minor issues, finally making it to the parking garage of an utterly American landscape called the "Universal Orlando Resort" set in the middle of Florida just in time for Wilco to kick off the headlining portion of its spring tour.

 

If I couldn't be sure exactly what day it was, well, I suppose Jeff's excuse was that, well, he's a "rock star" and that's sort of the cliché of touring life. Before kicking off the encore, Jeff announced that "this is one of the wilder Monday night audiences we've had." (Uh, Jeff, it's Tuesday.) "I knew that," Jeff said with a sheepish smile, and then rescued himself with some verbal tap dancing about how it was just par for the course for a Tuesday crowd — or something. Then after the first song, he doubled down on the rock star cliché by joking that not only was it one of the best Monday audiences the band had ever had, it was the best Tallahassee crowd. After some hoots and hollers, Jeff relented, admitting that of course he knew he was in Orlando. "It's hard to forget it's Orlando," he quipped. "Just fucking look around outside."

 

Jeff certainly wasn't wrong, though, when it came to realizing that this wasn't to be your ordinary reserved-seat show with a passive audience. For good, bad and ugly, it was hard to mistake this show taking place anywhere other than Florida, where apparently they're not shy about chattering through the opening band, conversing mid-show with the headlining band or apparently doing what it takes to bring home the collective audience trophies for Middle-Age Male Air Guitar Playing and the Wacky Women Who Love Them.

 

Oh, trophies. So much trophy talk these days...but I should stop there for now and attempt to actually make it to the next show. However, I definitely have a few more bits and bobs to add later on and vow to do so if it kills me.

 

For now, here was the complete setlist as played (I briefly glimpsed a printed setlist, and there didn't seem to be any changes/omissions):

 

Via Chicago

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

Handshake Drugs

Muzzle Of Bees

Random Name Generator

Hummingbird

Love Is Everywhere (Beware)

Pot Kettle Black

Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull

Say You Miss Me

Box Full Of Letters

Impossible Germany

Story To Tell

Jesus, etc.

The Late Greats

Heavy Metal Drummer

A Shot In The Arm

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

Falling Apart (Right Now)

California Stars

Red-Eyed And Blue>

I Got You (At The End Of The Century)>

Monday

On 4/17/2023 at 4:16 PM, nalafej said:

I thought The Wilco's hit all the marks last night. Positive vibes throughout. Jeff has mastered the art of presenting 5 songs from their latest album in a festival setting!

 

The crowd did seem to bear the first two songs before locking into sync with the band during Handshake Drugs (could not identify who was playing percussion next to Glenn - hopefully somebody else can!) and Spiders in the #4 slot, nice and early in the set, gave the crowd the opportunity to participate. As Jeff said when a smattering of organic clapping commenced "it's yours if you want it."

 

A Shot in the Arm never ceases to impress and the Being There closing duo took us out on a very very positive note. Congrats to the "Raised on Wilco" tshirt adorned fan (and her mom) for winning best behaved and to Wilco for winning Best Band So Far at the event. Wilco's stake in the trophy company is clearly paying off.

 

As our typical setlist stenographer would share at this point, here is the entire set as played (didn't see a printed setlist to confirm/deny deviations - although there was off mic band banter leading into the final 5 songs so I suspect there may have been some audibles based on the 75 minute set time):

 

I am Your Mother

Cruel County

Handshake Drugs (with Eric Slick on percussion)

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Bird Without a Tail/ Base of My Skull

Tired of Taking It Out on You 

Jesus, Etc. (with Lucius' Jess and Holly)

Impossible Germany

The Late Greats

Heavy Metal Drummer

A Shot in the Arm

Falling Apart (Right Now)

I Got You (At the End of the Century)

Outtasite (Outta Mind)

 

 

Thanks for the report! Knew I could count on you as I was midair, returning from the land of ice and wind. Glad you were able to make it down there — I trust you also found plenty of good stuff to eat (that's one of the festivals, along with Outside Lands, that I sort of secretly just wanted to attend for the food — and got to see a solid festival set! When I saw the picture of Jess and Holly singing with Jeff, I figured it had to be Jesus, etc., and while that song is obviously a well-, well-, well-, well-, well-, well-worn concert staple, it's nice to see the ladies sharing a stage with the band again.

