bböp

Has a beloved rock 'n' roll band ever been loudly booed off the stage in its hometown and possibly even kind of enjoyed it? And then come back for an encore? Well, it happened on a Sunday night in Chicago on the third and final night of Wilco's three-night residency that kicked off the sextet's touring calendar for 2023.

 

In the end, no musicians (we think) were harmed by the loudly vocalized, false displeasure Jeff brought upon himself and his bandmates just before the end of their main set. It started when he suggested that perhaps Wilco and its audience could sing one final song together before bringing the evening to a close. Of course, the suggestion that the end of the show was nigh brought with it the usual gentle protests from various quarters of the crowd. But instead of ignoring the protests or dismissing them, as most performers do, Jeff decided to encourage the behavior. It's a bit he has sometimes used in his solo acoustic and solo band shows in recent years, but this might have been one of the first times he did it at a Wilco gig. And he really leaned into it, inviting a hail of boos to descend upon the stage from all around the venerable old theater.

 

Before the band finally played Jesus, etc., Jeff continued to egg the audience on with a jokey mini-rant about how audible booing was more honest than taking to Twitter to express displeasure, or something like that. "Don't hide behind your fucking phone," he quipped, adding that the sound of the booing "fills me up." Though the audience quickly fell in line for the singalong, more disingenuous boos came afterward and it was kind of funny to watch some of the other band members' faces as they awkwardly tried to give their goodbye waves and thank yous and leave the stage.

 

When the band returned not long after, it seemed like Jeff might have changed his tune a bit. "I don't think we should do that anymore," he said. "We're too sensitive for that. It's a good sound, though." That kicked off a four-song encore, punctuated by a fiery and urgent A Shot In The Arm and a moving On And On And On, that restored some order to this musical universe.

 

It was a universe that, prior to Boolapalooza, had featured quite a few songs that the band seemingly hasn't played very often of late (as you might have expected for a run of shows promised to feature no repeated songs). Though they weren't necessarily at the furthest end of the deep-cut spectrum — Hell Is Chrome, I'm looking at you — songs such as I'll Fight, One And A Half Stars and Mystery Binds aren't ones you could necessarily expect to hear at every Wilco show in 2023. The latter, from Cruel Country, is probably destined to be the deep cut off that record that people will be clamoring for a decade from now.

 

Meanwhile, it was fun to see Jeff and his bandmates continue to tinker with different arrangements and tempos on some familiar favorites. On Spiders (Kidsmoke) for instance, which came unusually early in the set, they performed what I call the "double time" version that features a quicker-than-usual tempo and not as much stretching out, if that makes any sense. And later, on Laminated Cat, the swirling jam section that usually offers a more psychedelic feel to the song turned tonight into more of a "primal" version with Glenn's percussion propulsively driving the song forward even more than usual. I'm not even sure that Jeff knew what to make of the final product; an almost-amused look crossed his face as he joked, "That's exactly how we rehearsed it. ... I love when an arrangement comes together (mid-song)."

 

Overall, it seemed to me that this was finally the show when all of the elements that make up a quality Wilco show came together at last. The new lighting design seemed a bit more confident and dynamic. The sound had been a bit of a challenge on the first two shows, especially Night 1, which was understandable given the absence of longtime front-of-house man Stan Doty, who is expected back soon. While Stan was again missing on Night 3, it seemed like those filling his exceedingly capable shoes finally got things straightened out somewhat by this final show. (And that was also true for opening act Horsegirl, and the trio of young women from Chicago who took in Wilco's set each night from the stage left boxes were apparently delighted to be awarded the evening's "Best Behaved" trophies in what Jeff called a "unanimous" decision.)

 

Moreover, the energy in the room tonight just seemed to be the best it has been throughout this latest Riv mini-residency. There were no more first-night jitters or Saturday shenanigans by the audience, or at least not that I detected. For the most part, it just seemed that everyone was content to be there taking in one final Chicago performance by the hometown heroes for the time being. Who knows when the next one will be by the full band? Certainly it seems like it might not happen again until a new record emerges, and it's bit hard to believe that these might be the only time that some of the songs from Cruel Country are played in town.

