William & Mary Show

[LouisvilleGreg]

I can't beleive I beat Paul with this. Too tired for details, but I'll get some up in the morning.

 

 

William & Mary Hall - Williamsburg, VA.

 

1. IATTBYH

2. War on War

3. Company In My Back

4. Hell Is Chrome

5. Handshake Drugs

6. Shot In The Arm

7. ALTWYS

8. Jesus, ETC.

9. Ashes of Ameican Flags

10. Theologians

11. Siders

12. Hummingbird

13. Walken

14. ITMWLY

 

Encore #1

 

1. Via Chicago

2. Kingpin

3. Late Greats

 

Enocre #2

 

1. Heavy Metal drummer

2. I'm A Wheel

[gabepride]

I know on paper, this doesn't look like the best setlist, and yeah, they play these songs to death. BUT - the band is on fire right now. This was my sixth (I think) show, and I would hesitate to call it the best, but I can say I have never seen the band play so well. And they all had smiles on their faces throughout the show, totally loving it. Glenn Kotche and Nels Cline are indispensible.

 

The way William and Mary handled the General Admission ticket holders fucking sucked. First we weren't allowed onto the floor, then we were, but only the first row or two of seats, and only after W&M kids had filled half the floor. My group had good seats near the soundboard, so we opted to stay because we had better sightlines. But we were there early enough to be right in front, had the policy been different. A minor complaint from my perspective, but some people were really upset about it.

 

The show itself was great. Lots of energy, the crowd was loving it, and the bleachers were pretty full even up to the nosebleeds. It was the largest crowd I've seen at a Wilco show (but I'm used to seeing them at the 9:30 Club). The W&M students knew pretty much only A Ghost Is Born songs, which surprised me. Surprising no one, the set was Ghost heavy.

 

The show has me really excited for tomorrow night, even though I know it'll be mostly the same songs. They're just nailing each one. And tomorrow is the first time my girlfriend will get to see Wilco, and she loves them almost as much as I do.

[ansheld]

I know on paper, this doesn't look like the best setlist, and yeah, they play these songs to death. BUT - the band is on fire right now. This was my sixth (I think) show, and I would hesitate to call it the best, but I can say I have never seen the band play so well. And they all had smiles on their faces throughout the show, totally loving it. Glenn Kotche and Nels Cline are indispensible.

 

The way William and Mary handled the General Admission ticket holders fucking sucked. First we weren't allowed onto the floor, then we were, but only the first row or two of seats, and only after W&M kids had filled half the floor. My group had good seats near the soundboard, so we opted to stay because we had better sightlines. But we were there early enough to be right in front, had the policy been different. A minor complaint from my perspective, but some people were really upset about it.

 

The show itself was great. Lots of energy, the crowd was loving it, and the bleachers were pretty full even up to the nosebleeds. It was the largest crowd I've seen at a Wilco show (but I'm used to seeing them at the 9:30 Club). The W&M students knew pretty much only A Ghost Is Born songs, which surprised me. Surprising no one, the set was Ghost heavy.

 

The show has me really excited for tomorrow night, even though I know it'll be mostly the same songs. They're just nailing each one. And tomorrow is the first time my girlfriend will get to see Wilco, and she loves them almost as much as I do.

 

Thanks for the review. I'm going tonight, any info. on the opening band (if there is one) and what time we can expect the boys to come on stage?

[You Can Be The Stone]

Thanks for the review. I'm going tonight, any info. on the opening band (if there is one) and what time we can expect the boys to come on stage?

 

The review above was entirely accurate. The setlist was almost Wilco parodying itself, but holy crap, they rocked the house. While it was definately the worst setlist, this show will probably be the one that had the best energy. There was a constant sing-alone going on if you listened hard enough. They were just going effing crazy during the first part of "At Least That's What You Said".

 

Also, the Kingpin primal scream therapy probably had one of the best Nels Cline moments of all time.

 

I wonder if the crew's picking the setlist for this last one, or if they'll do the easy rockers for the VA students?

 

French toast was awesome! Even if they were to have sucked, come on! They did a three-way switch and pulled it off coherently! (four way considering vocals)

[aeb272]

Wilco played a great show, but I disagree about the crowd. And I don't like to make sweeping judgements about an entire crowd of people- but the W&M frat boy types nearly ruined it for me. They were acting pretty vile- talking on cell phones, heckling the band, harassing women, etc..... Sometimes they were acting so stupid it was just funny. (e.g. the girl who was screaming "I want your babies" at Jeff Tweedy all night. He heard her and said "You want to eat my babies?") Still, Wilco put on a great show and seemed to be in really high spirits. This is the first time I have seen them play less than two hours at a headlining show, which makes me think there might have been a curfew.... Also, I would have loved to hear more non- Yankee and Ghost songs.....

