bböp
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Being marooned on Martha's Vineyard for the weekend (I know there are far worse places to be marooned), I couldn't make it to this one in person, though I know a handful of people who did. And all I can say is, damn, you guys got Kicking Television! I had heard the band had been working on it in soundcheck in some of the shows leading up to this one and that it had been on the printed setlist for the New Hampshire show two nights earlier, but scrapped due to time constraints. So I figured it had to be coming somewhere along the line...and I guess this was the night. Here's hoping it's not the only one...
Reports welcome from those who attended in person.
For now, here was the complete setlist according to Wilcoworld (notations and encore break are my assumptions based on other shows):
Handshake Drugs
I Am My Mother
Cruel Country
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Hints
War On War
If I Ever Was A Child
Via Chicago>
Many Worlds (coda only)
Story To TellHummingbird
Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull
Hearts Hard To Find
Jesus, etc.
Impossible Germany
Love Is Everywhere (Beware)
California Stars
A Lifetime To Find
Box Full Of Letters
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
-----------------------------------------------
Falling Apart (Right Now)
I Got You (At The End Of The Century)
Kicking Television
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Ah, the Wilco summer lawn (and occasional shed/club/pavilion) tour continues...and fortunately I was able to sneak up to The Green Mountain State to attend this one. Also fortunately, the ever-present threat of rain before WIlco took the stage dissipated after a round or two of sprinkles. Of course, we were left with Muggsville conditions — prompting Jeff, in his first comments of the evening, to admit that "one of my least favorite words keeps popping into my mind: moist. It's not a good word. Damp." So yeah, not weather fit for those used to more non-humid climes...
I know I keep promising more to come but I will get back to this one in some form sooner than later. Sorry for my recent slackerism, Uncle Albert.
For now, here was the complete setlist as played (got a brief glimpse of the printed list and I believe Heavy Metal Drummer was added, while a planned Red-Eyed and Blue in the encore was cut):
Handshake Drugs
I Am My Mother
Cruel Country
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Hints
War On War
If I Ever Was A Child
Via Chicago>
Many Worlds (coda only)
At Least That's What You Said
Story To Tell
Hummingbird
Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull
Tired Of Taking It Out On You
Jesus, etc.
Impossible Germany
Love Is Everywhere (Beware)
California Stars
—Bull Black Nova, Heavy Metal Drummer drum intros (despite Jeff's urging, I don't think these count for setlist purposes)—
A Lifetime To Find
Heavy Metal Drummer
Box Full Of Letters
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
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Falling Apart (Right Now)
I Got You (At The End Of The Century)
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Ah yes, birthday for our man. And also recent lunch companion Elvis "Don't Call Me Declan" C.
Tippy top! Cheers! Mazel tov!
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Here's one I really wish I could have gotten to, just to check out what I'm sure was probably a pretty unique and picturesque venue. I've noticed that this place has had quite a summer concert calendar this year, so Wilco wasn't breaking ground by playing there but I'm sure it was still pretty memorable to play in an orchard setting. Anyway, apparently this place is close enough to Syracuse to warrant a review by at least one Syracuse media outlet (which, among other things, reported that the setlist included Sky Blue Sky, which according to Wilcoworld, it actually did not. If I had to guess, the reviewer maybe got SBS confused with Either Way?).
At any rate, it would be great to hear from folks who attended...
For now, here was the setlist according to Wilcoworld (notations and encore break are my assumptions based on other shows):
I Am My Mother
Cruel Country
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Hints
Handshake Drugs
Story To Tell
Either Way
War On War
If I Ever Was A Child
Via Chicago>
Many Worlds (coda only)
Hummingbird
At Least That's What You Said
Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull
Jesus, etc.
Impossible Germany
Hearts Hard To Find
Love Is Everywhere (Beware)
California Stars
A Lifetime To Find
Heavy Metal Drummer
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
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Falling Apart (Right Now)
Box Full Of Letters
The Late Greats
I Got You (At The End Of The Century)
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Wasn't able to get to Ommegang this time, unfortunately. Heard from a friend that a good time was had and post-show fireworks were also a thing. More thoughts/reports/etc., welcome, obviously...
According to Wilcoworld, here was the setlist (notations and encore break are my assumptions based on other shows):
Handshake Drugs
I Am My Mother
Cruel Country
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Hints
War On War
If I Ever Was A Child
Via Chicago>
Many Worlds (coda only)
At Least That's What You Said
Story To Tell
Hummingbird
Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull
Tired Of Taking It Out On You
Jesus, etc.
Impossible Germany
Love Is Everywhere (Beware)
California Stars
A Lifetime To Find
Box Full Of Letters
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
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Falling Apart (Right Now)
I Got You (At The End Of The Century)
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Once again, early travel prevents me from attempting a more complete recounting of events during Wilco's first full-band headlining show in Montréal in quite some time (I'll have to research later, though I'm sure someone can figure it out). But suffice it to say, it was great to see the band in the confines of a relatively small indoor club again — and this particular one, née Métropolis, has a lot of personal memories and meaning for me — so a fun time was had by all. And it was of course great to see more than a couple of familiar faces, including a few of this city's most longstanding and dedicated "crazy" fans...