 

Now it's onto New York (Westchester, ftw!) and another series of three shows with no repeated songs, and then onto the band's much-anticipated Icelandic debut. It will be interesting to see how much the setlists evolve as Jeff and Co. continue to get their touring legs back under them. I can't imagine these Riv shows would simply be an exact blueprint for how the other mini-residencies will go, not with the depth of Wilco's catalog that has yet to be explored. If we promise to keep our booing in check, can we get a Kicking Television in Port Chester, Jeff...whaddya say?

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played, for Night 3 at the Riv:

 

At Least That's What You Said

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

The Universe

You Are My Face

Whole Love

Mystery Binds

I'll Fight

Side With The Seeds

One And A Half Stars (started and restarted)

Tired Of Taking It Out On You

Impossible Germany

Sunken Treasure

Laminated Cat (aka Not For The Season)

Reservations

Either Way

Hate It Here

Dawned On Me

Jesus, etc.

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

The Late Greats

Heavy Metal Drummer

A Shot In The Arm

On And On And On

I finally finished one! *pats self on back*

4 hours ago, KevinG said:

I demand nothing less than perfection from your After the Show reports 

 

 

 

I am mostly fueled by Tatlock's tas (and Diet Cokes of course), so knowing he won't be immediately settling in for tea-time reading makes me a bit lax.

12 hours ago, calvino said:

I feel that the below belongs in the official show's"After the Show" thread.

 

Anonymity, thy name is...never mind.

On 3/24/2023 at 9:52 AM, Albert Tatlock said:

Just need to get a preemptive 'ta' in as I will be away for a couple of weeks and likely not drooling over Bbop's reports in that time. Rest assured that I will do so when I get back. I do have a bib in case you're wondering.

 

Albert (sort of)

 

Dear Uncle,

 

Hope you're having a great holiday! Glad to know you haven't expired. Things more or less the same here. Oh, I won a prize for doing nothing and people seem to be eager to take pictures of it!

 

Anyway, ta for your pre-emptive ta.

 

Best regards,

Bip (B)Bop Boop.

Halfway through another entertaining Wilco show in Chicago, there is a small hubbub between songs at stage left. At first it appears that someone has passed out or is in need of medical assistance, but then a couple are permitted to enter the photo pit between the front barricade and the lip of the stage. Jeff announces, a bit tentatively, that he thinks the male half of the couple, "a friend of ours...has something he would like to do." It is none other than the comedian/actor Chris Kattan — former Saturday Night Live cast member known for characters such as Mr. Peepers and one of the Roxbury Guys — who apparently is set to propose to his girlfriend. Afterward, the couple stand in the pit while the band plays I'm The Man Who Loves You. Then they exit from whence they came, leaving most of the audience scratching their heads.

 

What, you've never heard that one before? Well, just when one thinks they've seen just about all of the random things that might possibly happen at a Wilco concert, another one springs forth to perplex and amuse. The only thing better, as someone brilliantly suggested on Twitter, would have been if the band had launched into a version of the Haddaway classic, What Is Love, which was the trademark of the Roxbury Guys sketches on SNL (and the subsequent film, A Night At The Roxbury).

 

Alas, there was just a return to business as usual. Which admittedly was a pretty fun second half of a 1-hour, 57-minute set that I suppose could be broken up into two parts — Before Kattan and After Kattan.

 

But ultimately, the incident proved to be but a mere curiosity viewed out the window as the Wilco locomotive chugged forward. It is a train that is clearly still shaking off the rust of a long winter and preparing for an extended journey ahead, as evidenced by some minor hiccups such as Jeff's lyric flub on If I Ever Was A Child (which particularly amused a few of us, since Yo La Tengo had covered it flawlessly the previous evening at Metro with Wilco in the house). During the AK times, there was also a horribly out-of-tune-sounding start to Random Name Generator and some woozy harmonies on You Never Know.

 

For the nerds, it was also interesting to take note of some of the guitars being used and arrangements being played on various songs. For instance, and I'm sure I'm missing stuff here, it was noticeable by this reporter that Nels didn't use the white Jerry Jones Double Neck guitar on You Never Know, which was the original song on which that behemoth was deployed in order to provide the George Harrison-esque riff; instead he simply stuck with his "standard" Jazzmaster. And Jeff didn't use the same acoustic — or at least it wasn't housed in the distinctive country-style zippered case — that he has played on Falling Apart (Right Now) throughout the touring for Cruel Country.

