The Nels Cline Singers on June 2, 2008 at High Noon Saloon in Madison, WI

[WaronWar]

Just got back from the show, and it was fantastic! I first found out about Nels via Wilco (as I'm sure many of us have), and have been gathering all his thousands of different projects he is in or has been in. I have wanted to see some of his own projects for a while now (from his tour with Glenn Kotche or a gig in Chicago last year with The Scott Amendola band) but I have always been stop by the 21+ venues in Chicago. So I went to Madison tonight to see the show since it was 18+, and it was seriously one of the best shows I've seen in a while.

,

From my memory, they played (not the exact order):

 

an untitled piece (more of a jam they were doing that was great)

Mug Like Mine

Exiled

Blues, Too

Something About David H.

 

(There was another song that they played, but I forgot the name of it.)

 

Encore:

 

Jackie-ing (Thelonious Monk tune)

 

 

Throughout the entire set there was so much raw energy between the three of them. Moreover, Scott Amendola (drummer/electronics), and Devin Hoff (bassist though he had a very different kind of bass since air traveling did not allow him to bring his upright bass) were both great. And Nels was fantastic. Maybe, I'll write more later, but I am drained now from the drive, and I am going to sleep.

 

On a side note: There were other VCers there that I met (I don't remember everyone's name, but I believe HappeningStone was one), and Nels came by and talked to them for a while. He told a great story of the making behind The Geraldine Fibber's music video "California Tuffy" that he was a part of when he was in the band back in 1997. Moreover, he seem like a really great guy.

 

Anyways, off to sleep, and sorry if there's any errors, but I am pretty tired.

 

Phil

 

Oh yeah, tomorrow or today (since it is now Tuesday) The Singers are playing Chicago with the Painted Saints (they were a good opener), and I think also the Jeff Parker trio (which I wish I could have seen because Jeff Parker is great on guitar). So check them out!

[H.Stone]

Hey Phil!

 

It was a great show--my first time seeing Nels outside of Wilco. Nice venue, great music, great people...good beer, too. Have fun tonight a Matyrs.

[Hixter]

He told a great story of the making behind The Geraldine Fibber's music video "California Tuffy" that he was a part of when he was in the band back in 1997.

 

[ChooChooCharlie]

Just saw them tonight at Matyrs and was blown away. As always, Nels was gracious after the show.

 

I really wasn't expecting as much as I saw and heard. What an amazing drummer. The energy makes me very excited for the possibilities of the next Wilco album.

[LouieB]

That was an amazing show at Martyrs.....even better than I was expecting and I had high expectations.

 

Also kudos to Jeff Parker for a nice opening set as well.

 

LoieB

[allgodsmoney]

It was a fun night. The drive home sucked, but the music? It was well worth it!

 

How about the hoof clippings Phil?

 

I talked to Paul Fonfara of the Painted Saints (I actully bought one of his prints, they're pretty cool) and mentioned that when he was playing accordian ( or was it a bandoneon?) he reminded me of David Eugene Edwards of 16 Horsepower. He the told me that he is origianally from Denver, and that he and Edwards had done some work in the past.

 

Neat!

 

Yeah that story about the cat puppet and the flamming drum set was great! 5 takes on that video!

 

BTW this is Rob

 

It was nice to meet you.

 

I wonder if we are the only VCers north of the Ozaukee County line? ...Well you, me, Happinin, and Morphogenisis. I wonder...

 

 

Anyway it was nice to meet you there Phil!

 

If you have any recordings of your music, I'd like to hear some.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just got back from the show, and it was fantastic! I first found out about Nels via Wilco (as I'm sure many of us have), and have been gathering all his thousands of different projects he is in or has been in. I have wanted to see some of his own projects for a while now (from his tour with Glenn Kotche or a gig in Chicago last year with The Scott Amendola band) but I have always been stop by the 21+ venues in Chicago. So I went to Madison tonight to see the show since it was 18+, and it was seriously one of the best shows I've seen in a while.

,

From my memory, they played (not the exact order):

 

an untitled piece (more of a jam they were doing that was great)

Mug Like Mine

Exiled

Blues, Too

Something About David H.

 

(There was another song that they played, but I forgot the name of it.)