More to come, but for now, here was the complete setlist as played (didn't get a look at the printed list, so can't say if there were any changes/omissions, though it seemed like there might have been at least one audible):
Handshake Drugs
I Am My Mother
Cruel Country
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Hints
War On War
If I Ever Was A Child
Via Chicago>
Many Worlds (coda only)
At Least That's What You Said
Story To Tell
Hummingbird
All Across The World
Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull
Country Song Upside Down
Impossible Germany
Jesus, etc.
Love Is Everywhere (Beware)
California Stars
A Lifetime To Find
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
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Box Full Of Letters
Falling Apart (Right Now)
I Got You (At The End Of The Century)
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A personal dream bill of mine — albeit in not exactly a personal dream venue, but you can't have it all — with Kathleen Edwards and Bahamas preceding Wilco in the familiar and giant shed-like confines of the Budweiser Stage. So I had to make it if at all possible, and thanks to the usual flight delays and Covid confusion...well, I barely did by the early 6 p.m. start of Edwards' set.
Again, just posting the setlist for now as travel insanity prevents more commentary for the moment...will hopefully circle back.
Here was the complete setlist, as played (didn't get a look at a printed list, so can't say if there were any changes/omissions):
Handshake Drugs
I Am My Mother
Cruel Country
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Hints
War On War
If I Ever Was A Child
Via Chicago>
Many Worlds (coda only)
At Least That's What You Said
Story To Tell
Hummingbird
Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull
Heart's Hard To Find
Jesus, etc.
Impossible Germany
Love Is Everywhere (Beware)
California Stars
A Lifetime To Find
Box Full Of Letters
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
---------------------------------------------
Falling Apart (Right Now)
Red-Eyed And Blue>
I Got You (At The End Of The Century)
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Had quite a drive to get to this show at the relatively new Live Nation shed in downtown Indy, so a recap of the proceedings will have to wait a bit, but I will get to it...
For now, here was the complete setlist as played (it appears that Red-Eyed and Blue and Outtasite were on the printed list I saw — albeit with Red-Eyed listed *after* I Got You — but weren't played):
I Am My Mother
Cruel Country
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Hints
War On War
Handshake Drugs
If I Ever Was A Child
Via Chicago>
Many Worlds (coda only)
Story To Tell
At Least That's What You Said
Hummingbird
Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull
Jesus, etc.
Impossible Germany
Love Is Everywhere (Beware)
California Stars (with Courtney Marie Andrews on vocals and acoustic guitar)
A Lifetime To Find
Box Full Of Letters
I'm Always In Love
The Late Greats
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Falling Apart (Right Now)
I Got You (At The End Of The Century)
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I wasn't able to make it out to Nebraska in person for this new festival that Wilco headlined, but input from anyone who was there is welcome...
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Probably should've just sucked it up and tried to write something last night when I got to my lodging, but failing that and having to hit the road again pretty soon, I'll surely have to revisit this and add on later. But for now, the domestic portion of Wilco's tour in support of Cruel Country kicked off tonight in the heartland and after some, uh, interesting crowd interactions during the first half of the show — more on that later — the band wound up playing a fairly longish, 2-hour, 5-minute set that featured more tunes from the new record than I feel like would maybe be part of a "normal" set.
After a six-week break following their summer European tour, this first show back felt to me a little bit like an extended dress rehearsal of sorts. Not to say that Jeff and Co. were making a lot of mistakes or anything, or that they didn't put on a proper capital-S show, but to me, it was almost like they were just running through almost everything they might play off Cruel Country in the coming weeks and getting their feet back under them.
The relatively intimate Paramount Theatre in downtown Cedar Rapids (where the band made its Cedar Rapids debut not even three years ago on the Ode To Joy tour) was a perfect spot to do just that, with a receptive and friendly Midwestern audience for whom to play. Of course with a reserved-seat indoor theater show, there is always a bit of the sit-vs.-stand dynamic, and there was again tonight, but unlike some places where it can get downright hostile, this was a pretty civilized outing. People would stand here and there or off to the sides, and most of the crowd would stand after certain songs to give an ovation, but then go back to sitting — at least until the encore, when the rock songs came out. But I didn't get the sense that anyone was getting "shouted down," as it were. It was all very pleasant, seemingly.
Not that things didn't threaten to go off the rails at least a couple of times early on when not one, but two audience members approached the stage and tried to either give something to Jeff or get him to sign something. Never a great idea, but for whatever reason, Jeff obliged them both. This truly is, as I've occasionally joked, Wilco's Era Of Good Feelings. (I will describe these encounters and Jeff's reaction to them when I have more time.)
