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Defector! ) (Hope it was fun...)

Perhaps I might have entered a request for that one... Don't really have time to get into it right now, but the other thing about the guy that Jeff had the incident(s) with was that he had already been a distraction earlier in the show when he literally walked across the front row during a song and proceeded to stop and snap photos of each band member. So the guy had already raised Jeff's ire...

Really really don't have time to write anything of substance right now, but what a great show to finish the year on! Kicking TV...hooray!

Not much time to write tonight, and an early wakeup call to boot, so I'll just say that this was a pretty fun and great-sounding show until things sort of went off the rails in the encore. The camera scourge returned in a big way. Jeff apparently had to take the camera (or phone) of someone in the front row during the main set. He came over and returned it when he came back out for the encore, but the guy must have started taking pictures again because before Jeff could even start singing Hummingbird, he went back over and had an argument with the guy. It was a weird scene, and not one that

Don't really have a lot to report from this one. I had one of those seats in a seated auditorium that are toward the front but far, far off to one side so that a lot of my view was blocked by speakers. It might have been the first gig I've been to where I couldn't see Glenn for one single second. So that kind of sucked. (Of course, the seat wasn't ever advertised at any point as having an obstructed view. But that's another story. ) So I'll leave it to others to fill in anything that I couldn't see. What I can say was that the Laeiszhalle was a formal concert hall mostly used for classical

Jeff has been playing a JM on Bull Black Nova, and it does look like Nels'...but it's not because Nels usually plays his on BBN. It's almost uncanny, though -- even the wear pattern looks similar. And sadly, no sign of the rainbow SG. Might not have made the trip.

I'll try not to! Too much Weißbier, though, and I can't make any promises... Belting out REM tunes at the bar...is that what HPoet did at Solid Sound? The Poets were actually quite respectable last night, but the same cannot be said for me. I blame this partly on a ticket snafu in which I apparently didn't buy the right kind of ticket for the closest-to-the-stage section. Of course I didn't find that out until they were letting us in. Let's just say the entry procedures at Cirkus Krone left something to be desired. It was all good, though, since I found a really nice seat on the aisle with

Uh, I probably shouldn't be posting right now but anyway, here was the complete setlist as played: —"The Price Is Right" theme music intro— Wilco (the song) Bull Black Nova Ashes of American Flags IATTBYH> One Wing You Are My Face> A Shot in the Arm Kamera Impossible Germany Everlasting Everything Poor Places> Spiders (Kidsmoke) (acoustic arrangement; Nels on electric) Via Chicago I'll Fight Handshake Drugs Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway(again) Jesus, etc. (crowd singalong...quickly aborted) Walken I'm The Man Who Loves You Hummingbird (started and restarted) -------------------- Yo

Thanks for the tour! I won't forget our walk anytime soon. It's just really a beautiful town. And I'll try to post some photos soon. Maybe you can go to the forklift championships for me and take some pictures?

I wasn't necessarily trying to be either positive or negative (although it would be more of the former, if anything). I was mostly trying to be objective. I think it was a fun gig, especially for those who might not have had a chance to see the band before. Certainly I realize that I've had more than my fair share of opportunities, so I definitely didn't mean for it to seem like I was being jaded or anything. The band seemed to really feed off the energy of the audience, like I said, and Jeff wasn't kidding when he said it was a really good crowd. P.S. It was nice to meet badger, and of

I don't think I have any great insights on this gig, but the crowd as a whole seemed to really dig it. Even after the big Hoodoo closer, people stayed in place for a few minutes and tried to urge the band back on stage for one more song. It didn't work, but the enthusiasm was apparent. Jeff made a comment about what a good crowd it was, and I think he was on target. There were a decent number of Americans in attendance, judging by Jeff's informal poll of who was from the USA and who actually lived here, but unlike a few shows I've been to in Europe when Americans have been fairly obnoxious,

Now why are you always trying to rouse the rabble? Haven't talked to the Poets today, but of course I'm certainly not trying to make any comparisons. Everyone has been really gracious to me, so thanks all around. Certainly the Poets are stellar hosts, as is my friend samuel_70. Really anyone who's willing to put up with me falls into the "best hosts a guy could ever hope to have" category. But it was a special treat to be able to visit pillowy star on her home turf...