 

One other gripe- the sound system. Did you see the size of the speakers? They were tiny- this place had one of the worst pa systems I have ever heard. I sort of expected this since the show was in a basketball court, not a real venue, but Wilco deserves better....

 

I really liked French Toast. I'm glad they're opening again tonight. Even with a lackluster crowd of fans and bad sound, Wilco was really great. I'm really excited to see them in Charlottesville!

[gabepride]

Since someone asked about the Charlottesville show - doors are at 5:30. Show starts at 7. This means French Toast will finish at 7:45, and we can expect Wilco on stage somewhere around 8:15.

 

The venue at William and Mary was pretty cavernous, but Stan does a great job adjusting to any room. I thought the sound was fine, but like I said earlier, I was near the soundboard. The problem, I think, is that the main speakers were pointing towards the seats, and none were pointed toward the floor. There were a few stage monitors pointed toward the crowd on the floor. I bet the sound wasn't the best in front of the stage.

 

After I'm a Wheel, people started turning around and leaving immediately. There probably was a curfew, but I feel like if people had stayed and cheered for another song, we would've gotten one. I don't really like I'm a Wheel at all, but this was the best version of it I've heard. Also, earlier in the show, they played the best War on War I've heard too - and I've heard a shit ton of that one.

[LouisvilleGreg]

Alright, now for some thoughts. I'll echo what has already been said by saying that they could go through these songs in their sleep by now. But, and it's a huge but, they really tore into every song. Nels played a shit-hot solo at the end of "Ashes" that really added some new depth to a song I'm very indifferent about. The band seemed to be in a really upbeat mood and when they came back out for encores Jeff said they had consulted backstage and decided that Williamsburg was the most adorable audience of the tour. This brought much applause.

 

I had a seat in the front row immediately behind the soundboard and the crowd on the floor was much more energetic than most Wilco shows. There was a fair amount of dancing even. Also some serious long-haired headbangers downfront during "Spiders." It looked like an old Iron Maiden show for awhile there. The band matched the energy of the crowd and really clicked towards the second half of the set.

 

Nels leaned over to Mikael and let him pluck his strings at one point. Jeff did his usual arena rock give and take rap for "Kingpin," with a twist. He told the crowd that when pointed at to shout "How Can I" and the band would demonstrate what to do. He pointed, the audience screamed "How Can I" and the band then made some of the most ridiculous faces ever while screaming into all of the front line mics. Nels in particular made a hilarious face while halfway leaping across the stage. Pretty funny.

 

At one point Jeff taunted the crowd about not being tough by saying that they were in Jersey last night and that they weren't scared of William and Mary. "Walken" was the only new song, but probably the only one that could've worked in such a huge place. They played a 10,000 seat basketball arena with the satge mid- court and facing off to one side. There were supposedly 500 total people on the floor, and perhaps as many as 4,000 in seats that stretched all the way up perhaps 60 rows and fanned out quite a bit on the sides as well. Seriously one of the bigger Wilco shows I've ever seen.

 

All in all a surprisingly fun set, if not routine. Looking forward to some road crew surprises for the tour ender tonight in Charlottesville.

[chaslor]

[Dreamin']

When I saw your name in this thread Charles, I knew there would be an awesome picture. That's great!

[foolnrain97]

My friends and I drove ten hours each way to see this show(without a hotel stay during the night) and I seriously think that you guys are concentrating too much on the bad. Was it short for a Wilco show? Yes. The setlist? A few disappointments in what they didn't play, but still a good one. The crowd? Been with better, been with worse. The opening act? I thought they were pretty awful and that their influences were way too obvious, but that's just my opinion and I wasn't there to see French Toast. I was there to see fucking WILCO. And they fucking rocked. I never imagined that much energy being visible from them. But it was sweet. I would say that this was one of the best shows I've been to. But maybe that's the sleep deprivation talking...I don't know. I had a great time. Jeff's dance (half running man/half jerk) was sweet. Nels was on fire. I don't know, maybe it's just me. I hope the rest of you had at least an okay time.

 

Thanks to LCH for the ticket hook-up, hope you have fun tonight in Charlottesville.

 

PS Any tapers? I'd like to have this show if for nothing else, Nels guitar solos and the crowd interaction on Kingpin.

Edited April 23, 2006 by foolnrian97

[chaslor]

When I saw your name in this thread Charles, I knew there would be an awesome picture. That's great!

 

More to follow at some point, just got home an hour ago. The edit begins....

[chaslor]

Jeff's dance (half running man/half jerk) was sweet.