 

Encore:

 

Jackie-ing (Thelonious Monk tune)

 

 

Throughout the entire set there was so much raw energy between the three of them. Moreover, Scott Amendola (drummer/electronics), and Devin Hoff (bassist though he had a very different kind of bass since air traveling did not allow him to bring his upright bass) were both great. And Nels was fantastic. Maybe, I'll write more later, but I am drained now from the drive, and I am going to sleep.

 

On a side note: There were other VCers there that I met (I don't remember everyone's name, but I believe HappeningStone was one), and Nels came by and talked to them for a while. He told a great story of the making behind The Geraldine Fibber's music video "California Tuffy" that he was a part of when he was in the band back in 1997. Moreover, he seem like a really great guy.

 

Anyways, off to sleep, and sorry if there's any errors, but I am pretty tired.

 

Phil

 

Oh yeah, tomorrow or today (since it is now Tuesday) The Singers are playing Chicago with the Painted Saints (they were a good opener), and I think also the Jeff Parker trio (which I wish I could have seen because Jeff Parker is great on guitar). So check them out!

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

Wow...what a week. I got back tonight from what I can only call Nelstravaganza 2008. After catching the Singers in Chicago, Indianapolis, and Ann Arbor, I took a train back to the northeast overnight Friday. Saturday, I got off the train and drove straight to Montreal, where I caught Nels and bassist Devin Hoff with Carla Bozulich's Evangelista. Then Sunday I was front row for Nels and Carla playing as Scarnella (only the third Scarnella show in three years!) on a double billing with the Singers. To risk sounding sappy, the whole week has left me feeling pretty lucky.

 

I see the Chicago show is already available. Both sets in Indianapolis were also taped, as was the Ann Arbor show. I have some pictures and a few short videos from the last night in Montreal that I'm still organizing.

 

More from me tomorrow, when I'm a little less travel weary.

[Rock Pools]

Wow...what a week. I got back tonight from what I can only call Nelstravaganza 2008. After catching the Singers in Chicago, Indianapolis, and Ann Arbor, I took a train back to the northeast overnight Friday. Saturday, I got off the train and drove straight to Montreal, where I caught Nels and bassist Devin Hoff with Carla Bozulich's Evangelista. Then Sunday I was front row for Nels and Carla playing as Scarnella (only the third Scarnella show in three years!) on a double billing with the Singers. To risk sounding sappy, the whole week has left me feeling pretty lucky.

 

I see the Chicago show is already available. Both sets in Indianapolis were also taped, as was the Ann Arbor show. I have some pictures and a few short videos from the last night in Montreal that I'm still organizing.

 

More from me tomorrow, when I'm a little less travel weary.

 

 

 

Fabulous. Your week was amazing and it sounds like you caught some amazing music in some great cities. How exciting!

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

Here's my photo set from Sunday's show in Montreal. I wish I would've taken more pictures throughout the week, but I was way too into the music to be fiddling with my camera.

 

They closed the tour with my favorite song of theirs, Blood Drawing, and Nels dedicated it to me

[renic]

They closed the tour with my favorite song of theirs, Blood Drawing, and Nels dedicated it to me

 

 

that's AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Preferred B]

Nice photos, Maggie! Sounds like you had a great whirlwind week. I'm glad your Montreal plans worked out!

 

I guess this is a good place to say I have a few photos from Madison and Chicago, here.

[gogo]

 

 

Here's my photo set from Sunday's show in Montreal. I wish I would've taken more pictures throughout the week, but I was way too into the music to be fiddling with my camera.

 

They closed the tour with my favorite song of theirs, Blood Drawing, and Nels dedicated it to me

So cool! Sounds like an amazing week. We're having Evangelistapalooza here this summer (they were just here in March, and they'll be back for two shows in July, and another in September...), but I'd love to see Scarnella sometime. Thanks for the pics!

[Preferred B]

Evangelista was supposed to play here in a couple of weeks when I'm out of town, and I was bummed. But it looks like that was cancelled because of Carla's hand. So I'm not missing it anymore, exactly, except of course I still am.

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

Yeah, Carla had to cancel all the June dates except the two in NYC this weekend because of her hand injury. That makes me twice as glad that things worked out for me to get up to Montreal. I was going to Philadelphia next week, so I'm really disappointed. I'm hoping to catch them when they open for Xiu Xiu in Baltimore in August. I was blown away by their set Saturday, and I went out with them after the show. Carla might just be in competition with Nels for Nicest Person In the Whole Wide World.

