Getting Bored of Wilco shows

[remphish1]

I'm confused, I didn't even make reference to They Might Be Giants or any other bands in my original post...but I do agree with you that it would be awesome if they threw in some more old gems, because that always makes shows exciting.

 

Nah don't get confused. I am just bringing them up as a comparison for setlist variation.

 

[sFolk]

hmmm, well, I'd say you're pretty luck if you've had the opportunity to see wilco enough times to get bored with their shows.

 

I'm looking foward to my FIRST EVER Wilco show in Chicago this November. Crazy huh? Anyway, they could play just about anything and I'll be thrilled.

 

I'm a long-time fan, but I'm a broke non-profit employee, so I've been waiting for a home town show at a good venue. (Just couldn't shell out the cash for Lalapoloza, since I wasn't sure about the setting. I want to be sure I'll be able to see the band and hear the music.)

 

That said, I've seen Jeff solo twice, once at Northwestern and once at a living room show (thanks to a generous benefactor) so I'm definitely very lucky. Both shows were great, and playing WITH Jeff at the living room show was so cool! Those of us who were at that living room still frequently subject our friends and relatives to the DVD of us playing a set with Jeff, going back to watch certain parts twice (i.e. "check it out, here's where jeff claps for JC's solo!!!").

 

Anyway, if you want to see different stuff, why not mix it up a bit. You can even see totally different stuff while staying in the Wilco family of bands. Golden Smog, Autumn Defense, and Glen and Nels all put on great shows in Chicago this fall, not to mention $10 to see Jay Bennett live at Fitzgeralds.

 

These smaller shows are also cool because the band members tend to hang out in the bar before and after their sets. At the last Autumn Defense show I saw, Glen and Nels were hanging with the rest of the crowd at Martyrs. I said hi to John S. after the show and asked him about the amazing bass he was playing. He was really nice and seemed happy to talk about this beautiful instrument (a Guild Starfire if I remember correctly).

 

Wow, I think this is my longest post ever.

see you at the auditorium in November!

sfolk

[Reni]

if you are looking to stay away from boredom - going to an Autumn Defense show isn't the best place to start

[LouieB]

hmmm, well, I'd say you're pretty luck if you've had the opportunity to see wilco enough times to get bored with their shows.

Really. As always, if you are bored, there are thousands of other bands to see, check them out.

 

LouieB

[chicago]

i know there are other bands to see. I see tons of live music that is why i am making this point.

As far as being lucky to see wilco...umm they have been around for a decade and ticket prices are always really cheap..so it's not luck.

I am not the kind of person who says...yeah i should be happy with it...suck it up.

I like a challenge. Tweedy even says in the Q article, Wilco doesn't make or do anything mainstream...so why start doint it with your show. Someone said they have to keep in mind some people have never seen wilco before. That is fine, but these people haven't become fans of wilco because they are selling out making bland music and getting on the radio. They are pushing the limits all the time and people follow ...why ..because it is good and you can tell it is from the heart. I just don't want to have to be counting how many time he says nothing during misunderstood. That is a perfect example of a "staged safe show" Years of this take the danger and angst out of it. I want rocknroll chaos not staged theatrics

[remphish1]

i know there are other bands to see. I see tons of live music that is why i am making this point.

As far as being lucky to see wilco...umm they have been around for a decade and ticket prices are always really cheap..so it's not luck.

I am not the kind of person who says...yeah i should be happy with it...suck it up.

I like a challenge. Tweedy even says in the Q article, Wilco doesn't make or do anything mainstream...so why start doint it with your show. Someone said they have to keep in mind some people have never seen wilco before. That is fine, but these people haven't become fans of wilco because they are selling out making bland music and getting on the radio. They are pushing the limits all the time and people follow ...why ..because it is good and you can tell it is from the heart. I just don't want to have to be counting how many time he says nothing during misunderstood. That is a perfect example of a "staged safe show" Years of this take the danger and angst out of it. I want rocknroll chaos not staged theatrics

 

 

I agree!

 

PS I have seen Smog, Jayhawks, autumn Defense, Nils, Glenn, Bennett in all there various projects (it still isn't Wilco which is the band I have grown to love!)

[NightOfJoy]

Go see Wilco coverbands,they play all the tunes!

