Tower Theater, Philadelphia, PA 02/23/08

[fatheadfred]

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

 

After seeing these dudes 4x's I still can't see how some crowds don't stand. I can understand it if you are up top, but right in front of them. geez. I wonder what they think when the audience remains seated? I do recall, I think a Nashville recording where Jeff says, "... you don't have to stand, we wouldn't either..." or something like that. The dude is such a smart ass (in a good way) that it is sometimes hard to determine when he is being serious. He is a straight-face smartass. Tough to decipher.

[froggie]

He is a straight-face smartass.

 

 

they're the best types!

[bigshoulders]

I'm hoping that once the boot surfaces, all that negative energy that surrounded us in the balcony will disappear.

For anyone that may find themselves in this kind of situation in the future, just remember: you do have a choice. You can choose to let others control your emotions, or you can choose to focus on the music.

 

That said, I think I've seen my first and last Wilco show in Philadelphia. That crowd in the balcony (except for all our comrades who really wanted to stand up too!) just didn't effin' get it. It's really no wonder Wilco waited so long to return.

 

cheers,

Kevin

[blue_94_trooper]

It's really no wonder Wilco waited so long to return.

 

Totally different perspective from down front, I was in the third row on the center aisle (thank you WilcoWorld presale!). The last time I saw them (Sayreville, NJ May '06) Jeff seemed in a crappy mood. Very stand-offish with a wool hat pulled down over his eyes. (Didn't impact the music much.) By comparison he seemed positively giddy Saturday night. I think some of his comments got lost over the distance, he pretty much acknowledged the mix of upbeat and slower stuff and he said "you'll be down and up all night, you'll be used to it if you're Catholic". (and the Foo Fighter thing was a comment on them winning the grammy, he called them "neanderthals" then said "you know I'm joking, right?") You should have seen Jeff grinning from ear to ear when Pat & Nels were trading licks during "Hoodoo Voodoo".

 

I think way too much is being made over the whole standing thing. It sure didn't seem as if the band cared. One thing I can tell you for certain was that the crowd roar they heard was pretty impressive.

 

Security down front clearly didn't care what you were doing, as long as you had a ticket to be down there. They shooed people away who were standing in the center aisle but typically gave them enough time to take a quick picture.

 

Sound in front was great. This is often not the case at the Tower with the "flying" PA but there were a couple of stage monitors pointing our way that made all the difference in the world.

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

Maybe it's Philadelphia crowds in general. I saw Ryan Adams at the Electric Factory a few years ago, and it was the worst concert I've ever been to, largely because of the crowd. It was definitely a weird mix of people on Saturday. It baffled me to look around after the first few songs, maybe during Airline to Heaven, and see almost everyone sitting, especially down in the front. The sound was great, though, and the band was in top form. I didn't let anything bug me the whole night. I agree that you should do what you want at a show, as long as you're not being rude to anybody else. I mean, it's a rock show, not the opera. I have kind of mixed feelings about assigned seats--it was great to have a spot that was mine that I didn't have to wait in line for and could actually leave for a few minutes, but with GA shows at least you know you're going to get a lot of the hardcore fans in the front.

[blue_94_trooper]

Maybe it's Philadelphia crowds in general. I saw Ryan Adams at the Electric Factory a few years ago, and it was the worst concert I've ever been to, largely because of the crowd.

 

Ryan's volatile to begin with and will let a crowd affect him. The EF is one of the worst venues in the world. RA at the EF is an accident waiting to happen.

[radiokills]

i hope so.

[PearlJamNoCode]

The poster for whoever missed getting it at the show...

http://wilco.shop.musictoday.com/Product.a...&pc=WCAP125

[radiokills]

awesome print.

 

also, im bummed that people sitting up top thought the crowd was lame, i was close to the stage up front, i thought the crowd was really pumped.

[itstillmoves84]

I was in row G for the show. The sound was phenomenal, but clearly half of the crowd was into it, half wasn't. I started to stand, then felt indifferent when I was the only one standing for awhile but I could have cared less. People pay money to get involved in the show, so why not. I'm not a huge fan of seated venues, but the sound in Tower totally made up for it.

 

Seemed like alot of people a) didn't know what was coming as far as songs b.) were just there (as prior posts mentioned) to be there c) we're totally into it.

 

ALTWYS was euphoric live, so intense. Jeff was really into On and On and On. Great show. Nels Cline was unbelievable!

 

Now onto both DC shows... 9:30 should be awesome. Way more intimate and energetic, because you definitely can't sit on that floor. Nor would I want to.

[blue_94_trooper]

I'm not a huge fan of seated venues, but the sound in Tower totally made up for it.

 

When the "club" alternative is the Electric Factory, count your blessings that the show was at the Tower.

[bigshoulders]

also, im bummed that people sitting up top thought the crowd was lame, i was close to the stage up front, i thought the crowd was really pumped.