 

As far as arrangements, you figured that once the shows celebrating the 20th anniversary of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot were over, those songs would settle into some sort of equilibrium but that has seemingly varied from song to song, and sometimes even part to part. For instance, Glenn reverted to playing his little shaker part toward the beginning of IATTBYH tonight but the ending of the song did not feature the extended noise with Jeff saying "I'm the man who loves you," as on the album version. Then on Poor Places, Nels started the song on electric guitar instead of lap steel the way they used to play it before relearning the album versions and that album version, punctuated by Jeff pumping his fist at the end as the computerized "Yankee...hotel...foxtrot" bleets behind him and takes the song to its conclusion, seems to be the way the band will perform the song moving forward, at least for a while.

 

With the promise of no repeated songs over the course of the three shows, of course there are going to be a few deeper cuts each night. And though they might not be deep enough for some of the diehards — still, ahem, waiting for Standing O to re-emerge — it's clear that Jeff and Co. are at least trying to offer a few treats, with the promise of more if we're on our best behavior. (See what I did there? Incidentally, Jeff did award the second of who knows how many "Best Behaved" trophies to a young man who apparently reminded him of himself at a younger age. "It's like looking into a mirror," Jeff said, singling him out of the crowd.)

 

Country Disappeared was one of those rare and tasty treats, with Jeff noting in his introduction to the song that he couldn't remember the last time the full band had played it, especially in Chicago. That song, in particular, also highlighted the new lighting design with visual projections that sort of conjured up the feel of being inside a snow globe or something to match the wintry, melancholy tone of the song. In the encore, Can't Stand It was another song Jeff noted that the band doesn't play all that often and he explained that it was because the intro is "tricky to get into, so wish us luck." And much to the delight of at least one VCer — no sign needed — Bull Black Nova made its welcomed return to the setlist, even fooling me at first because I likely had Spiders (Kidsmoke) on the brain.

 

That's how it goes at these no-repeat shows, I guess. You start to guess at what has been played, what hasn't yet and what might be possible and that can lead the mind in more than one direction. Sometimes that means that the first show of a given run is actually the most suspenseful from a nerd standpoint, since theoretically everything is on the table. By the final night, you can guess at what's likely to be played based on the songs that haven't yet. But then you remember that a band such as Wilco at this stage in its career could perform as many as seven or eight shows with completely unique setlists and then your mind starts racing again...

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played, for Night 2 at the Riv:

 

Misunderstood

Far, Far Away

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Hints

War On War

If I Ever Was A Child

All Across The World

Poor Places

Bull Black Nova

Country Disappeared

What Light

Too Far Apart

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Random Name Generator

Airline To Heaven

Passenger Side

Box Full Of Letters

Falling Apart (Right Now)

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

Via Chicago>

Many Worlds (coda only)

Can't Stand It

You Never Know

Outtasite (Outta Mind)

I'm A Wheel

8 minutes ago, KevinG said:

Set list?

 

It's there now. #WorkInProgress #Sheesh

Let me just say off the top that, while I was extremely honored and humbled to receive the inaugural "Best Behaved" award for Wilco's 2023 tour, I must confess that my immediate thought in the aftermath concerned the parameters of the deal that the gurus at Wilco HQ surely must have made with a grade school products wholesaler. It seems to have started with the appearance of various pencils among the wares being hawked at the band's online store, followed by "Wilco Concert Participant" ribbons in a variety of colors (available at your local merch stand!). And now, apparently, a statuette the likes of which one might have received in fourth grade for excellence and/or participation in a MathCounts or other such academic competition will be awarded at Jeff's discretion as the band makes its way around the country and the globe.

 

The irony, of course, of my receiving said award was that I was hardly well behaved at all during this first full-band show of 2023. OK, I wasn't live streaming entire songs from the front row or anything, but I did sass Jeff when he voiced his occasional complaint about getting a beard hair stuck in his harmonica during She's A Jar — "You could shave," I quipped, and I don't think he took too kindly to that sentiment — and after the award ceremony, I risked scorn by sending and responding to a text message or two from the front row. I even — gasp! — indulged in not one, but two canned cocktails (that are, btw, about the only palatable thing left to drink at the Riv these days).

