Setlists This Tour

[Jimmy Coulas]

It seems as if they are sticking to the same setlist for the last couple of shows. It seems as if they are switching the order a bit, but gosh they have 7 albums worth of material. It would be nice to hear some older material and maybe a cover here and there.

[PigSooie]

They are promoting a new album.

[chooch]

They are promoting a new album.

 

I don't think promoting a new album is reason for repetitive set lists. They can play the new stuff and old. However, they might not like playing many of the older songs. I would rather see energy in the songs rather than see the band going through the motions playing songs they don't feel like. If I was seeing multiple shows it would upset me more. I don't think Wilco will ever be a band that just does the same thing everynight. Like them or not Pearl Jam does a great job of mixing up shows and representing their catalouge without sounding stale.

[Jimmy Coulas]

Some of these songs were played before SBS was released and although they are promoting an album I dont think that is reason to ignore the rest of their catalog. The new tunes are fantastic, but lets mix it up.

[WilcoOfTheDay]

Most people only go to one show per tour so it doesn't really matter to most.

[WilcoFan]

This current incarnation, while very good live, is more methodical than its previous incarnations. Even if they play varied setlists, the music is a dutiful replication of the sound on the record. It seems to me that when you go to a Wilco show nowadays you better be ready for a well-polished music machine... For me, the mystery is long gone but I still keep going to the shows.

[Jimmy Coulas]

I am not expecting for them to pull of 20 minute jams. I have seen Wilco many times and this band is ripping shit up right now. All I would like to see is for them to change it up. They are a very tight band that obviously practices quite a bit, but I like it when bands dont do the same thing every night.

 

Jimmy

[lamradio]

Yeah, I thought the set flowed very well in Charlotte. I was expecting them to play a lot of new songs, but hell, the new album rocks so I don't have a problem with that at all. I think they played plenty of old songs.. Several off of AGIB.. And California Stars.. I mean, who would have guessed that? War On War.. Always In Love.. And what could have been better than opening with Sunken Treasure?

[remphish1]

It seems like the most common songs as a point of observation on this tour are....

Shot in The Arm

Iattbyh

War on War

Jesus

Heavy Metal

California Stars

Spiders

Hummingbird

Handshake Drugs

Side With Seeds

You are My Face

Imposible Germany

Walken

 

 

These seem to be played everynight no matter what?

[winter party person]

I think they'll get restless before long and start throwing in older tunes--im hoping for some Reservations and maybe BT stuff when they come to Berkeley. Also I wouldn't be able to help feeling bummed if they didn't play Via Chicago, although it seems they're still playing that pretty often.

[Sam L.]

Off to Hammerstein shortly for tonight's show. My older daughter got me into Wilco a few years back--this will be my 4th show, and my younger daughter's first!

 

I'm predicting they'll play a few rare gems tonight! A few years back at MSG on NY eve, the setlist was amazing. Hopin' they change things up a bit for the NYC crowd!

 

Sam L.

[oceanman]

As long as they toured AGIB you would think those songs would still be revolving it the set list.Where is Company in my back and Muzzle.They have pretty much decided what tunes they will play pre YHF,and thats fine.That still leaves three cd's that the band should know by heart.That's atleast 30 songs that should be played at any time.All I'm saying is the songs don't have to be polished to be played.Hell,we as fans get a kick out songs with false starts and f-ups.Keeps things fresh.Wilco seems afraid of not playing perfect.I can see where their coming from,but your not going to loose your real fanbase.I really doubt Jeff and Co. wan't to play the Bonnaroo's.Wilco,your fanbase is loyal,we won't leave you,you don't have to prove anything to might be new fans.I saw the interveiw at AT&T BlueRoom where jeff said they stick to certaian songs for the big festivals.The interveiwer came back at Jeff and said,well Beck played SeaChange for and crowd over 80,000 and I loved it.Jeff's response was,yeah you were probably the only one.That comment kind of got to me,one of my favorite bands thinking they have to play for a crowd.Dylan got booed at shows,so what.Jeff,we are here no matter what,but please keep in mind that the fans that you assume your playing certain sets for won't be around as long as us.People come and go,your true fans stay.Play what ever the hell you wan't.