For now, here was the complete setlist as played (there were some changes from the printed list, including I'm A Wheel listed but not played as the final song of the encore, Red-Eyed>I Got You getting added and Falling Apart Right Now being the first song of the encore instead of the final song of the main set):
I Am My Mother
Cruel Country
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Hints
War On War
Handshake Drugs
If I Ever Was A Child
All Across The World
Via Chicago>
Many Worlds (coda only)
Everyone Hides
Story To Tell
Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull
Tired Of Taking It Out On You
At Least That's What You Said
Hearts Hard To Find
Impossible Germany
Mystery Binds
Jesus, etc.
Heavy Metal Drummer
A Lifetime To Find
Box Full Of Letters
The Late Greats
------------------------------------------
Falling Apart (Right Now)
Red-Eyed And Blue>
I Got You (At The End Of The Century)>
Outtasite (Outta Mind)
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Guess no one started a thread for this one. Oops.
If only for record-keeping purposes, then...I'll fill in the setlist later.
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On 7/8/2022 at 11:09 PM, u2roolz said:
Before Tonight (Souled American cover. Spencer on backing vocals & thigh slaps. Sammy on backing vocals.)
-- Susie mentions that the animals outside Lounge Ax were made by “Janie Lanard” [didn’t catch the name. Will figure it out soon.] Spencer shows the clients a monkey that “Janie Lanard” made that was outside Lounge Ax.
Pretty sure she was referring to former SA drummer Jamey Barnard, fwiw. Sadly I never got to go to Lounge Ax (top five regret!), so I wasn't familiar with the wooden animals!
Anyway, here's a short bio of Souled American for the uninitiated. Clearly an influence on Jeff.
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On 6/29/2022 at 6:30 AM, 50footqueenie said:
Such is the power of social media - the immediacy of reporting the minute after the band leaves the stage, the instantaneous catalogue of set lists and then... the five day wait to hear back from nos correspondante on how his travel home was screwed up by cancellations, delays, bad weather and bad service. #promisespromises
Personally I can't wait.
Better late than never!
On 6/30/2022 at 3:40 AM, CrisBcn said:There were some nice surprises on that setlist like Misunderstood and Randon Name Generator! A great show to finish the Spanish tour.
Hope you made it safe and sound back home!
I did, thanks! And finally got this last recap written. Hope to see you again soon!
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Wasn't there myself, but just for record-keeping purposes, here's...something.
Following a week of touring around northern and central Europe (and a day in the UK), then another week touring around Spain, Wilco trekked all the way from Madrid back to somewhere in the middle of The Netherlands for this 75-minute set on the first night of the Down The Rabbit Hole Festival. Apparently the band was supposed to play this festival on the first day of the 2020 edition — July 3, 2020, to be exact — but we all know how everything after March of that year turned out.
This time around, Wilco performed on the Teddy Widder stage (which is apparently the second stage at DTRHF) following Clairo. And..that's about all I know. Anybody here attend Down The Rabbit Hole 2022? I'm guessing not, but please chime in if you did!
Here was the complete setlist, according to Wilcoworld:
A Shot In The Arm
Story To Tell
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Cruel Country
Hints
Handshake Drugs
Poor Places
Hummingbird
All Across The World
Impossible Germany
Hearts Hard To Find
A Lifetime To Find
Jesus, etc.
Heavy Metal Drummer
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Random Name Generator
I Got You (At The End Of The Century)
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6 hours ago, Albert Tatlock said:
Suggest Tats and Chats and Cats if you want to hook the internet generation.
You big tease.
Haha, you weren't supposed to see the post until it was done! But I should have known that Uncle Albert never rests...
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6 hours ago, Albert Tatlock said:
Is this them? Missing the handclaps though. Love me some flamenco handclaps.
Yes, indeed. There were definitely some flamenco handclaps...but the Madrileños weren't necessarily biting! Or only half-heartedly, at least.
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On 6/30/2022 at 7:52 AM, romasb said:
Even though I'm late to the party (and not sure if anyone reads these old threads anyway), I wanted to add a few details because I was there. First thing, big surprise and kind of a downer when walking in: the place wasn't even half full. I have no idea why, floor was maybe half filled, balcony only the first five or ten rows. Many people still being very careful because of Covid I guess.
Thanks for sharing your experience of being there. Too bad it wasn't more of an energetic show, but that does makes me even more glad I decided to skip Frankfurt. I generally don't mind the mix of standing vs. sitting shows — though obviously the former are always better IMHO — but I just wish they would change the setlist more to fit the room. Like, if they're going to play these very formal places, then play some more of the songs you wouldn't ordinarily play in an outdoor, festival-type setting, you know? Just a thought...