 

And, as I think John pointed out when Jeff had to abort Theologians halfway through, I neglected to inform the band members what key the song should be played in. Sheesh!

 

It all made for a pretty light-hearted and loose start to what shapes up as a pretty busy touring year for the band, especially with their much-anticipated Iceland residency fast approaching and the third installment of the Sky Blue Sky festival slated for December instead of early next year. This first show back was here in Chicago, which is where we left off last October with the trifecta of hour-long surprise sets on that magical Sunday at Carol's Pub. But whereas those Carol's shows were more of a celebration — an all-day-and-night, honky-tonk shindig if you will — they didn't really allow the band to fully delve into its latest album, Cruel Country. So these shows at the venerable old Riv figure to be the first time quite a few of those Cruel Country songs are actually performed in Chicago.

 

That said, with no repeated songs promised over the three nights, you knew it wouldn't be all CC, and that was evident from the outset when the band came out and unexpectedly opened with Less Than You Think. Though the closing drone was only around four or five minutes as opposed to 10-plus, Glenn did prominently feature a power drill for much of it and if that doesn't get your juices flowing, then...I guess you need to embrace drone more. A few songs later, Jeff introduced a couple of older songs and we were suddenly back at the Riv circa '96 bopping along to Say You Miss Me and I Must Be High. Then we moved forward an era with Love Is Everywhere (Beware) sandwiched by the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot era-gems Cars Can't Escape and Pot Kettle Black, the latter on which Jeff featured a lovely 12-string acoustic guitar.

 

More to come...

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played, for Night 1 at the Riv:

 

Less Than You Think

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

Handshake Drugs

Say You Miss Me

I Must Be High

Hummingbird

Cars Can't Escape

Love Is Everywhere (Beware)

Pot Kettle Black

Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull

She's A Jar

Forget The Flowers

Theologians (started and restarted)
Ashes Of American Flags

The Lonely 1

How To Fight Loneliness

A Lifetime To Find

California Stars

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

I'm Always In Love

Red-Eyed And Blue>

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

Monday

Just doing a bit of housekeeping, since I wasn't able to make it down to Miami for this one (though I am in Miami now as I'm doing this, lol). Anyway, Jeff played a solo acoustic set to headline the final day of the three-day GroundUp Music Festival, and I know that more than a few of the Florida-based, er, fanbase came out to watch. But since none have reported in here, I shall steal the setlist posted by the good folks at Wilcoworld and make the dutiful post. (Jeff also played a very short bonus set earlier in the day for folks who had apparently purchased a VIP or supplemental ticket of some sort that also included Gwendolyn and I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, among other songs.)

 

Here was the complete GroundUp festival setlist, as played (according to WIlcoworld):

 

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

Gwendolyn

Let's Go Rain

Don't Forget

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Ambulance

Jesus, etc.

Childlike And Evergreen [now this would really be something if true, but I strongly suspect it was just Evergreen; can anyone verify?]

New Madrid

Hearts Hard To FInd

Passenger Side

We've Been Had

Family Ghost

Via Chicago [presumably with harmonica]

Hummingbird

A Shot In The Arm

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Someday Wilco will actually win a Grammy for their actual current music! Probably wishful thinking...

Hadn't seen this remembrance of Tom Verlaine posted on here yet. Typical Nels...so brilliant and insightful. Well worth a read.

 

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

 

Nels Cline Remembers Tom Verlaine: “A Guitar Hero of Mine”

Wilco’s visionary guitarist pays tribute to Television’s late frontman.

February 2, 2023 by Shaun Brady

 

The death of Tom Verlaine on Jan. 28, at age 73, has inspired eulogies from countless artists whose own work has stretched the boundaries of rock. As the frontman, guitarist and chief songwriter for Television, Verlaine was an icon of the New York punk scene that developed at CBGB, yet he never fit neatly under any particular genre banner. He drew equally from rock, punk, poetry and avant-garde jazz, crafting a singular sound throughout Television’s three albums and his solo work that impacted the likes of Patti Smith, David Bowie, Sonic Youth, R.E.M. and so many others.