[radiokills]

more summerteeth

i cant wait for thursday night!

[deepseacatfish]

All I'm saying is the songs don't have to be polished to be played.Hell,we as fans get a kick out songs with false starts and f-ups.Keeps things fresh.Wilco seems afraid of not playing perfect.People come and go,your true fans stay.Play what ever the hell you wan't.

I agree. While I've only seen Wilco twice, and Tweedy solo once--so the concerts don't seem repetitive...I would love just a little more spontaneity! Jeff and Co. are all great musicians, the music they're playing is great, and the last time I saw them they were having a blast with it, I would just love to see a little rougher around the edges Wilco.

[oceanman]

Deepsea,I agree 100% about rougher around the edges.I see the band atleast 3 times a year.These shows are typicaly hours away from home,and I know I'm not the only one.There are atleast 100 of us on this board who travlel many many miles to see these guys.I know my next comment will make me look like an ass but here it goes!Not considering the miles we drive or fly,and our hard earned money that goes into going to these shows should justify to the band that we believe and deserve a few suprises here and there.I think Wilco is kind of blown away that some of us will drive 12 hours to see them.I think our following is growing pretty big right now,and no I'm not talking about the new fan's that just got turned on to them.When I was younger I embraced the jam scene.Band's like Phil and Friends.You could tour for months,making money from show to show on selling what ever it was that you did.I liked the idea of suprise and community.Would I wan't Wilco to have a that same sort of following.................Hell no.Wilco is about something totaly different.But doing a suprise Halloween show in some remote part of the country is what I'm talking about.I liked how Phish did the White Album.Wilco could do a set of covers,followed by their best of material.I think they would have a blast doing this.I love when bands do covers.I might sound like a stingy fan,but I'm not,I just wan't that element of suprise back.Where you lead we will follow!

[nathanb]

Even though there has been plenty of discussion on this topic already, I had to add my 2 cents because I have been thinking about this a lot, checking the wilcobase site and the message board for recent set lists. I have no problem with them devoting the majority of the set to SBS...I love the record. It's just that they seem to be drawing on a very small selection of older songs. Sure the new group is polished, but there seemed to be a lot more variety even circa "Kicking Televisions," so I don't think that has everything to do with it, though it may have something to do with it. KT-era Wilco, as good as they were, seemed to take less risks than Wilco incarnations of the past, even if the set lists did have more variety. So my vote is, stick to a SBS heavy set list, but mix up the rest a little more. I'm excited for the LA Greek show and am hoping the set loosens up a little more by that point in the tour.

[Orbit]

The setlists on the current tour seem shorter.

[noyes]

highly doubt it, but if they play Hotel Arizona at Warsaw.. i'll probably weep with joy.

[giraffo]

hm...I guess I must be one of the only people who went wanting to hear certain songs and glad at the ones they threw in where I wasn't expecting.

[remphish1]

highly doubt it, but if they play Hotel Arizona at Warsaw.. i'll probably weep with joy.

 

Hate to burst your buble. I asked Glen about Hotel Arizonia because I said I would like to see how he plays the drums in his style on the song and he said..."It is diffinatley my least favorite Wilco song and I make fun of Jeff constantly for writing it!" I thought that was an interesting comment!

[jff]

The setlists on the current tour seem shorter.

 

That might be because they've been playing venues that have curfews.

[IndyZen]

I agree and disagree with the common spirit of this thread. I have seen Wilco many times over the years ...most recently at the Murat in Indianapolis this month. The best set list I have ever seen was in 2004 at the same venue in a charity show. The band chose numbers from virtually their entire catalog with a slight emphasis on AGIB. The most recent tour obviously is emphasizing SBS since it just recently was released and they are promoting that disc. But, I was pleased to hear gems such as Kamera and Sunken Treasure.

