Wilco -- 7/26/08, Anchorage, AK

[bböp]

Fun show, despite steady rain throughout. It was the 12th anniversary celebration for the Moose's Tooth Pub/Pizzeria/Brewing Company (which had excellent pizza, fwiw) and there seemed to be a good-sized crowd despite the horrible weather. The stage was at one end of their parking lot, which made for a pretty interesting scene. As for the show itself, the band changed up their setlist pretty nicely from the Fairbanks show. I'll let others elaborate on Jeff's hidden soccer prowess...

 

Setlist was as follows:

 

Via Chicago

Either Way

You Are My Face

new song-One Wing

IATTBYH

Company In My Back

Remember The Mountain Bed

Handshake Drugs

Impossible Germany

It's Just That Simple

Forget The Flowers

Misunderstood

Jesus, etc.

new song-Sunny Feeling

Walken

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Hummingbird

----------------------------

The Late Greats

A Shot in the Arm

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

----------------------------

Heavy Metal Drummer

Hate It Here

Casino Queen

Outtasite (Outta Mind)

I'm A Wheel

Hoodoo Voodoo

[pnêyu]

[quote name='bb

[H.Stone]

Nice change up in the setlist, indeed. Good to see Simple on there again.

 

[quote name='pn

[Preferred B]

Thank goodness for the $4.50 "emergency poncho" I found tucked in the recesses of my backpack. It came in quite handy. According to a lot of folks, the weather in Anchorage has been pretty dismal this summer ... but the rain didn't seem to dampen (rim shot!) the crowd's enthusiasm much. Jeff claimed the band would play until it stopped raining, but that didn't quite happen. Another great set, though. I'm so glad Wilco plays shows like these. As Jeff keeps reminding the crowds, they only have three states left to play now before they've hit all fifty. Next up, U.S. territories? C'mon Saipan!

 

On our docket for today: a glacier and some more wildlife.

 

Assuming Jeff is Keira Knightly, who's hugging him?

At the beginning of "Spiders," someone tossed a pair of red shorts onto the stage. They sat there for a verse or two, and then Jeff gave them an impressive kick back into the crowd while playing guitar.

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

Maybe the red shorts were for Nels? It was Saturday night, after all

[Hodie]

Yeah, those shorts were just begging to be given a kick.

 

I've been to six thousand million Wilco shows now (not an exact figure), and this is the first one that was seeped in rain. It could've been miserable, but the fans were ready to love it, and the band was ready to be fantastic as usual, and it ended up being really fun.

 

Though I think the "Hate it Here" sing-along line was sung a little more lustily than usual due to the rain.

 

As a rule, Wilco plays very well in parking lots.

[H.Stone]

On our docket for today: a glacier and some more wildlife.

 

Wow. Huge snoozer then, huh?

[somestrangeperson]

I noticed this article about a Bald Eagle named 'One Wing' on the website for the Fairbanks newspaper. Any connection to the new song? Seems like quite a coincidence (for them to premier it in AK) if it's not.

 

 

http://www.newsminer.com/news/2008/jul/27/...nd-celebration/

 

FAIRBANKS

[Hodie]

Wow. Huge snoozer then, huh?

 

Ha, yes. And at the wildlife preserve (which takes in orphaned and wounded animals), we saw an eagle who'd also lost one wing, though I'm quite certain he wasn't the same one referenced in the article (today's eagle was very much alive).

 

Between the glacier and the wildlife, we were discussing the show (surprise!) and it became clear that no one else in the car but me heard Glenn pay homage to Mississippi Queen during the outro of Casino Queen. Is there anyone else here who was in the parking lot last night who can confirm that for us? It was blatant to me, but then again, my brain was a tad rain-soaked.

 

Assuming he did do it, it was very very cool.

[watch me fall]

New song?!

[gogo]

C'mon Saipan!

 

I know it goes without saying, but I really wish I was there with you all.

[Muskeg]

Hello all.

 

I was at the show Saturday night in the constant drizzle, my mouth agape as I witnessed my first Wilco show. I've been trying to see them for years, and it just hasn't worked out until now. Us Alaskans are used to flying south to catch a show or two, and I'm no exception. I've made many trips to see U2, DMB and Neil Young. It is always a real treat when bands decide to check another state off their list by visiting here, and for that, I thank Wilco. Brilliant show--absolutely brilliant. I am kicking myself for not making the trip up to Fairbanks as well, as I really wasn't looking forward to making that drive twice in 24 hours.

 

The Moose's Tooth Parking Lot gig should become a destination for bands. I know, it sounds really funny. A parking lot? Trust me, the parking lot is a whole lot better than playing the Sullivan Arena. The pizza and beer at the 'tooth cannot be overlooked! It's not Geno's East, but then, it's not trying to be. It's just darn good pizza and brew. And their anniversary party is becoming an event.

 

Last year, we had CAKE visit for a show, and it too was fantastic. Even the weather for that show was excellent. Crowd for Wilco was smaller (I heard that about 3,100 of the 3,500 available tickets sold--CAKE was a sellout). I have to blame that on the weather. Our summer here has been bad--cold and rainy. But those who showed up Saturday night experienced a real treat! I had the feeling that watching Wilco in 2008 will one day be akin to seeing Crazy Horse in their prime.