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Hey hey hey...it's (very svelte and certainly not in need of Noom or any of that nonsense) Albert,
Having perhaps unfortunately re-entered the boundaries of the cruel country we call Los Estados Unidos approximately a week ago now, I am finally here to submit my firsthand report as it concerns the final show of Wilco's recent jaunt around the Iberian peninsula. Did you believe I wouldn't actually get around to recounting said show? I wouldn't blame you. Does anyone, even your decidedly streamlined and non-obese self, care at this point? Highly unlikely. And yet here I am, because the second of a two-night stand in Madrid as part of the Noches Del Botánico summer series deserves some sort of summary account — at least what my addled brain and partially illegible notes can muster anyway.
I cannot say that myself and my compatriots accomplished as much from a tourist standpoint as we did on our first day in Madrid, owing at least in part to the vagaries of Spanish scheduling as well as the security cordons in place with U.S. president Joe Biden and other NATO leaders in town. But even though we arrived at the Real Jardín Botánico Alfonso XIII around the same time as the day before, the general vibe of entering the concert venue seemed a lot more relaxed overall.
From the outset of Wilco's, uh, set with the clamorous opening to Misunderstood, it was clear that there would be at least some nuggets for those of us who not only attended Night 1 in Madrid but also other shows on the Spanish run. I had predicted that maybe half the setlist would be different from the night before, and I think we may have even gotten a little more than that. Moreover, there were at least handful of songs — the aforementioned Misunderstood, as well as Random Name Generator and Dawned On Me — that I don't think had been played at all on the Spanish tour prior to that.
And I have to say that I don't think I've ever seen Pat play to the audience as much as I did that night, almost from the start of the show all the way through to the final chords of I'm A Wheel. Of course it helped that Pat had plenty of guitar leads, from the Cruel Country material to Box Full Of Letters to the concluding rockers. I can't really explain it, but there was just a heightened engagement with the crowd by not only by Pat, but also John. (Even when some gatecrashers aggressively barged to the front early in the encore — in fact, I'm pretty sure it was some of the same people who had surged forward the night before, including one brandishing a Whole Love soccer scarf — John seemed to be aware of it. You could see him trying to calm them down, telling them to, "Be cool, man.")
As for Jeff, he seemed more relaxed and in better spirits than on Night 1. Again, it's a bit difficult to convey to someone who wasn't there but Jeff just seemed to be enjoying himself as much as he had at any point on the Spanish run. "Thanks for having us in your country," he said near the end of the main set. "We're American misfits, looking for a place to play music and enjoy ourselves, enjoy community. We're looking for a place to live, if any apartments are available." Jeff joked that he and his bandmates could even all live in one apartment if necessary, likening it to a "total Monkees scenario." This all was before the set-closing duo of Heavy Metal Drummer (on which Jeff did sing the "she lifted up her shirt" verse, which resulted in a stick twirl by Glenn) and I'm The Man Who Loves You (on which Jeff stretched out the introductory feedback to the point that I thought Glenn might actually stand up on his drum stool, but alas, it didn't happen).
Aside from that visit to Banter Corner, Jeff also continued to have fun with Glenn around the playing of Box Full Of Letters. Prior to the song, Jeff sarcastically said, "You can start whenever you want, Glenn. They've been informed that this is from our first record." And then afterward, Jeff shared: "I still like playing that song. Why the hell not...Glenn?" Earlier, Jeff's other comments included his introduction to Everyone Hides being from Ode To Joy and how that record came out "before all the joy," a little joke about which he must have felt a bit sheepish or perhaps thought the Madrileño audience might not fully get because he followed it up with, "OK, good talk."
Jeff also thanked the crowd for singing along at one point, and dedicated You And I "to all of you," which he had done at several other shows on the Spanish run. Like Jesus, etc., You And I seemed to be especially popular with the Spanish audiences for some reason, and they embraced those mid-tempo tunes as much as any of the rockers with which the band typically closed most shows.
Speaking of rock songs (etc.), that's how this most recent tour of Spain wrapped up — with an appropriately sweaty encore that was different yet very much in the same vein as Night 1. Any combination of rockers, I suspect, would have left the audience eager to welcome the Wilcos back sooner than later. And for what it's worth, I would be more than happy to do it all again.
Once again yours in concert and banter reportage, Your Faithful Correspondent.
Here was the complete setlist, as played, for the final show of this Spanish run (there were no changes/omissions from the printed list):
Misunderstood
Story To Tell
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Kamera
Cruel Country
Hints
Poor Places
Hummingbird
Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull
Tired Of Taking It Out On You
Everyone Hides
Random Name Generator
Impossible Germany
All Across The World
You And I
A Lifetime To Find
Box Full Of Letters
Jesus, etc.