 

[foolnrain97]

sweet pic

[Mr. Tony Margaritatime]

I agree in the short about what everyone has said. The show had it's ups and downs, but great over in terms of ripping the songs a new one (Kingpin) even though the show was pretty short. I like the band's spirit. The only thing I didn't like was the sound quality (We were in the middle center of the upper rows). It was difficult to understand what Jeff was saying half of the time. The other thing I didn't like is the crowd didn't seem into it. I sat down most of the show, which I hate! Ok rant over.

[Hodie]

Nels played a shit-hot solo at the end of "Ashes"

 

It was magnificent, I was feeling literally swoony. It was the highlight of the night for me.

[j4lackey]

GREAT picture!

[jimmyjimmy]

 

This is EXACTLY the reason I cannot talk to-day.

[bigshoulders]

This is EXACTLY the reason I cannot talk to-day.

LOL. i've been wondering where this sore throat of mine came from... likel i could trace it back to this as well. awesome pics as always, Charles!

 

kevin

[Guest privatedoodle]

Hi Everybody, I'm Mark and this is my first post here!

 

This was my first show, so here are some comments from a guy coming into the show with a more or less open mind:

 

1) The setlist was great. I know, I know, only one song from summerteeth, only one song from Being There, nothing from AM, but just about every song they played was a good song, and they played by far the best songs from YHF and Ghost. I don't care how many times I hear Spiders, it's still a great song. And I'll never get tired of hearing Jesus, Etc.

 

2) The crowd was weak. I was pretty far back, so that probably made a difference. But everybody around me (except the people I came with) seemed bored, and almost definitely weren't actually listening. One guy behind me said, "Where the fuck is Andy? He's the only reason we came to this show anyway..." and then proceeded to complain about how Andy left them to listen to the band. Andy, if you are by some odd chance reading this post, then I hope you had a friggin incredible show. Sorry your friends were so lame, but the next time Wilco is in VA you can give me a call and we can groove without the lame William and Mary kids.

 

3) The sound was decent. It wasn't loud, but it was loud enough, and even though it wasn't perfect it was about as good as can be expected in a basketball stadium. I wish they had played in a smaller room, but as big as the building was, I can't complain about the sound too much.

 

4) The band was fucking awesome! These guys were on fire... and every song was even better than what I had hoped it could be. By the end, everything was sort of blending together in my mind, so details may be a little hazy here. But a few highlights...at the end of Hell Is Chrome, where the rhythm section faded out and left the guitars wailing away...until they came back and brought us to Handshake Drugs...The HUGE guitars during Kingpin...even before Jeff started his "call and response" stuff, this was like hanging out in Led Zeppelin's living room...Shot In The Arm is just a perfect song, there is nothing more to say about that one... Nels' guitars were absofuckinglutely on fire all night. Especially the doublecut Les Paul he brought out for Kingpin, but he was unstoppable... Ashes, I think, made me love him, in addition to respecting and admiring him. The guy was unbelievable.

 

5) This band is unbelievable. I'm glad I was able to see them, and I'm glad that it was this show. I'll be back for more on the next tour.

 

6) In the meantime, I know it's not kosher to beg for tapes yet, but if tbere are any tapers out there, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU if you post up a recording!

 

Sorry about that. It slipped out.

 

Peace,

Mark

[bigshoulders]

6) In the meantime, I know it's not kosher to beg for tapes yet, but if tbere are any tapers out there, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU if you post up a recording!

 

welcome Mark!

i'm sorry that you were stuck with a bunch of lame folks for the show. my honest-to-goodness best piece of advice is to show up earlier for your next show. that's when the really ardent fans line up. (if it's GA)

 

there were atleast 2 tapers there. have patience my friend. the show will surface (if it hasn't already.) do you have a wideband connection? are you savvy with bittorrent? there's a place for you here in ViaChicago called "IN A FUTURE AGE" is where you should check for newly posted shows.

 

bottom line is patience, though.

welcome!

kevin

[cbd]

there were atleast 2 tapers there. have patience my friend. the show will surface (if it hasn't already.) do you have a wideband connection? are you savvy with bittorrent?

 

the 2 guys who taped that show are buddies of mine. Only one ran mics & he doesn't do torrents but I already have a copy of his & will get it up probably by this weekend. I just put up my Charlottesville on etree & have a few otehr shows to get up first

[wheelco]

forget about the plain jane setlist, did anyone get drunk at the Greeneleaf?

[Mr. Tony Margaritatime]

forget about the plain jane setlist, did anyone get drunk at the Greeneleaf?

 

We couldn't even get into the Greeneleaf, so we drank next door