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Opening Track Night #3


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Can I just say that that has to be one of my all time favorite Wilco songs. Something about the combo of lyrics tugs at my every heart string. I don't know if it is the make of openers but it surely will make it in at some point between Mon and Wed.

 

One by One, Dash 7, Gun, Wait Up, Radio King, All the Same to Me -- all of these do something to me

 

Laminated Cat, Family Gardener,

 

it's amazing how the list can go on and on and on...

 

Honestly, I know so much can be said about this band, in so many different ways, and this entire residency phenonmenon is such a testament to how much people have been taken over by them. I am not only fascinated by the power over fans they have but this 5 night run could be the focus of a study on sociology and economics. Check out Craig's list for a feel of how swept up people are getting on this.

 

If I was a PhD in sociology, this would be a band that I would love to focus on. Someone is right to offer the comparison to Grateful Dead in terms of fan-base devotion.

 

When I think about what I would say to the band if I ever met them, I realize it is probably so close to what others would say -- and that alone speaks volumes. When I felt that they pulled me out of my darkest hour after loss/depression experience, I realize I am so not unique in that way. That's why they appeal to so many... Ok now I am going on a tangent that this thread was not designed to address... Can't help myself, guess I am getting pulled under by it all as well (in a good way).

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Guest Speed Racer
Honestly, I know so much can be said about this band, in so many different ways, and this entire residency phenonmenon is such a testament to how much people have been taken over by them. I am not only fascinated by the power over fans they have but this 5 night run could be the focus of a study on sociology and economics. Check out Craig's list for a feel of how swept up people are getting on this.

 

If I was a PhD in sociology, this would be a band that I would love to focus on. Someone is right to offer the comparison to Grateful Dead in terms of fan-base devotion.

 

Studies have been done on fan behaviors (actually one of the focuses of my anthropology undergraduate work), and some of them are great reads. PM me if you're interested.

 

If you'll notice, fan behaviors are not unlike religious devotion. Sacred texts, relics, pilgrimages, rituals, idolatry in some instances, and conversion. Very, very interesting indeed. The fact also that several posters on this site seem to be thinking that the Residency is an event that is toppling the world on its head is, as you say, a testament to how consuming a fan's devotion can be.

 

For instance, Hannah Montana sales surely have a greater economic effect on the overall market, and Wilco five nights in a row probably has no greater impact on the economy of the neighborhood of the venue than five varying artists' performances might. Fans are fans, and just like you probably don't give a hoot about Yom Kippur if you're more the Christmas type, devotees of James Taylor will probably have a pretty mundane week compared to you, even if one of them owns a bar near the Riv.

 

True, some bands attract a greater and more attached following than others, for reasons I'm not quite sure of. I'd love to see an examination of spending 'per capita' for artists' followings - for merch, tickets, music and the like, but I still don't think that the band with the highest per capita spending would necessarily be the band with the most devoted following.

 

***

 

:lol Oh, and my bet's on Magazine for a #3 opener. And I hopehopehope they bust out More Like The Moon before the shows are over.

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Speed Racer, great comments, great points made. Indeed, my best friend who is a totally cool soul is entirely unaffected by this Residency phenomenon. So you're right, those that are not Yom Kippur types, have no clue that this is going on and that missing one of these shows is like being stabbed in the heart for some. ;) For a fan though, something about the 5 nights causes a feverish pitch and you just assume that everyone else feels the same way and you can't stand to be left out for fear of missing the greatest thing on earth. But for others it's just another day.

 

As I try to rationalize on my 34th birthday (on the 19th no less) how it is that I am paying so much for tix for 2 of the 5 shows, I realize -- who cares -- in life, if something makes you that happy, seize it and enjoy the hell out of it and love it. Because life comes and goes and has its ups and downs and if this brings some measure of happiness in a sea of hard days, GO FOR IT!

 

And you're right, More Like the Moon is another that can bring me to tears from combo of happiness and tears (which is what so many of their songs do).

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When you hear Magazine, do you think of the scene of Jeff and his son in the snowy Chicago streets and parks...That's what is forever emblazened in my mind b/c having lived in Chicago for my adult life and then having a kid in the city, there is something about that scene that conjures up exactly the feel of being in the city in the winter. The Chicago streets and parks and the feel of the uniqueness of the city is often reflected in the feel of their songs for me...anyone else?

 

Laminated Cat --

When autumn comes you sit in your chair and you stare

At the TV square

Hiding in the deep end

Weeding out the weekends

 

Winter comes and the days all start late

There's motion on the boughs where the dark shapes prowl

Feeling out the feelings

Feeling out the feeling

 

Sunken Treasure:

There's rows and rows of house, with windows painted blue.

With the light from the t.v. running parallel to you.

 

 

Now I reflect on how lucky I was to see a Tweedy solo show for like $20 at Martyrs several years ago...or Abbey Pub with Minus Five for not much more...

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Studies have been done on fan behaviors (actually one of the focuses of my anthropology undergraduate work), and some of them are great reads. PM me if you're interested.

 

If you'll notice, fan behaviors are not unlike religious devotion. Sacred texts, relics, pilgrimages, rituals, idolatry in some instances, and conversion. Very, very interesting indeed. The fact also that several posters on this site seem to be thinking that the Residency is an event that is toppling the world on its head is, as you say, a testament to how consuming a fan's devotion can be.

 

For instance, Hannah Montana sales surely have a greater economic effect on the overall market, and Wilco five nights in a row probably has no greater impact on the economy of the neighborhood of the venue than five varying artists' performances might. Fans are fans, and just like you probably don't give a hoot about Yom Kippur if you're more the Christmas type, devotees of James Taylor will probably have a pretty mundane week compared to you, even if one of them owns a bar near the Riv.

 

True, some bands attract a greater and more attached following than others, for reasons I'm not quite sure of. I'd love to see an examination of spending 'per capita' for artists' followings - for merch, tickets, music and the like, but I still don't think that the band with the highest per capita spending would necessarily be the band with the most devoted following.

 

***

 

:lol Oh, and my bet's on Magazine for a #3 opener. And I hopehopehope they bust out More Like The Moon before the shows are over.

 

Great points and I am also really pulling for More Like The Moon.

 

--Mike

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