Country Song Upside Down
Dawned On Me
Heavy Metal Drummer>
I'm The Man Who Loves You
----------------------------------------------
A Shot In The Arm
Falling Apart (Right Now)
Red-Eyed And Blue>
I Got You (At The End Of The Century)
I'm A Wheel
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Hail to the Tatlock,
Oh, Uncle Albert! You won't believe what we accomplished on our first full day in Madrid. We managed to visit not one, not two, but three museums between about 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., and all for the price of free (OK, I paid a small price for one of them because I felt kind of guilty...but my two colleagues managed the gratis trifecta)! The first of these was to take in an exhibition about the history of comics in both Europe and the USA. Near the end of that exhibit, we came across a room that featured some examples of feminist comics and there was a publication displayed that bore the title, "Tits and Clits." It got me to thinking that perhaps we ought to someday publish a volume of correspondence called "Tats and Chats." I think it could be a minor hit...what do you think?
In the meantime, you were wondering about what happened as Wilco reached the final stop of its Spanish tour? Well, on the first night of a two-night stand, there were definitely some weird vibes across the board. From the somewhat discouraged feeling I got just before leaving for the show after listening to Jeff's comments on his latest Starship Casual post to the drunken shenanigans by a few "fans" that threatened to derail the show during the encore (more on that later), there was just kind of an odd energy in the air.
Before I get into the show itself, though, a few words on the venue. It was a surprisingly intimate outdoor space located in a nice park on the outskirts of the city center, kind of reminiscent of the Central Park Summerstage setup in New York if anyone is familiar with that locale. They host a summer-long program of concerts there as part of the Noches del Botánico series, and there are several sections of bleacher seating surrounding a small lawn of artificial grass leading to a festival-like stage. Once you entered the actual park, you had to line up at another gate for a while before they eventually opened up the lawn and people scrambled to get their spots.
After an, um, interesting opening set by La Tremendita (a female Spanish artist whose modern take on flamenco featured a band that had two electric basses as well as drums and keyboard/synths), Jeff and Co. took the stage at 10:17 p.m. with a boisterous A Shot In The Arm and then settled into their usual early set — their second with Nels back in the fold — that featured more than a few songs from Cruel Country. Jeff made it a point after performing Hints, one of the new record's most overtly political songs, to mention "that song goes out to anyone here for NATO." Madrid was the site of a three-day summit of leaders from NATO member and partner countries that formally began the following day, and you couldn't help but notice the increased security around the city.
Relatively speaking, though, the first part of the show felt relatively subdued. One moment of levity came when Jeff put his Stetson hat on Glenn at the end of Hummingbird, and the drummer kept it on for the next song before returning it to the frontman, who quipped, "You look so much better in it than I do. It's not fair." A bit later, things picked up after Impossible Germany when some "oeee oeee oeee oeee" chants broke out and Jeff and his bandmates seemed to be enjoying them as much as they usually do, saying that "it's the best thing in the world," but also noting that they still "had a bunch more songs to play. Let's see some more of that later."
Actually, the end of the main set following Impossible Germany might have been the apex of the show. Mystery Binds, which is definitely a deeper cut off Cruel Country but is quite enjoyable live, came out of the blue to the delight of those of us who had seen multiple shows on the Spanish portion of the tour without previously getting to hear that tune. And then the set came to a decidedly guitar-centric conclusion with At Least That's What You Said, the Via Chicago>Many Worlds coda and finally The Late Greats.
The encore started off relatively amusingly when someone in the front row in front of Jeff got his attention and apparently expressed how much the Madrileños had missed the band — which hadn't performed in the city in nearly five years (at the Mad Cool Festival in 2017), and hadn't headlined a show in nearly six. Jeff replied to the fan, "It's been a long time, right? We missed you. OK, we're not gonna have an interaction with each of you individually, as much as I would enjoy it." But then he proceeded to dedicate Jesus, etc., to everyone, saying "This is for all of you."
Who could have known that Jesus, etc., of all songs would set off a couple of drunken women (one blonde and one in a cowboy hat) who suddenly barged to the front, directly in front of John and Pat, and proceeded to make complete spectacles of themselves, much to the bemusement and annoyance of both the people around them and the band. I mean, of course, this isn't first time something like this has happened at a Wilco show, but just how out of nowhere it all happened was a bit jarring, as were the looks on some of the band members' faces as several other overserved male patrons — one holding up a Wilco Whole Love soccer scarf — joined the fray. I didn't see it myself, but apparently one of the drunken women threw something on stage at one point (always a no no). I did see some security personnel come over and warn them, and I'm quite certain if the show had continued much longer, they would have gotten themselves tossed out.
As it was, they almost single-handedly shifted the energy of the evening. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing to inject some "juice" into the proceedings, but I can't say it really was a good thing either. For me, as an American, it was interesting to observe that this sort of behavior occasionally happens over here in Europe as well — on a Monday night, no less. It's just surprisingly rare. Anyway, this is partly what I meant when I mentioned earlier that there was just something a little bit off about this one.
Once again yours in concert and banter reportage, Your Faithful Correspondent.
