Who has seen Uncle Tupelo in concert?

[remphish1]

Just curious who is an OOOOOLD school fans. Anyone get to see Uncle Tupelo in Concert? If so...where was it, was it crowded? What songs really got the crowd going? Did you buy any merch? Anything else you can share?

 

[aricandover]

I'm pretty sure dcbbl saw them.

[PopTodd]

I saw them twice: once at the beginning, and once at the end.

 

First time was Halloween, 1989, before No Depression even came out.

I really didn't care much if I saw them or not, but they were opening for fIREHOSE and, well, I had heard good things, so why not? They hit the stage, and I wanna say opened with either "Whiskey Bottle" or "Graveyard Shift". In either case, my jaw hit the floor. So powerful, so LOUD. And there were just three of them up there. Harmonies were tight and Jay absolutely shredded. Yeah, he stood in one place, but the music did the moving for him.

 

Second time was at the Vic in 1993, on the Anodyne tour.

It was probably one of their last shows. They were still awesome. But this time, they had a new drummer (Ken), who was a solid replacement for Mike, but just not the same. They had also augmented the lineup with a second (and completely unnecessary) guitar player, and, maybe a multiinstrumentalist. The split was a lot more apparent, obviously but they still sounded great. But ironically, not as huge as they did the first time. Still a rock-solid band.

[Analogman]

factorybelt.net

 

A good UT site.

[TCP]

Don't understand why people say John was unnecessary, if you listen to the records, there's usually a rhythm guitar strumming underneath the lead guitar.

[PopTodd]

Don't understand why people say John was unnecessary, if you listen to the records, there's usually a rhythm guitar strumming underneath the lead guitar.

 

 

I believe it's that Jay filled the space with a single guitar more than adequately, all by his lonesome. Sort of a hillbilly Bob Mould.

[Lynch]

I saw them twice: once at the beginning, and once at the end.

 

First time was Halloween, 1989, before No Depression even came out.

I really didn't care much if I saw them or not, but they were opening for fIREHOSE and, well, I had heard good things, so why not? They hit the stage, and I wanna say opened with either "Whiskey Bottle" or "Graveyard Shift". In either case, my jaw hit the floor. So powerful, so LOUD. And there were just three of them up there. Harmonies were tight and Jay absolutely shredded. Yeah, he stood in one place, but the music did the moving for him.

 

Second time was at the Vic in 1993, on the Anodyne tour.

It was probably one of their last shows. They were still awesome. But this time, they had a new drummer (Ken), who was a solid replacement for Mike, but just not the same. They had also augmented the lineup with a second (and completely unnecessary) guitar player, and, maybe a multiinstrumentalist. The split was a lot more apparent, obviously but they still sounded great. But ironically, not as huge as they did the first time. Still a rock-solid band.

I am VERY jealous. I need to start working on that time machine..........

[Guest David Puddy]

I am VERY jealous. I need to start working on that time machine..........

 

let me know when you're done man

[lamradio]

let me know when you're done man

 

Yeah me too.. I'd love to hop in and see The Clash, SRV, Hendrix, to name a few..

[Lynch]

Yeah me too.. I'd love to hop in and see The Clash, SRV, Hendrix, to name a few..

Ok, I will continue on it tonight. I am waiting for a reciprocating reverse oscillator valve for the HDI power cable from Amazon.com.

And SRV will be one of our stops, I can guarantee you that! The Clash as well. Then off to Joy Division and then Dylan right after Blood On The Tracks came out.

[mountain bed]

I've mentioned this to a few folks here...UT played within an hour or so from me dozens of times but I never went to see them. I was too caught up in planning to follow another band (which I'm sure you all know who) all over hell's half-acre. Everytime I think about this I want to punch myself in the face.

[TCP]

Ok, I will continue on it tonight. I am waiting for a reciprocating reverse oscillator valve for the HDI power cable from Amazon.com.

And SRV will be one of our stops, I can guarantee you that! The Clash as well. Then off to Joy Division and then Dylan right after Blood On The Tracks came out.

Gimmie a heads up if you're going to go see the rooftop concert.

[Lynch]

Gimmie a heads up if you're going to go see the rooftop concert.

And while we are there I will warn John about that Chapman lunatic waiting outside the Dakota for him a few years down the road.

[TCP]

Maybe try to get George to quit smoking too?

[PopTodd]

I've mentioned this to a few folks here...UT played within an hour or so from me dozens of times but I never went to see them. I was too caught up in planning to follow another band (which I'm sure you all know who) all over hell's half-acre. Everytime I think about this I want to punch myself in the face.

 

They toured a lot, and had a tendency to play the same places, multiple times within a relatively short timeframe. While I do think that this helped them to build a following, of sorts, it also turned off quite a few folks who wrote them off as just some local yokels, playing the same gig, again and again. I know that I did. I only saw them that first time by chance.

[rsjbraz]

I saw them in London at the Mean Fiddler in December 1992 when it was Jeff, Jay & Bill. Didn't know much about them at the time bar an interesting review of March 16th a few weeks earlier in Melody Maker so thought I'd check em out.

They were pretty good but wasn't blown away, kind of regret not paying more attention at the time, was with a rather attractive girl that night who was distracting me somewhat!

I didn't know any of the songs at the time but I rememberered afterwards them playing the slow version of I Wanna Destroy You beacause I thought it was a pretty good name for a song. The rest of the show was pretty loud if I recall and light on the acoustic stuff. Wasn't very full at show.

Never saw them again which was a real shame.

 

Talking of bands I wish I could go back in time to see, both The Waterboys & The Replacements circa 1986 would make me v happy!

[remphish1]

I'm enjoying the stories! Thanks everyone for sharing! Keep em coming!

