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Tower Theater, Philadelphia, PA 02/23/08


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Very good news. :thumbup

The irony for me is that in all the times I've caught this band in the last 6 years I somehow have missed seeing RTMB. I hope this is the year I can cross that one off my list.

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I was there last night, first Wilco show. It was pretty awesome. Was a little dissapointed with the setlist (no Ashes of American Flags and ending with On and On and On was pretty weak), but the musicianship was incredible. Glenn Kotche is amazing. Nels too. Can't wait to see them again

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The atmosphere where I was in the lower balcony kind of sucked. I think I was the only one standing there.

 

 

We were in the lower balcony just to the left of where you were standing in between the lodge and the balcony and completely agree the crowd up there sucked!!! and security was just as awful. no one would stand up, people were yelling and screaming at anyone that did stand up. it took a lot for me to block it out and focus on the true joy of the show. at one point during she's a jar, i was standing in between my seat and the rail, not blocking a soul's view and still had people saying very nasty things to me. i don't get it. it's a rock concert. it's loud and rocking and well standing and rocking out. i understand if people want to sit down, but i do wonder at one point does one person's personal preference become more important than another's? i saw the security guard make that entire section in the lodge sit because a couple in the upper part of the balcony couldn't see. it doesn't make sense 100 people don't get to experience the show their way because 2 people want to experience it sitting on their asses. huh.

 

a bigger commentary on it for me though is this. i was in a section that was 2 seats wide and was standing to dance and see better and enjoy a rock concert. how is that more rude and disturbing to those around me than crossing back and forth in front of me to get beer after beer the entire night, consuming too much alcohol to the point of falling on the stairs and busting the footrunners, spilling multiple beers (causing a guy to have to rush out every 20 minutes with a mop), talking loudly, running in front of me to greet a friend and stand around and have a conversation, and smoking pot. all these other things were constant in the lower balcony but yet if myself and my boyfriend stood up those around us were nasty towards us. it made me hate philly and truly not want to ever go back, regardless of if it's wilco or not. people should have some perspective about their actions. it is after all a rock concert, not a tv show or a symphony or a speech. people stand at rock concerts. and if you yell at someone for standing at a rock concert don't do any of the other things i just mentioned. in my opinion, they are even more obnoxious and inconsiderate than standing to dance.

 

 

but enough of that! audience asshole's aside! what a great show. and a set list one could only DREAM of!!! i was so thrilled to hear "she's a jar" and "at least that's what you said" and all the mermaid avenue selections. "pot kettle black" so many great songs for the night. and the band was TIGHT! what a great energy and solid sound from them. hoodoo voodoo. all of it. it was almost like a warm up for the 9:30 club this week. and as a side note, it was great way to bring in my birthday, with wilco!

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I feel really badly for those of you in the upper levels who had a bad time with the crowd and security. The atmosphere was so much different where I was, which was over on the far left. I had an aisle seat about 12 rows back, and I never saw a security person the entire night except helping people find their seats. In fact, I was surprised that they let so many people congregate in the far aisle. Everybody in my area danced and sang and had a great time.

 

I absolutely hate when people get stupidly drunk at shows. I mean, of course it's their choice to enjoy the show however they want, but when they're spilling beers and talking loudly during quiet songs and other rude things like that, they're taking away your chance to have a good time. I had a woman spill an entire beer on me at a U2 show a few years ago and barely apologize. Last night I had some random drunk guys end up next to me for the whole night, but they were actually pretty nice, and the fact that they were out in the aisle meant they didn't bother me when they made frequent beer runs (and I was so grateful when they randomly bought me a beer, since I'd been screaming my head off all night).

 

I really couldn't believe how few people were standing for much of the start of the show. I didn't use my seat at all once the band came on. Thankfully the people behind me were standing, too, but people both in front of my row and up the row from me sat for much of the show. Again, it's everybody's choice how they want to act at a show, but I don't understand how they could've been sitting!

 

I thought Sunken Treasure was the perfect opener last night, and I loved finally getting to hear it. Likewise for Red-Eyed and Blue, another one of my favorites. While they didn't play a lot of songs I was hoping for, I think in a way that enabled me to enjoy the show more. I picked up on a lot of little things I don't think I would have otherwise. It's really a beautiful thing to watch these guys play together lately. They feed off of one another's energy so much, and you can tell that unlike in a lot of bands, they really respect and like one another. It's not just for show.

 

I still can't believe I met them. I look like the happiest gal on the planet in the pictures--so much so that I'm a little too embarrassed to post them!

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one of the best shows i've seen in awhile, but I didn't like the audience too much, it seemed to me that they were only there to here sky blue sky songs and didn't seem to care about the other songs. But the highlight of the show for me was "At least that's what you said" i haven't heard that since Latrobe in 2006

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one of the best shows i've seen in awhile, but I didn't like the audience too much, it seemed to me that they were only there to here sky blue sky songs and didn't seem to care about the other songs. But the highlight of the show for me was "At least that's what you said" i haven't heard that since Latrobe in 2006

 

Really? I saw the complete opposite. Excepting Impossible Germany, the crowd around me seemed bored during the SBS songs. The entire crowd came to life during A Shot In the Arm.