Here was the complete setlist, as played, for Night 1 of Wilco's two-night stand at the 2022 Noches del Botánico summer series (I got but just a brief glimpse of the printed setlist, but it did not appear there were any changes or omissions):
A Shot In The Arm
Story To Tell
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
I Am My Mother
Cruel Country
Hints
Handshake Drugs
Hummingbird
If I Ever Was A Child
All Across The World
Love Is Everywhere (Beware)
War On War
Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull
Hearts Hard To Find
Impossible Germany
Mystery Binds
At Least That's What You Said
Via Chicago>
Many Worlds (coda only)
The Late Greats
---------------------------------------
Jesus, etc.
A Lifetime To Find
California Stars
Falling Apart (Right Now)
Monday>
Outtasite (Outta Mind)
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1 hour ago, Albert Tatlock said:
Ta Betty.
I'm thinking that with all your hectic touring there must be 50 ways to leave your luggage?
Not as many as you might think! Darn terrorists...
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A proposition for Señor Tatlock, with apologies to P. Simon: I shall be your bodyguard, you can be my long-lost pal, you can call me Betty and when I call you, I shall call you...well, you know.
Just as suddenly as we received the sad news shortly before showtime some days ago in San Sebastián that Mr. Nels would be absent for some shows due to testing positive for Covid-19, we also received joyous word not long before tonight's gig in Murcia that he would return to the stage. And indeed there he was at the Plaza De Toros, like he never left. I'm happy to report that, and also to report that his mates in the WIlco touring party did not, ahem, forget the flowers (apologies, yet again) and had a lovely floral arrangement waiting for him on his amplifier at his usual position stage right.
The site of tonight's show was the Plaza De Toros, a 15,000-seat bullring adjacent to Murcia's even larger football stadium. Wilco had actually performed at the bullring once before, a decade ago, as part of a festival. But it is still quite a unique spot for a concert, I suppose, although it seems to be one of the city's main outdoor concert venues with a pretty advanced stage setup that apparently remains in place for an entire summer series of shows. It's almost hard to picture the contrast between this large venue with a festival-type setting featuring video screens flanking the stage and the one the band had played in Valencia the night before. At any rate, it was very far from full, but the smallish audience definitely made up for it with its enthusiasm.
(On a short personal note, I wanted to mention that how cool it was to be one of the few non-workers in the arena — they opened the doors a little after 8 p.m. for a 10 p.m. show with no support act, and there were only a handful of us at the rail for a good half-hour — and to hear "Lake Shore Drive" by Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah come blaring over the PA system. I'm sure it was part of Wilco's pre-show mix, but for whatever reason I hadn't heard it before on this run. I don't know if anyone else around me knew the song, but standing there in this near-empty bullring in southern Spain on this glorious early evening, it brought this Chicago guy back home for a few minutes.)
As for the band, it was difficult to tell whether the other five members were happier to have Nels back in the fold or the other way around but there was plenty of mutual lovefesting going around that stage over the course of the two-hour show. It started from the top, right when the band took the stage, with Jeff pointing at Nels as he headed to his spot and Jeff tipping his Stetson in Nels' direction and Nels bowing back. After Jesus, etc., Jeff remarked, "We've got more songs to play for you. We're so happy to have Nels back. He ate, like, 400 bowls of fish soup. Somebody needs to look into that as a cure." And before A Lifetime To Find closed out the main set, Jeff said, "Nels, we love you," and mentioned the flowers the band and crew had gotten him for his comeback as Nels blew air kisses in every direction.
The setlist with Nels back, as you would expect, returned to more or less what the band seemed to want to present for this tour. That meant a return to guitar jams like Handshake Drugs, Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull, Via Chicago and the Many Worlds coda and perennial favorite Impossible Germany, on which Nels seems to stretch out his solo just a little longer than usual and for which he received the customary "oeee oeee oeee" chants (augmented, of course, by Glenn's kick drum). And it also meant a return to Nels' familiar guitar parts on songs like Hummingbird — no more trying to figure out exactly who's replicating the solo and how — and You And I.
Other than what I've already reported, Jeff didn't take a stroll over to Banter Corner very often during the show, sticking mostly to the Spanish 101 "holas" and "graciases," and dedicating You And I to the audience to start the encore as he had at a couple of previous shows on this run. He also repeated the bit he's been using lately about Glenn wanting everyone to know that Box Full Of Letters is from the band's first album — which drew a mini-eye roll from the drummer — and joked at one point (perhaps due to the length of the show) that, "You're never gonna get rid of us."
Perhaps the only casualty of Nels' return was Pat's use of the banjitar on California Stars, which is kind of a minor tragedy but which I guess he feels like there isn't room for with everyone else taking a solo. Not that Pat wasn't having plenty of other fun on this evening. During the lead-in to I'm The Man Who Loves You, I'm pretty sure I observed him going over to Glenn and actually high stepping a bit as he strummed the acoustic rhythm guitar intro behind Jeff's electric lead. And then during the Monday>Outtasite finale, he was really letting loose on some Townshendesque windmills. Everyone else got into the act at various points as well — for instance, Glenn got his stick-twirl moment as Jeff opted for that non-album verse in Heavy Metal Drummer, and Mike was having a grand old time with his cushion/pillow on the show-opening A Shot In The Arm — and just celebrated having the full band back together.