[LouieB]

I've mentioned this to a few folks here...UT played within an hour or so from me dozens of times but I never went to see them.

I could have seen them many times, but during those years I was having a couple kids and hadn't ventured out to the rock clubs much. Sad really. I would read the reviews or see the listings in the REader and think, damn I need to go see them, but never did, particularly since Lounge Ax was 20 minutes from my house.

 

LouieB

[poppydawn]

I remember the first time I ever heard of Uncle Tupelo. It was fall, 1991, and I was a freshman at the University of Missouri - Columbia. A friend of mine told me another friend was taking him to see this band that was supposed to be country and how he "hates that country shit". That stuck in my mind, and I made a point of paying attention to them.

 

Sadly, I really took those shows for granted, so my memories of them aren't that clear. In Columbia they were considered just a small, "local" band who played at the bars and frat parties. The fact that they were getting all sorts of outside acclaim was completely lost on me and probably a lot of other local fans. They were just a good band that we could see for a few bucks on a regular basis. It didn't strike me that seeing Wilco was a big deal until 1997, when I opened an issue of "Rolling Stone" and there was a big feature article on the band after Being There was released.

 

I was always somewhat bored by Jay's stuff, but loved the poppiness of Jeff's songs. I do recall lots of pogoing to "We've Been Had" at one of their last Columbia shows at the Blue Note.

 

I also caught some of those early Wilco shows but again, it wasn't a big deal because they were "local". There was a great Wilco/Bottle Rockets double bill at the Blue Note (club that holds about 1000 in an old theater) near my birthday in October, 1994. Great show.

 

The summer after the release of A.M., I worked for a company that owned hotels. I was a jill-of-all-trades and worked often filled in at the front desks or housekeeping if any of the properties were short-handed. UT and early Wilco and Son Volt got lots of air play on one local radio station. When I was cleaning rooms, the first thing I'd do was go into the room, crank up the radio and hope really hard for "Box Full of Letters", "Windfall", "Casino Queen", "We've Been Had", or "The Long Cut". Those songs got me through cleaning up a lot of nasty messes.

 

I've lived in the St. Louis area since 1999, and my family moved to Belleville last year. It's a much nicer place than those old UT tunes would lead you to believe, but the song writing was definitely rooted in reality. It's weird, because UT and Jeff are non-issues around here. My favorite restaurant has a little "shrine" to the bands, but it focuses more on Son Volt. Not surprising, because Jay's brother John plays guitar there every other Thursday. There's a dive bar a couple of towns over that's owned by an old hippie music nerd. He's got the best jukebox in the area, and it's loaded with Wilco, Son Volt and UT. I've been told he can talk about them and tell stories for hours, but I've yet to have the opportunity to pick his brain.

 

A few months ago Analogman suggested I throw together a Flickr set of Uncle Tupelo's Belleville as it looks today. It's here, if you want to take a look.

[PopTodd]

HA!

Poppy!

I left Mizzou, just before you got there. And I saw UT at the Blue Note, too. Only I saw them at the original location, before they moved over to 9th St. It was a complete hole-in-the-wall on the outskirts of downtown (not far from the high school); nothing like the beautiful space that they have now.

 

I could sure use me some Shakespeare's, right about now.

[poppydawn]

HA!

Poppy!

I left Mizzou, just before you got there. And I saw UT at the Blue Note, too. Only I saw them at the original location, before they moved over to 9th St. It was a complete hole-in-the-wall on the outskirts of downtown (not far from the high school); nothing like the beautiful space that they have now.

 

That location was eventually turned into a strip club. I still occasionally make the trip to Columbia to see shows at the Blue Note. It remains one of my all-time favorite venues.

 

I could sure use me some Shakespeare's, right about now.

 

I could always use some Shakespeares! The day after I got out of the hospital after having my daughter, one of my Columbia friends made the trip to St. Louis to meet my kiddo. I vaguely recall a phone call before she hit the road, asking if we needed anything. "Large veggie on whole wheat!" Two hours later, she showed up with enough Shakespeares - fresh and frozen - to keep us fed for the first week of my kids life. That's a good friend.

 

My parents live an hour west of Columbia, so I pass through there every few months on my way to visit the fam. When time allows, I try to hit Shakespeares (and take home as many frozen half-baked pizzas as I can fit into a cooler) and Lakota for coffee beans.

 

That Columbia Wilco show last fall was such a nostalgic rush. We had lunch at Shakespeares, grabbed lattes at Lakota, then wandered into sound check at the corner of 9th and Broadway. It felt like 1993 all over again. Only on steroids.

[PopTodd]

I haven't been to Columbia since '91.

I wanna bring the kids.

Although, I'm quite sure that it's nothing like it used to be. Even my fraternity has gone under. (Yeah, I was in a frat -- ZBT. Whatchya gonna do?)

[Analogman]

I was always somewhat bored by Jay's stuff, but loved the poppiness of Jeff's songs. I do recall lots of pogoing to "We've Been Had" at one of their last Columbia shows at the Blue Note.

 

Which is odd to me - I have always thought that was Jay's strong point - lyric writing.

[poppydawn]

Which is odd to me - I have always thought that was Jay's strong point - lyric writing.

 

Yes, but at the time I was a 19-year-old punkass who was more interested in drunkenly pogoing than appreciating lyrcial content.

[poppydawn]

I haven't been to Columbia since '91.

I wanna bring the kids.

Although, I'm quite sure that it's nothing like it used to be. Even my fraternity has gone under. (Yeah, I was in a frat -- ZBT. Whatchya gonna do?)

 

Columbia's changed drastically since I left in '99. Even with somewhat regular visits, the changes are striking. Shakespeares and the Blue Note have barely changed, though.

 

I think ZBT closed when I lived in Columbia. I dated a few frat boys in my time, so I can't cast stones.