I could tell that the folks down front and up near the stage were into it. It was painful not to be able to have that same kind of experience of moving to the music without having someone yell at me and my girl to sit down.

 

kevin

[UrbanAchiever]

I could tell that the folks down front and up near the stage were into it. It was painful not to be able to have that same kind of experience of moving to the music without having someone yell at me and my girl to sit down.

 

kevin

People actually told you to sit? Thats sad. Really sad, actually.

[mechanical_bird]

Ashes is rare

 

I know man, but it is my absolute favorite song and it would have just made the night even more incredible.

 

 

People actually told you to sit? Thats sad. Really sad, actually.

 

I was in row MM on the right side, probably about 30 rows back. Early on in the set (3 or 4 songs in) there was a guy about 10 rows in front of us who was the only one standing in the whole right side. Some asshole ran up front and started yelling at him to sit down, then security actually came over and made him sit. Once the band finished playing the mermaid avenue songs people gradually started standing. Nearly everyone in my section of the crowd was between 40-55-- alot of them just stood motionless.

 

The crowd was pretty dissapointing to me as well. I'd much rather the show to be at the Tower than the Electric Factory. The difference in sound is like night and day.

[UrbanAchiever]

I was in row MM on the right side, probably about 30 rows back. Early on in the set (3 or 4 songs in) there was a guy about 10 rows in front of us who was the only one standing in the whole right side. Some asshole ran up front and started yelling at him to sit down, then security actually came over and made him sit. Once the band finished playing the mermaid avenue songs people gradually started standing. Nearly everyone in my section of the crowd was between 40-55-- alot of them just stood motionless.

 

The crowd was pretty dissapointing to me as well. I'd much rather the show to be at the Tower than the Electric Factory. The difference in sound is like night and day.

That really is BS. I was only ever at one show where everyone sat, and that was Iron and Wine, also at the Tower. Wonder if its the venue...

[blue_94_trooper]

That really is BS. I was only ever at one show where everyone sat, and that was Iron and Wine, also at the Tower. Wonder if its the venue...

 

Depends on the show. I've been to dozens at the Tower. Radiohead, Beck, R.E.M., X, EC & The Attractions (and/or The Imposters) people pretty much stand throughout. EC & Steve Nieve, Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, Lyle Lovett, people pretty much sit. Iron and Wine feels like a sitting show to me.

 

The worst venue for this in the area is the Keswick. Wilco, sit or stand, not a big deal to me, it's not like I'm dancing to "On and On" or "Impossible Germany" but I've seen Los Lobos a couple of times at the Keswick and for LL I've got to move around. At the Keswick they make you sit. It sounds like at the Tower the other night security would make people sit if it was the easy way to avoid a conflict, but I don't think it's a rule.

[hazel]

This was the best concert I've ever been to. I'll elaborate more tomorrow, after some much-needed sleep.

 

I briefly met Jeff not too long after the show, then froze my ass off waiting for the others. I got to say hi to Glenn and Pat and Mikael, and talked to Nels for a little bit. They were all so tired, so it was terrific of them to hang around for a few minutes. I don't know if I missed John or if he hadn't come out before I left, but it was one by then, and I needed to get home. I figured I'd drive for awhile then stop somewhere for the night, but I was so excited that I drove the whole four hours home.

 

What an amazing night!

 

 

hey maggie, it was nice meeting you, glad you got home ok, man i was tired i don't know how you drove all the way back with no break. i wish i would have stayed to meet the rest of the guys too. i'm so happy i got to meet jeff tho. . what a show.

[hazel]

what i like to do is sit for the quiet songs and stand and move around for the louder sing-alongs and rockers. some people like to stand the whole show or sit. if someone in front of me is blocking my view because they are standing i will stand no matter what type song. I WANT TO SEE THE BAND. this is what happened at the tower saturday. i stood and this guy a few rows back was cursing me out telling me to sit down. i didn't sit. after that is when the security guard came along. i think during on and on. so because of all this distracting i couldnt enjoy the song. it was so stupid because as soon as he got everyone to sit down the song was over and everyone stood up again to clap.

 

(listening to night 5 and its wonderful, i think this is my favorite of all the residency shows)

[eddiedillon839]

Is anybody upset that they didn't play spiders? I know I am.

[blue_94_trooper]

The review from yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer. He got the closing number wrong. Pretty accurate, yet I'm glad I'm not as jaded as Mr. Valania even with all of the concerts I've been to over the last 25+ years. The line I bolded made me laugh considering all of the comments on here.