Murcia was a tertiary market, for sure, but just seeing the grins on everyone's faces at having Nels back in the fold made it worth the trek there. Here's hoping that despite the relative small turnout, the band will get back there on its next jaunt to the Iberian peninsula. I'll tell you this: Those Murcians are certainly a spirited bunch!
Once again yours in concert and banter reportage, Your Faithful Correspondent.
Here was the complete setlist, as played (didn't get a look at a printed list, so can't say if there were any changes/omissions):
A Shot In The Arm
Story To Tell
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
I Am My Mother
Cruel Country
Handshake Drugs
If I Ever Was A Child
All Across The World
Hummingbird
Poor Places
War On War
Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull
Tired Of Taking It Out On You
Impossible Germany
Via Chicago>
Many Worlds (coda only)
Box Full Of Letters
Jesus, etc.
Falling Apart (Right Now)
California Stars
A Lifetime To Find
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You And I
Heavy Metal Drummer>
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Monday>
Outtasite (Outta Mind)
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Brilliant work by all you guys! Flipping through that gallery was like going back to that weekend again, and also realizing how much I missed!
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My fondest Uncle Albert (or is it Admiral Halsey),
Greetings from Valencia, or rather some sort of municipality called Burjassot in the greater Valencia metro area that apparently has at least some form of its own government. This could be significant because should Mr. Jeff or any of the Wilcos somehow turn up missing over the remainder of their Spanish tour, I would definitely recommend sending a search party directly to Burjassot. After all, upon hearing a cacophony of cheering following the band's main set tonight, Jeff re-emerged with his bandmates for the encore, surveyed the scene and said, simply, "We might stay here," before dedicating You And I to the enthusiastic masses.
Truth be told, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect after arriving at the Auditori Municipal De Burjassot, which is essentially a white concrete bandshell with a roof — not retractable, I'm afraid — set smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood. The pavilion leading to the stage sloped downhill and had a small section of seats on one side in an elevated section and bordered an alley on the other. More on that alley later, but the stage just looked oddly plain. That was partly due to the continued absence of Nels and his "station" at stage right, but also to the lack of even a backdrop like either of the ones the band has been using at every other stop on this tour. I guess the Audiori Municipal just didn't have the equipment required to hang one of the backdrops or the specs weren't right or some other production reason about which I have no idea. The band, meanwhile, was set up about 12 feet from the front row, which despite the relatively low stage, also created a little bit of distance between the performers and their audience.
Once again, Jeff addressed Nels' absence early on in the show by pointing out, "We are one man down," as he gestured toward Nels' spot. "Our compadre Nels Cline couldn't make it, but he sends his love. He insisted that we play without him, so thanks for letting us play for you." The first half of the show followed the template of the Nels-less shows almost to a T, and you could have easily forgiven the band for phoning it in in some respects on what turned into an increasingly muggy evening. Due to the acoustics of the pavilion, with its open-air but also covered setup, the crowd chatter was really amplified and on songs like Sunken Treasure and At Least That's What You Said that have relatively quiet beginnings, you could hear people trying to shush other folks to varying degrees of success.
Normally those wouldn't be the ideal conditions for a show, and I even started to wonder — and mentally prepare to discuss — how much of Jeff's lyrics were even getting through to this crowd and how much they could really be absorbing, either from the Cruel Country material or even in a song like Sunken Treasure when he sings lines like "Music is my savior," or changes the lyric to "It's not the same without rock and roll." But let's leave that for another time. (Incidentally, I blame some of these mind wanders on my increasingly unsettled stomach, which was either due to the heat or to something I ate or both, and on the vibe of the show itself, which at some point just started to feel like a neighborhood block party or something.)
Speaking of which, remember that alley I mentioned earlier that bordered one side of the venue? Well, normally as a concert promoter you'd probably try to put up a fence there with a screen or something so that people who didn't pay to see the show couldn't just stand out there and look in for free. I guess they did try that, but the fence they put up was not nearly high enough since there was a railing or something on which people could easily sit and look directly into the venue and, anyway, the screen attached to the fence that was supposed to prevent people from being able to see in got partially lowered somehow and security just sort of gave up on it. So the effect was that, at least from my vantage point, more and more people kept turning up in that alley on the one side of the venue and that added to the feel of just, like, people from the neighborhood coming out to check out what was going on. The fact it was a Friday night, and a bank holiday that kicked off a long weekend probably didn't hurt the festive atmosphere either.