 

I'm starting a Wilco cover band. We're gonna play tunes just from their most majestic, golden era.....2001-2003. In fact, we're gonna cover entire shows note for note from that era ala DSO. Now that I have the model worked out, I need a name for the band......Will and the Tweedy Birds.....nah, too hokey..........c'mon brain, start thinking............Ocliw? Nah, damn dyslexia acting up again......

[sFolk]

-->

I'm starting a Wilco cover band. We're gonna play tunes just from their most majestic, golden era.....2001-2003. In fact, we're gonna cover entire shows note for note from that era ala DSO. Now that I have the model worked out, I need a name for the band......Will and the Tweedy Birds.....nah, too hokey..........c'mon brain, start thinking............Ocliw? Nah, damn dyslexia acting up again......

 

Cool, you really starting a cover band? Where are you located?

 

There are 3 Wilco cover bands in Chicago that I know of: The Late Greats, Sleepy Kisser, and the Barnyard Pimps (although only the Late Greats is strictly about Wilco covers).

 

Brief appearances coming up the Friday (Late Greats at the Old Town School's First Firday showcase) and Sunday (Barnyard Pimps at the Winds Cafe and Logan Square).

 

[Calexico]

Fuck, I'd love it if I saw them just once.

[sFolk]

if you are looking to stay away from boredom - going to an Autumn Defense show isn't the best place to start

 

Touch

[watchtower41]

No more Kingpin. Play Pieholden Suite, ELT, Dreamer in my Dreams, A Magazine Called Sunset, Summerteeth. Ohhh mama.

 

 

 

I couldnt imagine a "great" Wilco show without Kingpin

[oceanman]

Fuck, I'd love it if I saw them just once.

I wish Wilco would do an extremely long Euro tour after the release of the alblum,not that I would be atending any of these but I think this would freshen' up things alot,and deprive me of shows!

[Lee]

RE: Wilco cover band names...

 

All I could think of was:

 

"the Wishful Thinkers"

 

or just,

 

"Kidsmoke"

 

Either of those any good?

[skepticsightsten]

I vote for The Letter Boxes.

[mpolak21]

I am getting kind of bored of threads where people bitch about the setlist, can't we talk about the drone or whether or not Jim O'Rourke ruins records again?

 

--Mike

[yhfagib]

personally in my opinion wilco should be playing whatever they want, but I understand that they have not yet hit peak popularity, and to attract a wider audience of fans it might be smarter for them to keep playing the same old hits so they suck in more fans. And then the old fans get to hear the new songs, so in a way everybody wins

 

but yea, I would love it if they shook up their setlists a lot

[chicago]

personally in my opinion wilco should be playing whatever they want, but I understand that they have not yet hit peak popularity, and to attract a wider audience of fans it might be smarter for them to keep playing the same old hits so they suck in more fans. And then the old fans get to hear the new songs, so in a way everybody wins

 

but yea, I would love it if they shook up their setlists a lot

 

 

wilco does not have hits that is my point. they should mix it up more because they didn't win people over with the hits, but rather with solid performance and great songs

[frisbeeman]

Short summary for those who don't like to read: qwitcherbitchen!

 

Actually Wilco does mix it up quite a lot compared to most "major" bands; a lot of them have the same setlist for every single stop on the tour, so we should count ourselves lucky there. There are also always going to be a core group of songs that the band likes to play and therefore is awesome at, and that the people coming to shows for the first time can be expected to recognize with limited exposure to the band (the so-called "hits"), so it's unreasonable to not expect 5-10 songs to be played consistently at nearly every show.

 

Thankfully we have wilcobase, and out of the 307 songs listed that the band has EVER played, the band (not just Jeff solo) has performed 76 of them (give or take a few) in the past year's touring, beginning with this spring's shows. Subtract the 170 or so covers and obscure tracks the band has played less than 10 times, and Wilco has played roughly 55% (76 of 137) of their extensive back catalogue while trying out new material as well. Consider also that Wilco's official LP releases (not counting Mermaid Avenues) only total 70 tracks. With each show usually ranging from 20 to 25 songs, statistically it's a pretty significant amount of variation. (Warning: All math approximate and subject to error.)

 

Rob has added a great new feature to wilcobase, so you can check out the last time your favorite song got played. So the next time you complain that the band never plays it anymore, you can find out how wrong you are-- you just weren't at the show.

 

Unless it's Pieholden Suite or Pot Kettle Black. Please play those at the Auditorium, guys!

[caliber66]

Unless it's Pieholden Suite or Pot Kettle Black. Please play those at the Auditorium, guys!

 

qwitcherbitchen!