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Wilco in Milwaukee


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Definitely the best I've ever seen them. The band connected well with the audience [which was electrifying enough to be a part of...I couldn't imagine seeing such a crowd from the stage!] and was nice enough to come back three times after walking off stage. Everybody was happy! They played most of the songs that they typically play on the road [Walken, Spiders{kidsmoke}, Impossible Germany, Shot in the arm...]

 

[i was slightly disappointed in my spot on the lawn when they played in Chicago last month, and this totally made up for it. That, and I'd predicted that they would play "Hesitating Beauty." A great pick-me-up for the humdrum of living in Milwaukee.]

 

By the way, Milwaukee did a much better job of clapping than Chicago did. Nobody in Chicago could keep a beat. ^_^

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Jeff played one song sans PA: "Someone Else's Song". It worked for most of the song, but I didn't hear the first third because (drunk) people kept shouting "woo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and "JEFF YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!!"

 

but for those 2/3rds i could hear....man was it cool.

 

re: clapping. Yes, Milwaukee did much better, but Chicago would have done fine if it wasn't tens of thousands of people many of whome were prohibited from clapping on time by the speed of sound.

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yeah i'd have normally went to the show but i am away at school and couldn't make it. i'm not all that upset though, i'll pass on the rave. the combo of a poor venue, drunk people and raised prices made me stay in school.

 

i wish milwaukee had some better smaller venues people can play besides that shit hole

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by the way, all of you complaining in the past month about the eagle ballroom's terrible sound....are completely correct.

 

But it wasn't bad enough to put a damper on how good the show was.

 

Songs I remember them playing:

 

California Stars

Hesitating Beauty

 

Casino Queen

Too Far Apart

 

Outtasite (Outta Mind)

Red Eyed and Blue -> I Got You

Someone Else's Song **WITHOUT PA**

 

A Shot in the Arm

 

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

War on War

Jesus, Etc.

Heavy Metal Drummer

I'm the Man Who Loves You

Pot Kettle Black

 

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Hummingbird

Handshake Drugs

 

You Are My Face

Impossible Germany

Sky Blue Sky

Side With the Seeds

Hate it Here

Walken

 

Grouped by album since I didn't write down the setlist.

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I'm gonna put this as lightly as I can...

 

Fuck The Rave. What an atrocious scene for a venue. Tonight was my 30th Wilco show and the first time I've ever been disappointed. Just an awful, awful venue. The sound was muddy at best and the highlight for me was Jeff sans PA: I could actually understand what he was singing! If I didn't know the words to every song already, I'd be lost as my two friends were who hadn't seen Wilco before.

 

Rough. Hopefully Sunday in Iowa City is a redeemer.

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Yep, the Rave's sound still sucks.

 

But it was still an excellent show--especially if you were getting a lot of stage sound, right against the rail. The band was in great spirits, Jeff commented that although they were coming off a 10 or 12 day break, they didn't feel like it. "It feels like there are 15 Wilcos up here!" References to it being "perfect" etc. (After which point they lost rhythm on at least one song, but hey...) Not a lot of banter from him tonight but a lot of smiling and, of course, the sans PA Someone Else's Song. (It was actually on the set list, between encores 2 and 3... A VCer has the setlist--post please!) He started center stage right but couldn't get that "section" of the audience to shut up all the way back, so he came over to center stage left which happened to be right in front of me. A nice reward for shutting the fk up, I think.

 

While the venue delivered what I expected it to in terms of sound, the audience was far better. (Given more time though, we were on our way to turning the clapping into applause, but Glenn rescued us.) Before the show I was hoping that being back on the road would be fun for them after the short break and not a drag to be leaving home yet again; seems they're having a great time. And who would've thought the Milw crowd would be "off the hook, as the kids say"?Nice meeting Matt In The Hat and any other VCers I unknowingly met. Looking forward to Iowa.

 

Oh, I caught the last two songs of soundcheck: Impossible Germany and Shake It Off

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fantastic show

 

I cracked up when Jeff, in a sarcastic tone, said something along the lines of "Is the sound quality up to your standards?" I wasn't sure if he was commenting on the sound, or knew that everyone bitches about the Rave

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That show was in par with all the other Wilco shows I've been blessed to see this year. AMAZING. The room really didn't sound all "THAT" bad either. I did totally miss Andrew Bird though having to work until 5 and then with Traffic (and him starting at 7:30 sharp)..... Kind of LAMO that there were no collaborations. Tweedy did get his whistle on and then make a reference but that was it. Kind of weak. Jeff unplugged during the encore was a treat (except for the most obnoxious clapper of all time, you know the one guy out of 2000 people that just can't "Get it"). Great show.

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What is it about the sound in Eagles? Is it the dome? The 2 times I've seen bands there I've enjoyed myself, but ja der hey, what is with that sound? Is there no other venue in Milwaukee with no seats an large enough for wilco type bands?

 

...And what is with those beer prices? $6.50 for an MGD. U'd think for what they're charging for tickets, beer, and parking they could patch up the plaster in that place. It's not miller park by god!

 

I do like the lights around the celing though.

 

It (the sound) wasn't bad right up front, and I think Tweedy spit on me during his no mic performance.

 

ja

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Great Show- great crowd...apart from inappropriate clapping...WORST SOUND I EVER HEARD!!!