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Really? I saw the complete opposite. Excepting Impossible Germany, the crowd around me seemed bored during the SBS songs. The entire crowd came to life during A Shot In the Arm.

It must of been my section, but i've been to 6 concerts and that was the first time i didn't hear IATTBYH

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one of the best shows i've seen in awhile, but I didn't like the audience too much, it seemed to me that they were only there to here sky blue sky songs and didn't seem to care about the other songs. But the highlight of the show for me was "At least that's what you said" i haven't heard that since Latrobe in 2006

 

 

i was thinking the same thing actually!!! i thought it was quite interesting that it was ok to stand in our balcony section when impossible germany came on, but it wasn't ok to stand during at least that's what you said. we'll call it the sky blue sky phenomenon, a phase that will soon pass. :)

 

the band truly was completely on point and put on such a great show!!!

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The set started off very heavy in folk-rock feel and eventually progressed towards an edgier rock feel. Sunken Treasures isn't that great of an opener IMO...I think something like I'm a Wheel would work better in that position.

 

Sunken Treasure not a great opener?

 

Um...........................

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Just getting in from the weekend and I am glad to hear so many people saying how bad the crowd was. I was in the back of the floor and it was almost depressing how little attention people were paying to the show, they were just there to be there. I need to bring a ruler and have a little concert etiquette 101 with people.

 

That being said, the band delivered. No way can I ever complain, they do their best every show.

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regarding on an on as the closer ...

 

i feel like at every show i have been to, there is always one song that tweedy sings with such emotion that it becomes a completely different song than what i had previously been listening to. that night it was on and on. it was so beautiful. so visceral. it left me with a lump in my throat. perfect close to the set. it felt like a gift.

 

this band is amazing. their musicianship is top notch and they floor me each time i see them. most often its glenn that i can't take my eyes off of. that night in philly it was pat. but ultimately its tweedy. always tweedy. the emotive way that he sings, the emotive way he plays guitar. it speaks to me, seemingly directly. and certainly, based on the number of people that stand out by the bus after a show, i'm not the only one. and this, i think, is a feat that borders on magic.

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Saturday night was my first ever Wilco show, and now I've got a story to tell.

 

Me and my friend had tickets in row EE of the loge, and we were talking to some guys behind us who had row FF, and we both thought for some reason that we had purchased tickets for the floor. The woman next to me overheard us talking and offered to trade my loge tickets for two tickets in row NN on the floor. I did the trade of course and ended up right on the aisle, getting to my seats just as "Sunken Treasure" was beginning. Amazing.

 

Couldn't have asked for a better set, but they left out enough to make me want to see them again. Can't wait for a recording to surface.

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Longtime listener and this was my first show...wow. Im not too sure that I've ever seen musicianship of that caliber in my life, and Ive been to quite a few shows.

 

I had the same experience Markosis had; 2 couples were split, (one downstairs, one on the balcony) and wanted to sit together. So instead of the balcony my friend and I ended up in the 13th row. The setlist was excellent. Personal favorites were probably Shot in the Arm (got everyone standing, thank God...I still dont know how people sit), Via Chicago, and Hate it Here. Jeff and Nels were great at the end of Handshake Drugs; that was a highlight. Actually they were all great but I thought that was worth mentioning.

 

A bit off-topic, but for anyone else there: how shocking and annoying was the complete lack of taxi's outside the venue? What the hell was up with that? Sure didnt take away from a great night though.

 

 

Saturday night was my first ever Wilco show, and now I've got a story to tell.

 

Me and my friend had tickets in row EE of the loge, and we were talking to some guys behind us who had row FF, and we both thought for some reason that we had purchased tickets for the floor. The woman next to me overheard us talking and offered to trade my loge tickets for two tickets in row NN on the floor. I did the trade of course and ended up right on the aisle, getting to my seats just as "Sunken Treasure" was beginning. Amazing.

 

Couldn't have asked for a better set, but they left out enough to make me want to see them again. Can't wait for a recording to surface.

 

Hmmmmm....thumbs up serious?

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i was in the 5th row center...and the sound was totally superb. it couldn' have sounded any better. we didn't have anyone talking around us (small miracle) but...it really was a sit down thing, unfortunately. the negative was that it was turned into a sitting show for the most part. also - i am from philly and well, i have seen lots of shows here and in other cities, and the philly audiences really do seem to be among the worst. i hate to say it since i am from here....but it just seems that way. always talking. always. and yelling stuff too. and security is rough. the same security guys work multiple venues so you'll see them at the tweeter and electric factory as well. maybe i'm mistaken, but sadly i understand the posts from people who didn't have the best experience. it was meet to see some VC people before and after the show!!! sara

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I was there last night, first Wilco show. It was pretty awesome. Was a little dissapointed with the setlist (no Ashes of American Flags and ending with On and On and On was pretty weak), but the musicianship was incredible. Glenn Kotche is amazing. Nels too. Can't wait to see them again

Ashes is rare

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