I suppose I could suggest that one transitional moment might have come before Box Full Of Letters when Jeff, as he has done for a couple of nights now, cited Glenn as the reason for his saying this next song was from their first album (which is something Jeff says almost every show). "Glenn really wants you to know that this song is from our first album," Jeff quipped, "which makes no sense since he wasn't even in the band for the first record. But anyway, he really wants you to know this is from the first record. OK, good talk." It's unclear how much or how little the audience got that semi-inside joke, but Box seemed to invigorate folks and when that was followed up by the surprise additions of I'm Always In Love and Someday Soon (sandwiched around Jesus, etc., which drew maybe the biggest response of the show), it set the course for a fun second half of the show.
Perhaps I should mention here that this was the first actual Wilco show in Valencia, which is about a three-hour train ride southwest from Barcelona along Spain's eastern coast. Jeff played a solo show here in September of 2008, if Internet research is to be believed, but despite many Wilco shows in Spain since 2004, the full band had never made it here (and I guess technically still hasn't). But I have to remember that in places like this where the band hasn't performed live before, especially when there is a bit of a language barrier, it is "famous" songs like Jesus, etc., and California Stars that are the ones people know and seem to be really waiting to hear. The extended ovation for Jesus, for example, was as rousing as any I've heard recently for any song. And on Cali Stars, especially when Pat picked up the banjitar, as he finally has been doing the past few shows after eschewing it earlier in the tour, that really seemed to get through to the audience, even if they might not fully appreciate Woody Guthrie's lyrics.
Anyway, the rest of the show basically became a big, loose rock-out session. Despite slightly flubbing the first verse in A Lifetime To Find, which is the first time I've heard him do that, Jeff shook it off and just seemed to be having fun. He obliged the celebratory vibe by singing the "she lifted up her shirt at the battle of the bands" verse in Heavy Metal Drummer, which he hadn’t the past few shows and which resulted in Glenn twirling his sticks at the appropriate moment. And then he soaked in the cheers from the crowd on a rousing I'm The Man Who Loves You to close out the main set.
As I mentioned, the band could really have phoned this one in. But you know they are having a good time when they actually add a song to the setlist, which is what happened after The Late Greats. Instead of leading the mid-song clapping part during that song, Jeff was gesturing to the crew and his other bandmates that he wanted to play another song after that one, which you don't often see. Of course the only real choice was I'm A Wheel and that brought the evening to an appropriately sweaty conclusion. So now it's onward to a bullring in Murcia before wrapping up the Spanish tour with a two-fer in Madrid next week.Viva España, indeed. I shall be in touch again soon...
Once again yours in concert and banter reportage, Your Faithful Correspondent.
Here was the complete setlist, as played (I'm A Wheel was not on the printed setlist that I saw, but was added as the last song of the show):
I Am My Mother
Cruel Country
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart>
Kamera
Hints
Story To Tell
Sunken Treasure
If I Ever Was A Child
All Across The World
Hummingbird
Poor Places
War On War
At Least That's What You Said
Tired Of Taking It Out On You
Box Full Of Letters
I'm Always In Love
Jesus, etc.
Someday Soon
California Stars
A Lifetime To FInd
Heavy Metal Drummer
I'm The Man Who Loves You
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You And I
Red-Eyed And Blue>
I Got You (At The End Of The Century)>
Outtasite (Outta Mind)
The Late Greats
I'm A Wheel
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7 minutes ago, Albert Tatlock said:
Another morning, another day on tour in Spain for Bbop. Hope your notebook is still readable.
It’d be awfully nice to have my own tour bus to hide these sorts of shenanigans from the general public, but I’m sure you would find me out anyway, Mr. Tatty McTatTat.
Phil Lesh with Jeff Tweedy and Nels Cline — 26 August 2022, Bridgeville, IL (Sacred Rose Festival Canopy Stage)
in After The Show
Posted
I watched the live stream, but here was the complete setlist for both sets according to the recap on Relix:
Set 1
Dire Wolf (Grateful Dead cover) (Jeff Tweedy lead vocals)
Doin’ That Rag (Grateful Dead cover)
Mr. Charlie (Grateful Dead cover) (Elliot Peck lead vocals)
Jack Straw (Grateful Dead cover)
Airline to Heaven (Woody Guthrie cover) (Jeff Tweedy lead vocals)
U.S. Blues (Grateful Dead cover) (Jeff Tweedy lead vocals)
Not Fade Away (The Crickets cover) (Margo Price tambourine and vocals)
Set 2
Shakedown Street (Grateful Dead cover) (Karl Denson lead vocals; Margo Price tambourine)
Viola Lee Blues (Cannon’s Jug Stompers cover)
Pride of Cucamonga (Grateful Dead cover)
New Speedway Boogie (Grateful Dead cover) (Elliott Peck lead vocals)
Franklin’s Tower (Grateful Dead cover) (Jeff Tweedy lead vocals)
Via Chicago (Wilco cover) (Jeff Tweedy lead vocals)
Ripple (Grateful Dead cover) (Jeff Tweedy lead vocals)