Traveled a bit during performance-some areas of the room were vocal heavy- others all Nels. Walking out heard two guys discussing concert-one a Wilco fan the other possibly 1st encounter-at least live. One said he felt the noise became so enveloping that he lost melodies completely for minutes on end. The second replied that we enjoyed Wilco...they sounded like THE ROLLING STONES!!!! Jeff and Mick-seems reasonable-esp the stage moves. Another rave on the Rave...smoking...the smoke was so thick that in some the stage lights modes members of the group dissappeared into the ether...don't know how Wilco deals with smoking venues

But great Show-glad I drove up from Chicago...Andrew Bird was great as well...if you were up front.

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Usually I'm quick with the follow-up post, but I had an exam at 8:50 this morning (and I did A-OK); couple that with In Rainbows consuming my sparse free time today and you have this late post. All you Rave haters....whatever. It was an amazing show. I don't think I've seen the guys have so much fun on stage. Someone Else's Song...incredible, and Jeff has never, ever, ever sounded better. The solo shows this year are going to be the best he's done so far. And my god was Jeff gushing about the audience. He was very appreciative of our behavior.

 

It was nice to meet Pamela and Rob and see Bri at a show in her home state for the first time in forever. I know I met some other people on here too, but introductions were never made. I was the talkative one wearing green-striped everything basically (and was studying with flashcards between acts). I've said this for all my other posts about this tour: GET OUT AND SEE THEM NOW! THEY'VE NEVER BEEN BETTER!

 

Set:

You Are My Face

IATTBYH

Pot Kettle Black

War on War

Handshake Drugs

Side with the Seeds

Shot in the Arm

Impossible Germany

Sky Blue Sky

Too Far Apart

Jesus, Etc.

Hate it Here

Walken

ITMWLY

Hummingbird

-------------------

Hesitating Beauty

Heavy Metal Drummer

California Stars

-------------------

What Light (not played)

Red-Eyed and Blue>

I Got You

Outtasite (Outtamind)

-------------------

Someone Else's Song (Jeff solo sans PA)

Spiders

 

And for future shows in Milwaukee-->Turner Ballroom. Bought by the people who own the Pabst and the Riverside. Big ass ballroom like the Rave, different management, better sound, and in a better part of the city. It's going to be the end of the Rave.

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I loved this show! After getting lost going there, ending up in the ghetoo, getting pulled over for being white, getting lost again (and thinking the cop's directions were just to fuck with us), and then finally arriving, all I could think was 'They better play a good set list.' And boy did they. Sky Blue Sky songs are so amazing to see live, I couldn't stop (literally) giggling the whole time... people were giving me weird looks. haha!

 

Their encore was my favorite part. It went from a pretty typical but great show to just an old fashioned concert, with the whole band just rocking out. This is the only time that the sound of the Rave got awful... for most of the show I was aware of the bad quality, especially in Tweedy's voice, but I didn't mind it. During their encore it seemed like everything got much MUCH louder and the guitars were topping out. I was stage center, about 50 feet from the stage itself. But the thing is, the crackling guitars and high pitched squeel only made it better because it just made me think--ten years ago, this is how they played. They played these songs, and just rocked out, and had a great time... and they're still doing it! That's why I love Wilco--above all else, they're musicians who love to play music.

 

I've seen them once before, at the Auditorium Theatre, and the show was pretty bland. I was too far away, and everyone was sitting, so it just didn't feel the same... Tweedy has an ear for crowds and he could tell we were all really into the music. At points I could hear the crowd singing along over the noise of the band--and Jesus Christtttt when they played Handshake Drugs at the end... It was fantastic to actually FEEL those notes, and watch them shred strings... And of course, Tweedy playing solo was amazing. To have the power to make that many people shut up... its astounding.

 

All-in-all it was a great show. Kidsmoke sounded amazing. There was very little banter, which I actually like (I know some people love Tweedy banter but for me I'd rather just hear them play. Maybe a little bit in the middle of the set, but no long stories... and that's exactly what he gave us). I can't wait to see them again at another small venue--its a completely different experience. I was supposed to go with my psuedo-girlfriend but she changed her mind at the last minute and so I took a guy friend of mine and I am so glad I did... he absolutely loved it and we were raving about it the entire way home. It was perfect... even with all the shit getting there and literally thinking we were going to die... haha!

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And for future shows in Milwaukee-->Turner Ballroom.

I was thinking--and hoping--the same thing. But doesn't Turner only hold about 600 people?

 

Wish I could have been there... damn those parent-teacher conferences... One of my students went to the show and came by this morning just to gloat. When he told me about Tweedy doing "Someone Else's Song," I stared at him and then said, "I am going to swear now. Son of a bitch."

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"I am going to swear now. Son of a bitch."

 

:lol

 

Beltmann, I actually thought of you during that song. I thought, "He's going to shit."

 

Next time!

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I was thinking--and hoping--the same thing.

 

Wish I could have been there... damn those parent-teacher conferences... One of my students went to the show and came by this morning just to gloat. When he told me about Tweedy doing "Someone Else's Song," I stared at him and then said, "I am going to swear now. Son of a bitch."

 

I'm typing this during my conferences tonight :lol I guess I got lucky.

 

where/what do you teach?

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Did anyone get a look at the poster from the show? A buddy of mine & I designed one specifically for the Milwaukee show. Wondered if it was available by show time. Mgmt prints them....wondered how it looked . It had a welder in the design. Thanks.

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Yep, it was available. We didn't get close enough to the merch stand to get a good look at the print quality, but it looked good from where we were. Nice job.

 

mardog, I"m a teacher too--English. You?

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