Again, I will have to circle back to this — all of those waterfalls and other sights of natural beauty won't see themselves, after all — but suffice it to say that if there was one overarching theme of tonight's third and final Wilco show at the Harpa Center this week (and fourth overall in Iceland), it was gratitude. Jeff once again took time out to specifically thank the small portion of the Icelandic audience that was actually from Iceland for "sharing your beautiful country with us" and generally just seemed to convey his and his bandmates' pleasure at the opportunity to come to a place they hadn't been before and share their music in a lovely new setting.

 

That gratitude even extended to the evening's "Best Behaved' trophy presentation, which went — without debate — to an American woman named Lila, who many longtime fans of the band know and who spearheaded the "Wilco In Iceland" Facebook group that provided so much good information and connected so many people leading up to and during this trip. Congrats, Lila!

 

And then, as if to return the band's gratitude, another audience member apparently had a replica of the statuettes the band is handing out made and proceeded to award it to the band (with the nameplate "Best Behaved Band Wilco Tour 2023" or something like that). Well played. Jeff seemed genuinely surprised as he accepted the award and joked that "you know there are six of us, right?" before adding that they would take turns having it on their respective mantles. I believe Nels eventually became the first to receive the honor after his solo on Impossible Germany. "I think there should be more awarding of trophies between bands and (their) fans," Jeff quipped.

 

Once again, the script for this show had largely been written during the previous mini-residencies in Chicago and Port Chester leading up to this Iceland run, and the band overwhelmingly stuck to the plan that had been laid out during those shows. So for those who have been following along, there wasn't much setlist drama for Night 3. But then again, very few in the sleek Eldborg Hall seemed to mind. It was another one of those nights when what was played wasn't nearly as important as how it was played and the vibe in the room while it was being played...

 

More to come, perhaps, as time allows...

 

For now, here was the complete setlist as played for the third and final night at Harpa:

 

At Least That's What You Said

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

The Universe

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

You Are My Face

Whole Love

Mystery Binds

Side With The Seeds

One And A Half Stars

Tired Of Taking It Out On You

Impossible Germany

Sunken Treasure

Laminated Cat (aka Not For The Season)

Reservations

Jesus, etc.

Either Way

Hate It Here

Dawned On Me

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

The Late Greats

Heavy Metal Drummer

A Shot In The Arm

On And On And On

Again, I don't really have time to get into a full recap right now but will circle back around. I will say that the sound — at least to these ears — was much improved over Night 1. Whether it was just a matter of my getting used to the room's acoustics or if indeed the dynamics of Wilco's performance were adjusted or something happened with the sound mix, it just sounded overall much more like normal Wilco show to me. And that was a good thing.

 

Setlist-wise, again, nothing too surprising if you have been following along of late, although the full Many Worlds, for perhaps just the second time ever after the full-album performance at the last Solid Sound Festival — I'll have to double check that — to kick off the encore was a nice treat. At any rate, Jeff was in a pretty chatty mood all night, there were seemingly more Icelandic folks in the house and the "Best Behaved" trophy went to an enthusiastic Scotsman named Anthony — who might very well have vaulted into "the competition" for top Scottish fan with our very own 50footqueenie...

 

More to come, but for now, here was the complete setlist as played:

 

Misunderstood

Far, Far Away

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Hints

One Wing

War On War

If I Ever Was A Chld

Hearts Hard To Find

Poor Places

Bull Black Nova

Country Disappeared

What Light

Shouldn't Be Ashamed

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Random Name Generator

Passenger Side

Box Full Of Letters

Falling Apart (Right Now)

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

Many Worlds (full song, including coda)

Can't Stand It

You Never Know

Outtasite (Outta Mind)

I'm A Wheel

I think this "bonus show" performance earlier in the day for a relatively small group of ticket purchasers and lucky lottery winners (and apparently even a rogue straggler or two who managed to sneak in) of the Wilco In Iceland extravaganza deserves its own thread, so I'm doing that.

 

Even though I don't really have time right now to get into a full recap, I will circle back around. For any Chicagoans or others lucky enough to attend one or more of the band's sets at the intimate Carol's Pub last October, if you take that sort of vibe and atmosphere and transfer it into a barnlike Viking restaurant in the middle of nowhere, you might start to have an idea about what it was like to go this show — which ultimately lasted about 52 minutes.