 

That video is hilarious. I'm more into Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home than I am Butch, so I didn't realize there was a video.

 

I think Scarnella played five songs Sunday. It was just the two of them and their guitars, but they stomped and banged on their guitars for percussion, and both played with a lot of toys and effects. It was a very intense set--nobody knew what to expect, and most people there seemed to recognize what a rare, special show it was. They opened with a long improvisational piece that flowed into the Fibbers' Outside of Town. They also played a stripped down, delicate version of The Blue Room, a stark contrast to the lush orchestral version that appears on Hello, Voyager, and they closed with a cover of Marianne Faithfull's Times Square that completely destroyed me. It's such a perfect song for Carla, and it was a fierce but beautiful performance. As much as I love the Singers, getting to see Nels and Carla play together was the highlight of the trip.

 

The guys were thrilled at how great the tour went, and they've promised they're going to be touring a lot more. Nels says this wouldn't be possible without Wilco fans, so he wanted me to send a thank you to everybody who came out this week. They sold all their CDs long before the end of the tour, and they're planning to make t-shirts with the poster art from the Montreal show. As wiped out as I still feel, I won't hesitate to do this again next time they tour if I'm able to. It was quite an adventure!

[gogo]

Evangelista was supposed to play here in a couple of weeks when I'm out of town, and I was bummed. But it looks like that was cancelled because of Carla's hand. So I'm not missing it anymore, exactly, except of course I still am.

How did I miss this? If you hadn't just posted that, I totally would have shown up at the Hotel Utah in a few weeks. Am I not getting Carla's e-mail updates?

[Preferred B]

How did I miss this? If you hadn't just posted that, I totally would have shown up at the Hotel Utah in a few weeks. Am I not getting Carla's e-mail updates?

I wouldn't have known either, but I signed into MySpace for the first time in a couple of weeks and saw that she'd posted a bulletin.

[Hixter]

they closed with a cover of Marianne Faithfull's Times Square that completely destroyed me. It's such a perfect song for Carla, and it was a fierce but beautiful performance.

 

I'm in the process of sorting through 12(!) old hard drives in an effort to consolidate all my files on one or two terabyte drives. This afternoon I came across this video of Scarnella performing "Times Square" in 2000. It was craptastically encoded in an 8-year-old Windows Media format and the re-encode for YouTube didn't help, but it's still a great performance. One of these days I'll sort through my hundreds of unlabeled DV tapes and maybe I'll get lucky and find the original and be able to upload a nicer file.

 

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

Thanks for posting that. The audio quality was great, and really the video wasn't that bad.

 

I'm still dumbfounded over that Scarnella set. The Canadian Broadcasting Company has apparently recorded all of the sets of the Suoni per il Popolo Festival, so hopefully they'll archive some of it on their website. And good god I hope Nels and Carla play more than three shows together in the next four years. I could've watched them play for hours.

[mountain bed]

Maggie - I'm so glad you had such a great time. It was a pleasure meeting you too. My mind was so blown by the sets we saw in Indy! I wish I could have done the whole run. Just a fantastic band.

[gogo]

Thank you! That's fabulous. Although I know at least one VCer who'd get seasick watching it.

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

Ticketmaster is showing the Singers on a double billing with the Charlie Hunter Trio at the Bluebird Theater in Denver July 12. I saw Charlie play with the Scott Amendola Band back in April, and he was great. I think the Singers are headed to Europe right after that.

 

I miss them

 

Scott, it was great to meet you in Indianapolis. I was glad you had such a great time at the show. I wish you could've followed them, too, because the next night in Ann Arbor somehow managed to be even better. It took all three of them to talk me out of renting a car and driving to see them Friday in Charlottesville. Had I not decided to go to Montreal Saturday instead of Sunday, I think I would've done it anyway.

[Hixter]

I'm in the process of sorting through 12(!) old hard drives in an effort to consolidate all my files on one or two terabyte drives.

 

I found another old (Jan/Feb of 2005) video on one of the drives. It's The Nels Cline Singers (mostly Nels and Scott, I had a tough time fitting Devin into the frame) performing "Square King" at Club Tropical in Culver City, CA.