High on that list is guitarist Nels Cline. In Wilco and as a solo artist, the Los Angeles native has embraced a fearless originality and an expansive set of influences that point to Verlaine as a forebear. While visiting New York City recently, Cline reminisced on a call with TIDAL about Verlaine’s significance. “He was not super demonstrative in the way that we often think of when we think of so-called guitar heroes,” Cline said. “But certainly, Tom Verlaine is a guitar hero of mine.” This conversation was edited for clarity and length.

I worked in a record store in West Los Angeles called Rhino Records for about 10 years starting in late 1976. I was on what I like to call “Jazz Island” back then, so I wasn’t really paying attention to what was starting to happen in rock and roll at that time, but I was hearing the stuff all the time in the store. I didn’t fall in love with Television’s Marquee Moon when it first came out. I’ve reflected on it many, many times over the years, and maybe I was initially not attracted to Tom Verlaine’s voice when I first heard it. 

But there was one Friday night that I recall rather distinctly. I was in the back room pricing records and a young employee at the front counter put on Marquee Moon. It certainly wasn’t the first time it had been played in the store, but it was certainly the first time I heard it, if you know what I mean. That was where it all started for me. It just stopped me in my tracks that night. I was absolutely stunned by the remarkable musicality and textures and arrangements and songs. For me, looking back on a lifetime of loving records that feature a lot of guitar, it’s one of the greatest and most unique in its language and its immediacy. It’s also ambitious without a lot of arm-waving. The two guitar voices of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd are absolutely marvelous, inspiring and transporting to this day.

I also met my first wife, D.D. Faye, at the record store. D.D. was a rock-and-roll person who had been writing for a pre-Punk, pre-Slash, pre-New York Rocker magazine in Southern California called Back Door Man, and she and her friends were smitten with Television and Patti Smith and that emerging scene and sound. She and I bonded heavily on Television and Tom Verlaine, and would often refer to the lyrics of certain Television songs as part of our everyday speech.

When Tom died I wrote about him briefly on social media, which was difficult. I felt like I had to do it sooner than I was ready to. I attached the song “Days on the Mountain,” from [Verlaine’s 1982 solo LP] Words From the Front, which may have baffled people because it was a very unobvious choice, but I’ve been completely fascinated by and in love with it ever since I first heard it. I hadn’t listened to it for a while, and I just wept. Ever since its release, that song has remained astonishing to me. It’s incredibly peculiar and ultimately mysterious, but at the same time very direct. It’s a sound poem with this funny drum track and some really odd decisions — all that reverb on the voice obscuring what essentially sounds like a dream but could also be a journal entry.

Literarily speaking, there’s something that I find absolutely absorbing, and then the music is visionary and uncategorizable in a way that a lot of that album isn’t. It’s so singularly the Tom Verlaine aesthetic, but in a way that’s not rock. The ending, when it goes into that almost folk melody, has always reminded me a bit of something that Joe Zawinul might have done. It’s so simple and direct, but it sounds so fresh and uplifting. Most of Words From the Front is very straightforward rock. The title track has that trudge that guitarists of a certain generation just can’t resist, like Crazy Horse or Low, all these marvels. 

Tom had a very distinctive touch and a way of playing solos that was not always in time. It’s very measured, but it has a kind of sustained tension. He’s kind of a baffling figure in terms of the inconsistencies in his output, but he was always distinctive on the guitar. Not even just the guitar; there’s a sensibility at work there. I think it might have something to do with what a literature guy he was. He was an avid reader and thinker and film buff and aesthete. 

I don’t always know what the hell he’s singing about. A song like “Travelling,” from [his 1984 solo album] Cover, the chorus says, “Fifty-five fives, she drew on the door/Fifty-five fives, I wish there were more.” I don’t know what the hell that’s about, but it’s extremely memorable. “Venus” is one of the most beautiful songs ever, and it paints this picture of a magical, wonder-infused view of what I imagine to be New York City at a certain time in his life. It has this ecstatic quality, this beautiful, understated kind of drama. At other times he was distinctly straightforward rock, like “A Future in Noise” — “I gotta keep about a mile from you/Arm’s length, that won’t do.” That’s so rock, and it’s great rock. Dreamtime [from 1981] is one of the greatest rock-guitar records, in my opinion, and on that song he trades guitar leads with himself. I find that fascinating in light of how incredibly dynamic the exchanges between Richard and Tom were in Television, although I know [that relationship] was quite often troubled. 