 

More to come, but for now, here was the complete setlist as played (there were no changes/omissions from the printed list I saw):

 

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

Art Of Almost (acoustic arrangement)

Hearts Hard To Find

Please Be Wrong

Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull

Tired Of Taking It Out On You

Ambulance (Jeff solo, with band remaining on stage)

New Madrid

Someone To Lose

She's My Rock [Stoney Edwards; written by Sharon K. Dobbins]

Falling Apart (Right Now)

Well, Wilco finally made its much-anticipated Icelandic debut tonight in the main hall (Eldborg) at the stunning Harpa complex here in Reykjavík and it was a) an entertaining set that capitalized on the stellar acoustic elements in the ultra-modern room, b ) a show that was fine, but to me lacked some of the energy of the club shows in Chicago and Port Chester the last couple of weeks, c) an evening's worth of music performed overwhelmingly for folks who had traveled from the U.S. and Europe and not so many locals, d) a collection of tunes that may have triggered a sense of déja vu for anyone who's been following these recent three-show mini residencies closely, e) all of the above.

 

Then again, perhaps some or all of these assessments were clouded by a literal day full of eating and imbibing local delights (fermented shark bits with a chaser of Brennivin, sometimes known the Black Death, ftw!) around town, or my perch in the first balcony — I guess I didn't study the seating chart closely enough when I bought the tickets — so take anything I might say with a grain of Icelandic lava salt.

 

Before I go any further, however, I must congratulate our own theashtraysays aka Vince for being chosen as the latest recipient of the band's "Best Behaved" trophy. Or at least an IOU certificate for said trophy and a stand-in one put together by the crew made of of tape and foil. (Please share the photo of that, if you would!) Apparently the band's cache of actual trophies had gotten held up at customs or something, which is kind of hilarious because while their Iceland-specific merch like T-shirts, pennants and posters made it to the show fine, the crappy little statuettes the band has been awarding at shows this year did not.

 

"If anybody knows anybody at customs that can pull some strings, give it a shot," Jeff quipped. The trophy bit once again provided most of Jeff's visits to Banter Corner for the duration of the show. Relatively early on, Jeff initially brought up the trophy and how they didn't have it on stage yet before realizing that many people in the audience might not even know what he was talking about (if they hadn't followed the events of recent shows). He then explained what the trophy was for, and said he and his bandmates would be observing and then would go backstage and decide the winner, "so keep that in mind as you're reveling."

 

As usual, it never got quite that far. Just a few songs later, Jeff decided had chosen a worthy recipient in Vince and bestowed the "award," only to make him immediately give it back so that the band could award it again the following night (and the following night). Near the end of the main set, Jeff said he realized that the flaw in awarding the trophy so early in the show was that it wouldn't give people an incentive to behave after that. That thought segued nicely into Jeff's last real comments of the evening, in which he asked whether anyone in the crowd was actually from Iceland. After a seemingly tepid response, Jeff thanked those locals in attendance "for putting up with all of us and sharing your beautiful country with us."

 

Certainly it is always interesting to see Wilco in a place it has never performed before, even if relatively few audience members were actually seeing and hearing the band with fresh eyes and ears. I can't say for sure, of course, but surely Jeff and Co. were inspired by some of the sights and experiences offered by this unique landscape.

 

If I had to nitpick something, it might be surprising that it would involve the sound. While you could hardly argue with the acoustics of the room, and after all, it was specifically engineered to facilitate sound, I experienced some of the same issues I have whenever a rock band plays a space that's probably optimized for a symphony orchestra. From the balcony, it just sounded to me a bit punchless, if that makes any sense, especially with the guitars. I could hear them fine, but they just didn't have that same oomph or sharpness that I was craving for much of the set. I'm far from a sound expert, but I've seen enough Wilco shows that I trust my ears and to me, it just wasn't as vibrant as I've experienced — even just a few days ago in Port Chester, for example, when I felt like everything really got locked in for a couple of nights.

 

Songwise, for me Ashes Of American Flags was probably the highlight for me tonight (despite the wiseacre in the balcony who seemed eager to pounce on the $3.63 Diet Coke lyric as a commentary on Iceland's notoriously expensive prices). This was the one time I felt like Nels' soaring guitar solo — not to mention Glenn's supportive percussion — cut through the room and came the closest to bridging the tension between acoustics and dynamics that I struggled with for much of the show.