 

A flawless Wilco, with little surprise

 

By Jonathan Valania

 

For The Inquirer

On Saturday night at the Tower Theater, Wilco was merely great. The qualifying "merely" is hard to explain, because, on its face, the show had all the makings of a bragging-rights concert experience. Totally jazzed, way-sold-out crowd? Check. Storied, acoustically friendly venue? Check. Legendary opening act, one John Doe, tragically ignored by most in favor of the beer line? Check. Must-see headliners with a live rep for fireworks ready to throw down? Check.

 

Perhaps the only thing missing was the element of surprise. From beginning (the folksy dirge of "Sunken Treasure" recast into an elastic, vowel-stretching talking blues) to end (the obligatory rock-out on "Outtasite (Outta Mind)"), everything went as expected.

 

Which is both a blessing and a curse for an important, world-class rock band like Wilco, which constantly challenges its fans and itself by doggedly refusing to repeat itself. Despite that - or because of it - the band has earned critical praise and a mass audience spanning those young enough to want to stand at a seated show and those who like to sit at rock shows and get upset at anyone who does otherwise.

 

The last three or four times through town, Wilco seemed to be evolving right before our very ears, not just flawlessly executing the songbook but trying out still-embryonic new material and iconoclastic reimaginings of older works long since set in stone.

 

On Saturday, Wilco seemed a little, well, predictable.

 

The raw white lights and stripped-bare stage were a marked contrast to the moody mirror-ball atmospherics and kooky-but-compelling art films projected on large rear screens of recent tours. Message: We are here to play music, not put on a human be-ins. Still, even in this plainly naked setting, songs like "You Are My Face" and "Shot in the Arm" were as arresting and cinematic as those stop-motion film clips of flowers blooming and dying they used to show in science class.

 

This was due in no small part to the avant-pyrotechnics and jazz-like precision of guitarist Nels Cline. For much of the night, Cline's guitar work was as charismatic and scenery-chewing as Jeff Tweedy's emotive lead vocal, which, let the record show, was in fine achy-breaky form.

 

And the whole ensemble was a seamless mesh of nuance, warmth and rich tone colors. No wonder "Hummingbird" turned the Tower into a campfire sing-along.

[Midnight Blue]

Totally different perspective from down front, I was in the third row on the center aisle (thank you WilcoWorld presale!). The last time I saw them (Sayreville, NJ May '06) Jeff seemed in a crappy mood. Very stand-offish with a wool hat pulled down over his eyes. (Didn't impact the music much.) By comparison he seemed positively giddy Saturday night. I think some of his comments got lost over the distance, he pretty much acknowledged the mix of upbeat and slower stuff and he said "you'll be down and up all night, you'll be used to it if you're Catholic". (and the Foo Fighter thing was a comment on them winning the grammy, he called them "neanderthals" then said "you know I'm joking, right?") You should have seen Jeff grinning from ear to ear when Pat & Nels were trading licks during "Hoodoo Voodoo".

 

I think way too much is being made over the whole standing thing. It sure didn't seem as if the band cared. One thing I can tell you for certain was that the crowd roar they heard was pretty impressive.

 

Security down front clearly didn't care what you were doing, as long as you had a ticket to be down there. They shooed people away who were standing in the center aisle but typically gave them enough time to take a quick picture.

 

Sound in front was great. This is often not the case at the Tower with the "flying" PA but there were a couple of stage monitors pointing our way that made all the difference in the world.

 

+1

 

We were in row DD (about 9 rows from the stage), aisle seats right/center. Sound was phenomenal. Sitters and standers co-existed nicely. Surely seemed to me that Wilco had a great time performing at the show and was more than appreciative of the crowd. My first Wilco show and I was simply blown away by their craftsmanship. Seen many, many live performances and this one is near or at the top of my list. Tweedy's performance on On and On and On gave the song an entirely new complexion for me. My only disappoinment was that they didn't play a single song from AM.

 

My wife is 6mos pregnant and she said the baby was dancing throughout the concert too!

 

Will not miss another Wilco show. Lesson learned.

[summerteeth091]

Is anybody upset that they didn't play spiders? I know I am.

 

Not I. I'll take Muzzle Of Bees and Handshake Drugs over Spiders and Theologians any day.

 

 

 

The Philly show had the best set so far of all the post-Residency shows. Fact.

[isadorah]

People actually told you to sit? Thats sad. Really sad, actually.

 

 

oh yeah, they not only told us to sit, but made a spectacle out of it. and at one point, no one's view was being blocked and we still had extremely nasty things being screamed at us. it was such a shame because the band was definitely ON that night. the 9:30 club will be way better.

 

i wonder what happened to the city of brotherly love.

[fzukle]

i wonder what happened to the city of brotherly love.

 

That's Philly, the Tower Theater's in Upper Darby, filled with wannabe gangsters and skinheads

[hazel]

That's Philly, the Tower Theater's in Upper Darby, filled with wannabe gangsters and skinheads

 

 

i don't think wannabe gangsters and skinheads were inside the tower that night.