We would likely all agree that we are fans of the entire catalog...and would love to hear more selections from BT and Summerteeth in particular (for one, I have NEVER heard them do Can't Stand It and am dieing to hear it once live.) But, I have to disagree that the curernt band is playing staid set lists in robotic versions that simply mirror the discs.

I felt that the live versions I saw this month of I'm The Man Who Loves You, Spiders (Kidsmoke), Outtasite (Outtamind) and Hummingbird sported interesting new arrangements that definitely showcased live vs. album performances. In fact, I would go as far to say as those 4 songs were perhaps the best versions I have seen live. It is understandable that the SBS material closely mirrors the disc...this is fairly new material (other than Walken') and the band is still getting comfortable with it. I am betting that as the tour progresses, choices such as You Are My Face and Impossible Germany will become crowd killers. Even this early in the disc promotion I felt that those two songs really shined and the 3 guitar attack and solos really took off. The crowd I witnessed seemed to agree with this sentiment.

I have never thought of Wilco as a "jam" band...with the free form set lists and instrumental breaks of a band like The Dead or Phish. Though I love those bands as well, I have always thought what Wilco did was somewhat unique...and better. Tweedy tends to write and perform relatively tight song structures (barring some serious exceptions like Spiders), and within that tightness allow freedom of expression in an almost jazz vein. This puts Wilco somewhere between a "jam" band and a more conventional pop band. I believe their current shows and setlists are indicative of that...and not really that far removed from previous tours in promotion of a new release. I clearly recall the YHF and AGIB tours...and both emphasized those discs.

Another thing we have to remember is that as the band releases new discs, they now have an increasingly larger number of songs to choose from. Therefore it is inevitable that personal favorites may have to be omitted to make room for a few songs reperesentative of their entire catalog.

 

Now...if they would only throw in Can't Stand It and a UT tune here and there...sheer Heaven for this fan. But, I ain't going to biatch about it...they continue to do their thing, their way and thank God for that.

[WaronWar]

As long as they toured AGIB you would think those songs would still be revolving it the set list.Where is Company in my back and Muzzle.They have pretty much decided what tunes they will play pre YHF,and thats fine.That still leaves three cd's that the band should know by heart.That's atleast 30 songs that should be played at any time.All I'm saying is the songs don't have to be polished to be played.Hell,we as fans get a kick out songs with false starts and f-ups.Keeps things fresh.Wilco seems afraid of not playing perfect.I can see where their coming from,but your not going to loose your real fanbase.I really doubt Jeff and Co. wan't to play the Bonnaroo's.Wilco,your fanbase is loyal,we won't leave you,you don't have to prove anything to might be new fans.I saw the interveiw at AT&T BlueRoom where jeff said they stick to certaian songs for the big festivals.The interveiwer came back at Jeff and said,well Beck played SeaChange for and crowd over 80,000 and I loved it.Jeff's response was,yeah you were probably the only one.That comment kind of got to me,one of my favorite bands thinking they have to play for a crowd.Dylan got booed at shows,so what.Jeff,we are here no matter what,but please keep in mind that the fans that you assume your playing certain sets for won't be around as long as us.People come and go,your true fans stay.Play what ever the hell you wan't.

 

Great point. While I do sometimes have reservations for certain songs to be played, I just love seeing Wilco, and for that I am very satisfied.

 

Besides it's his band and his life, not ours.

[Chendizzle]

Now...if they would only throw in Can't Stand It

 

That one might be permanently retired, Jeff's feelings on the song echo the title.

[dmait]

>I have never thought of Wilco as a "jam" band...with the free form set lists and instrumental breaks of a band like The Dead or Phish. Though I love those bands as well, I have always thought what Wilco did was somewhat unique...and better. Tweedy tends to write and perform relatively tight song structures (barring some serious exceptions like Spiders), and within that tightness allow freedom of expression in an almost jazz vein. This puts Wilco somewhere between a "jam" band and a more conventional pop band.

 

Absolutely agree. It's jamming within the confines of the song structure and itself becoming song structure that makes it so interesting and jazz-like and differentiates Wilco from pointless jamband noodling (and I'm generally a jamband fan).