I made an assumption when I heard certain things in Tom’s playing that there was a Quicksilver Messenger Service/John Cipollina connection. If you listen to the beautiful apotheosis at the end of Tom’s guitar solo at the climax of “Marquee Moon,” you hear him do this little guitar bit over the heroic-sounding, beautiful chords. That’s what I call “the wiggle.” He has this really fast vibrato and he’s playing the upper register of the guitar. That reminded me at the time of John Cipollina, and I seem to have naturally adopted this sound in my own playing. 

We’re losing these people right and left, and Jeff Beck [who died on Jan. 10] was a huge inspiration to me, particularly when I was younger. I maintained interest because his playing became so personal and profound over the years, even though the aesthetics of it were difficult for me at times. Tom Verlaine is almost the anti-Jeff Beck in that he never assumed this heroic posture that Jeff Beck wore so effortlessly. Jeff Beck was always bigger than life on the guitar, and he was very comfortable, with this confident, almost cocky stage presence. Tom Verlaine was so the opposite. Most of the time when one would see Tom play, there would be some little equipment problem and he’d be standing there looking uncomfortable, if not irritated, or in some sort of dream state. 

Reading little things that people have written in the last few days, I feel lucky that once we finally did hang out, Tom was very nice to me. He could apparently be standoffish or aloof. The first time I saw him in the flesh, he walked into Arcana: Books on the Arts, in Santa Monica, where I was working after the record store. Right before closing he strolled in looking for Ad Reinhardt’s color-theory book, which was quite rare at the time, and carrying a little brown-paper lunchbag. When he left I said something to him and he said something pleasant back and walked out. A year or two later he came into the store again, and somehow I ended up chatting with him outside for 10 or 15 minutes. 

The only time we ever hung out was at a coffeeshop in the San Fernando Valley. It was all thanks to [later Television guitarist] Jimmy Rip, whom I befriended. I was living in Glendale and Jimmy was in the San Fernando Valley, and one day he said, “Tom’s in town and we should have breakfast.” So I went, and Tom completely lived up to my image of his lifestyle by drinking more than a pot of coffee and constantly having to go outside to smoke cigarettes. We had a really long breakfast and just shot the shit. He was very nice and relaxed. The other times we met were more official, like the concert for the 50th anniversary of the Fender Jazzmaster at the Knitting Factory [in 2008]. Jimmy and Tom played duo, Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore played duo, J Mascis played, and I played solo with my painter friend Norton Wisdom.

 

We never played together. The thing that everyone thinks we did together is the [Lee Ranaldo-produced music off the I’m Not There soundtrack]. But I overdubbed all my stuff and everybody else — Tom, Lee, Steve Shelley, Tony Garnier, John Medeski — all played in real time. Thinking back on that, it’s not such a disappointment: I think what I was able to do for Lee was to goose a couple of little things here and there that he thought could have been stronger, or more strident. I remember needlessly overdubbing on this pastoral soundscape that Tom had instigated. It was gorgeous and very Tom. 

Wilco covered “Marquee Moon” when we did a set at the Solid Sound Festival in 2013. That was a challenge. Jeff Tweedy and I love that music so much. On the Wilco song “Handshake Drugs,” there are these instrumental breaks where Pat Sansone and I play little guitar things in between the verses. So I used [part of Verlaine’s crescendo] from “Marquee Moon” and fed it through the chord changes, just to entertain Jeff. It worked — I got his attention, he smiled and we laughed. But it was so effective that I do it all the time now when we play that song. I do it not just because I know it entertains Jeff and me, but because I decided I wanted to refer to Tom Verlaine and Television as often as possible in front of a Wilco audience. I think of David Bowie doing “Kingdom Come,” and apparently he did it because he just wanted more people to pay attention to Tom Verlaine, which seems like a very soulful and sweet thing on his part. I like to think this is my version of that.