 

Anyway, we'll see what the rest of this Icelandic residency has in store. With the continuing promise of no repeated songs, I'm sure it will be relatively similar to the other setlists from Chicago and Port Chester. I don't expect the band to reinvent the wheel or anything, so it would be a surprise to hear something that hasn't already been played over the past couple of weeks — that is to say a true deep cut. I'd be more than happy to be proven wrong, of course. But at any rate, those expected remaining songs still to be performed here in Iceland nevertheless leave plenty of room for more fun — and good behavior? — to be had by all.

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played, for night 1 at Harpa:

 

Via Chicago

Story To Tell

Handshake Drugs

Say You Miss Me

I Must Be High

Muzzle Of Bees

Hummingbird

Love Is Everywhere (Beware)

Pot Kettle Black

Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull

She's A Jar

Company In My Back

Forget The Flowers

Theologians

Ashes Of American Flags

The Lonely 1

How To Fight Loneliness

A Lifetime To Find

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

I'm Always In Love

California Stars

Red-Eyed And Blue>

I Got You (At The End Of The Century)>

Monday

11 hours ago, Yaz Rock said:

Wilco — 01 April 2023, Port Chester, NY (Capitol Theatre) [Night 3 of 3]

At Least That's What You Said
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
The Universe
Jesus, etc.
You Are My Face
Whole Love
Mystery Binds
I'll Fight
Side With The Seeds
One And A Half Stars
Tired Of Taking It Out On You
Everyone Hides
Impossible Germany
Sunken Treasure
Laminated Cat (aka Not For The Season)
Reservations
Either Way
Hate It Here
Dawned On Me
-------------------------------------------------------
The Late Greats
Heavy Metal Drummer
A Shot In The Arm
On And On And On


Unsurprisingly we got the Chicago Night #3 setlist tonight. Almost identical in fact except that Everyone Hides was added in, and that Jesus, Etc. was moved from the main set closing number to slot #4 when Nels experienced technical difficulty with his amp & pedals. Following an extended visit to Banter Corner which included commentary on the technical issues with the amp ("It worked well last night and the night before... and every night before that for 20 years."... "Oh, April Fools, someone took apart all your pedals. Great gag.") and the explanation of the Best Behaved Audience Member trophy, the band launched into a soft version of Jesus Etc where Jeff encouraged the audience to sing along. While this was happening the stage techs resolved Nels's issues. After the next song Jeff wanted to give the trophy to Nels but he declined (De-Cline-d?). Following Impossible Germany, Jeff asked Nels to give out the trophy which he awarded to Gary Lambert.

Others can no doubt delve deeper into the nuances of the performances so I'll leave that to them.

 

Thanks for chiming in, Rob! Hopefully more folks will do so, both here and in the future, since this is hardly meant to be an exclusive domain for my dumb ramblings. (And extra bonus points for adhering to the titling convention. Maybe I should start awarding a trophy for that!)

 

 

Don't really have time to get into a full recap now, but overall I thought this was a much better show in all aspects than Night 1. Both sound and sound mix were excellent, even from right up front, the band's energy level was improved and the setlist was fun (echoing Night 1 at the Riv in Chicago) and also featuring the Muzzle Of Bees/Company In My Back swap-in for You Are My Face/Side With The Seeds I expected to happen at some point during these no-repeat residencies. More when I get a chance, but here's hoping for one more good one in the last tune-up before Iceland...

 

For now, here was the complete setlist as played for Night 2 at the Cap:

 

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

Handshake Drugs

Say You Miss Me

I Must Be High

Muzzle Of Bees

Hummingbird

Love Is Everywhere (Beware)

Pot Kettle Black

Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull

She's A Jar

Company In My Back

Forget The Flowers

Theologians (started and restarted)]

Ashes Of American Flags

The Lonely 1

How To Fight Loneliness

A Lifetime To Find

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

I'm Always In Love

California Stars

Red-Eyed And Blue>

I Got You (At The End Of The Century)>

Monday

4 hours ago, EMF said:

sorry bbop.  apologies if I stepped on any toes.  was certainly not my intent. 

No offense taken, especially since a kindly mod restored the title convention. It’s just my own idiocy.

 

3 hours ago, Terp02 said:

What time did they hit the stage? Trying to time things out for Saturday night...

 

The schedule is doors at 6 pm, Horsegirl at 7:30 and Wilco at 8:30.

And there goes the thread-titling convention I worked so hard to preseve — my own fault for being a bit under the weather and lazy — but cheers for the setlist all the same.