Yeah, das ist rock! P.S. I totally forgot to mention that it was so great to get to hang out in the queue and during the show with my friends 50footqueenie and better half and mdpoet and namaste (a/k/a The Poets--I think this moniker could really catch on!). And of course, the beloved pillowy star and her beloved, who are without a doubt the best hosts a guy could ever hope to have!

I was going to leave this to someone else, but OK... The Capitol was, for me, a pretty ideal space with standing room on the floor and a decent-sized balcony so that those who wanted to stand could stand and those who wanted to sit could sit. I bet there weren't too many bad views in the house. As I was saying to some friends, it can often be a fine line between too sterile an atmosphere and too rowdy and I think this show balanced the two quite well. Unlike the previous night in Düsseldorf, which I think drifted a bit too far on the sterile side, the venue was good enough acoustically th

Yay Poets! Scary how many people I knew at the show tonight... To answer your question, pretty sure the chimes were more or less present. I dig Nels' little psychedelic outro on that one as well and you could hear it really clearly at Tonhalle, so that was cool.

Damn, that's a tough choice!

It's pretty late, so I don't know how much of a review this will be, but I'll try my best for the handful who care. Quite a different mood from the festivals and general admission shows of the past couple days. The Tonhalle was a very nice, almost circular auditorium with a towering ceiling which, judging by the posters in the lobby, mostly hosts classical concerts. Accordingly, it seemed that a fair bit of the set was tailored to take advantage of the immaculate acoustics. Songs such as the acoustic Spiders, Country Disappeared and Everlasting Everything (which was played live by the full b

Request in quotes because they were already all set to play You Never Know and Jeff said something like, 'Whatever you want to hear, as long as it's You Never Know." And thanks for reading, T! Personally I keep hoping the rave I'm A Wheel reappears sometime soon (hint, hint)...

Wonderful to meet you, too, Fiona! Would absolutely love to get to Melbourne next time (and finally meet that Froggie character)... I think Glasgow has surely been the best of the four shows I've seen on this run so far. The entire band, and Jeff in particular, seemed almost determined to play well that night. Impossible Germany was even more transcendent than usual, and Kicking Television (with Jeff on a white Epiphone) was a great conclusion. Barrowlands certainly had some character to it, and that didn't hurt. It reminded me a little of the Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines. Both were dan

A compact set tonight, which was expected going in since the band was only booked for an 80-minute time slot (9:40-11 p.m.). Jeff actually held up a digital clock that he had at his feet that read "11:00" on the dot as they finished I'm A Wheel, and waved good night. Once off stage, though, they must have gotten clearance to play one more song so they came back and did The Late Greats. One could tell that time was of the essence as they did away with "The Price Is Right" intro music as well as the "robot voice" band intros during Wilco (the song). And Glenn didn't do his Todd Trainer tribute

Limited Internet time tonight, so not much of a review. Once again the videotaping scourge reared its ugly head when Jeff admonished someone off mike for apparently distracting him by filming. Then later on, he sort of took it out on the security guards who were apparently very lackadaisical about enforcing the camera ban. So that sort of added a little bit of tension toward the end of the main set. That probably didn't have anything to do with one of the shorter headlining sets in a while (clocking in just shy of two hours). It sort of seemed like they had to be finished by 11 p.m. anyway.

Re Synthesizer, he came out unannounced midway through the song. Then Jeff said, "Synthesizer Patel, everybody!" once during the song and then again afterward. He sort of pranced around the front of the stage, starting off on Pat and John's side and I think possibly facing off with Nels briefly at one point. Couldn't really see his facial expression that well, but I think he was pretty deadpan for the most part. He was definitely "in character" when he was on stage.

OK, I'm on the case... First of all, special guest star "Synthesizer Patel" on You Never Know! He totally rocked those mutton chops and that keytar, much to the confusion of almost everyone! All in all, a darn great-sounding room -- I don't think I've ever quite heard Jeff's voice and Glenn's pressure-regulated drums on "Reservations" so clearly -- and a more vibrant crowd than I expected. Of course, Jeff had to basically goad everyone into standing up about halfway through the set, but at least most people remained standing. An interesting mix of songs, too, perhaps owing to the fact tha

Er, um... Any report is better than no report, so cheers! Definitely agree with you, Chinese Apple, about Belfast and the north. I loved it when I went up there for a few days. Glad the people there got to see a show, even if it sounded like a more "basic" set. Considering the band hadn't been there for so long, a lot of people were probably getting to see them for the first time...