The first Wilco studio album that I’m on is Sky Blue Sky. When we began demoing songs for that album, Jeff played us “Impossible Germany” and said, “If you guys get any ideas, let me know.” I was driving around Los Angeles with the CD-R playing, and I got this idea to add a long, extended instrumental coda at the end — the entire concept being based on “The Dream’s Dream,” from Adventure, which I still include in the list of some of the most beautiful, eloquent guitar-based music ever. So I came up with these melodies, intending to play completely worked-out melodic material with Jeff. As I’m showing these to Jeff, he somehow drifted over to Patrick and they started dissecting my melodies and harmonizing them. They spent over two hours and then turned to me and said, “What do you think?” I’d just been sitting there. I said, “That sounds great, but what do I do?” Jeff said, “Oh, you just solo,” which was the opposite of my idea. I just revisited “The Dream’s Dream” two days ago, which was a big tearjerker for me.

I grew up in California, but I was always fixated on what was happening in New York City: the Loft-jazz scene as well as the emerging sound of Television and the Patti Smith Group and Talking Heads and then later Sonic Youth and DNA. But it’s not just musical, it’s cultural. There’s something about New York City that, in spite of itself, has always made me feel that vibrant connection to living. It’s hard to think of this city without Tom in it now. That poignant feeling is weirdly positive for me because it enhances my feeling about every breath I’m taking. We’re losing this generation of people, and at my age, 67, it’s heightened my sense of not just mortality, but the blessing of life.

23 hours ago, Lukestar said:

This is great! Thanks for transcribing, bböp! I guess I did hear most of Nels' set, after all. His story about Willie recording with Carla Bozulich is one of those "who'd a thought" kind of tales.

 

So, how fast were you in jotting down that dude Paul Suwan's setlist? : D

 

For anyone interested...

 

Paul Suwan's Guest DJ set:

-Misunderstood (1/9/03, Chicago)
-Hummingbird (6/8/04, New York)
-Kicking Television (9/13/03, Morrison, CO)
-Be Not So Fearful [Bill Fay] (fragment of unknown Jeff acoustic performance; referring to 5/20/07 show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire when Fay played the song with Wilco)
-Promising (fragment of studio version; referring to 5/7/2005 Vic show)
-Peaches [Presidents of the USA] (house music from 2/16/08, Chicago)
—intermission—
-Black Moon (3/11/12, Zagreb, Croatia)
-Love Will Keep Us Together [The Captain and Tennille] and Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy [Devo] (12/31/04, New York)
-Dreamer In My Dreams (4/6/10, Boston)
-Theologians (4/16/03, Chicago)
-The Lonely 1 (5/19/04, DeKalb, IL)

9 hours ago, Lukestar said:

I caught a bit of Paul Suwan's set, too. Great stuff! I wish Wilcoworld Radioooooooo had a month more.

 

Who's that guy? Yeah, I hope they end up doing another edition of WWR sooner than later, though I know it takes a ton of work to put it all together.

 

Anyway, for those jonesing for more Wilco radio, here's that link to the archives of Pat's excellent show, the Baroque Down Palace, from Memphis' WYXR.

 

And here was Nels' "Thoughts Of A Fool" set, as I jotted it down:

-Deep Water (Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant)

-Thoughts Of A Fool (Ernest Tubb)

-He'll Have To Go (Jim Reeves)

-He Stopped Loving Her Today (George Jones)

-I'm Not Ready Yet (Tammy Wynette; written by Tom T. Hall)

-It's Not Supposed To Be That Way (Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson)

-Can I Sleep In Your Arms (Carla Bozulich; from Willie Nelson's Red Headed Stranger; written by Hank Cochran)

-Sunday Morning Coming Down (Kris Kristofferson)

-Albuquerque (Neil Young)

——intermission——

-Sounds Of Night (Porter Waggoner and Dolly Parton)

-Sweet Heaven When I Die (Norman Blake, recorded live at McCabe's Guitar Shop)

-instrumental-not sure of title (Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys)

-Friend Of The Devil (Grateful Dead)

-Bryant's Bounce (Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant)

-Snowbird (Chet Atkins)

-Guitar Happy (Joe Maphis)

-Buckaroo (Joe Maphis; written by Buck Owens; cover of Buck Owens and his Buckaroos)

-Why Not? (Hank Garland Trio)

19 hours ago, lost highway said:

Okay, someone's got to have these playlists. I could see waiting for them to take down the radio first, but I think Pat and Nels have made my new favorite mix tapes.

I have (almost all of) Nels’ setlist, which I’ll post here in a bit. I’m pretty sure Pat’s set was an abridged version of a previously recorded set of his radio show, the Baroque Down Palace, which you can find on the site for Memphis’s WYXR…will try to find a link.

1 hour ago, Albert Tatlock said:

Haven't heard it but just the idea that it happened makes me happy, so ta for that.

I shall accept your ta, and issue a pre-emptive ta of my own for when/if you get a chance to tune in…

11 hours ago, nalafej said:

Did I miss an announcement about Nels using his middle name now?

I think it was just their way of being goofy. And anyway, technically it should be Nelson Courtney Cline!l, shouldn’t it?

2 minutes ago, nalafej said:

 

Paul - this is so well done. Congrats and thanks. enjoying this!

 

Thank you, sir. You've been to plenty of shows yourself, so I appreciate the kind words. And there's definite room for improvement, so hopefully it happens again sometime in some form...

3 minutes ago, Heart full of holes said:

I'm loving Paul's guest DJ set.  He's chosen some amazing performances and as usual, his commentary is top notch.  Well done, Paul!  

Thanks. Wish I had sort of been more pro and planned out the transitions a little better. Part of the issue was I wasn't certain when I recorded the blurbs what audio was going to be available. And that wound up being a problem with a couple of them because there apparently isn't any existing audio that the band has of either the Be Not So Fearful with Bill Fay in London or the meltdown end of the final Kicking TV show at the Vic.

 

This Croatia one, I just wish I had planned out the song better in terms of what ended up getting played vs. what I talked about. #NotAPro

6 minutes ago, reverandgroove said:

Just listening now. This is great! Well done. 
Is that 2003 Chicago show (Jeff solo and the rest of the band joining him for encore) available anywhere? It’s not on nugs or roadcase from what I can see..

 

I don't know about now, but recordings of all three of those January 2003 solo shows were widely available for a long time through the usual networks.

25 minutes ago, nalafej said:

Wow. What a great bunch of programming.

 

 

I'm going crazy for the old electric version of spiders right now. I forgot how much I love this go at it.

 

That was from Pittsburgh on 6/21/03, I'm told. Though I don't believe it was announced. (For those keeping track...aka nerds.)

29 minutes ago, calvino said:

Nice play on words by Pat (or whomever came up with it).  "Brokedown Palace". This has been fun, thus far. 

 

8:15am CT
BAROQUE DOWN PALACE with PATRICK SANSONE
Wilco’s Patrick Sansone explores the use of harpsichord in pop and soul music through the 60’s and into the 70’s.

 

 

 

That's the name of his semi-regular radio show on Memphis station WYXR, of which this segment is an excerpt I think. Good pun, though...I agree.

15 minutes ago, Lotti said:

Mr Bbop, please remember in memories show that what happen in sauna stay in sauna. 

Welfare!

 

P.S. But if you mention after first 20 minutes then it is OK as Olsen will be asleep by then!

Oh, Mr. Olsen get snoozy in warmth of sauna? Then no problem. I shall not rouse the man…at least until he refresh self in geothermal pool! Welfare!

Just now, Albert Tatlock said:

Have you read the full terms and conditions?

Was the ‘ta’ conditional?

2 hours ago, Albert Tatlock said:

 

! ! ! ! ! !

 

Don't forget your scuffle at Le Bataclan.

 

P.S. Please ensure this is recorded and available for posterity and those who will not be awake at that sort of time. Ta.

Did I have a scuffle there? I only remember Parisian teenyboppers using me as pogo stick during Spiders…

2 hours ago, Albert Tatlock said:

Your Ta basket has now completed checkout. A delivery date will be provided as soon as packing has completed at our depot (pronounced depot not deeeepot). 

Will I receive a really long CVS-style receipt (or whatever it’s called over there, probably “bill of sale” or some such, even though it was a service provided for just a Ta and not quid). And if so, will it be pronounced det-tritt-us, or deee-try-tus?