 

And what can be said about Nels. There are no words. I hope he sticks around. The solo on "Impossible Germany" was one of my great concert experiences. Holy cow!

[Jolyon Wagg]

My wife and I flew up from L.A. for the show - I was born and raised in Anchorage, and couldn't miss the chance to see them, esp. at the Moose's Tooth... - and had a great time, despite the drizzle. We all hoped Jeff was onto something as he sang "Maybe the sun will shine today," but it didn't happen. They seemed to have a good time, it was great to hear John sing "It's Just That Simple," and everyone around us, even those who were nearly passed out drunk standing up, was happy that the band had made the trip to Alaska, despite Jeff's crack about being there just to check the state off their list.

 

A few photos.

 

Nels was on our flight back to L.A. on Sunday afternoon, and we chatted at the gate for awhile about the show, the pizza, the "hardy" crowds, and the fact that he was going home for a few days while the rest of the band were sticking around for some outdoor activities. Not his bag, apparently. A nice way to end a great, if brief, trip.

[Muskeg]

ADN has put a bunch of pictures up.

 

http://www.adn.com/photos/v-gallery/story/476167.html

[aricandover]

 

I think I might know the guy in the green parka. those folks in the front though, I've never seen them before.

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

and the fact that he was going home for a few days while the rest of the band were sticking around for some outdoor activities. Not his bag, apparently.

 

For some reason, I find this completely hilarious

 

I'm glad you got the chance to go home for a Wilco show at long last, and that you got to meet Nels. Isn't he the nicest guy?

[johnnyd]

WOW! Talk about a dream come true. Wilco has LONG been my favorite band and I thought I'd never get to see them. Rain or no rain it was fantastic. The only problem was how many idiots have to talk through an entire show.

 

I only spotting one taper. Does anyone know this person? If so PLEASE urge them to post the show on bt tree.

[H.Stone]

 

I think I might know the guy in the green parka. those folks in the front though, I've never seen them before.

 

Yeah, they look like locals.

[lamradio]

The only problem was how many idiots have to talk through an entire show.

 

Damn, there are several videos of the show on youtube and there is indeed an excessive amount of talking. I would have been pissed.

 

But I'm sure it was still an amazing show.

[lamradio]

I'm surprised no one has said anything about the new songs. They must not have been earth shattering.

[jracette]

Hello everyone,

 

My first post. Can't say I've even been lurking. Message boards haven't really been my thing, but I felt compelled to seek this one out after this weekend.

 

I was at both shows here in Alaska. I have to say up front, I moved to Alaska three years ago and resigned myself to not seeing much in the way of rock shows for a while. This was a tough pill to swallow because it's been a huge part of my life for a long time after three years in the pacific northwest and four before that in the Denver area (for show discussion purposes - actually Wyoming). In my time in Alaska I've seen Bright Eyes twice (back to back nights in Anchorage), the Mountain Goats, a Camper van Beethoven/Cracker split bill, and a handful of Tim Easton shows because he comes to Fairbanks all the time. And Jason Ringenberg/Farmer Jason. That's it. All of those shows were really great, btw, but few and far between. While in DC visiting some friends in April I got to see Colin Meloy solo and New Pornographers/Okkervil River, which was a real treat for a Fairbanksan starved for decent music. These are all of the shows I've seen in the last three years, which is a precipitous drop from my days seeing shows in Eugene, Portland, and Seattle, and Denver before that.

 

BTW, Wilco followed such bands as Third Eye Blind, Fuel, Eve 6, and Cake here at the Blue Loon - bands that weren't even very (or any, in the case of the middle two) good when they were in their primes 10-15 years ago, IMO. It's a crime that these bands are charging 35-40 bones to play here. That's what Wilco charged and they've actually released relevant records this decade. And calling anything by those bands relevant is a stretch.

 

These were my 8th and 9th Wilco shows but first in almost four years thanks to my move. I can't express adequately how stupefied I am that my favorite band came to Alaska, let alone Fairbanks. When the shows were announced I literally could not believe my eyes, and 48 hours after I left the Moose's Tooth I still don't quite believe what I saw. So I'd love to figure out a way to express my gratitude to the band, because it really means a lot to me that they came this far. And I especially want to thank the band for trucking their PA system up, which made all the difference in the world.

 

I'm one of the locals (actually living in Fairbanks) along the front barricade in this photo: http://www.adn.com/photos/v-gallery/story/...a476626-t3.html, somewhat blurry in the background. My crutches aren't pictured - I'm a month removed from major knee surgery which wasn't going to stop me from fully enjoying either show.

 

I'll mention the new songs here - they both really sounded great, especially Sunny Feeling which had a mood that suited its title - a good midtempo rocker with a really great melody. One Wing had a somewhat darker tone, especially lyrically (I remember specifically a line about "this sort of thing happens to deadweight" or something close to that) but maintained a good groove. I would say that if these two new songs are indicative we can expect the same sort of lyrical and melodic directness as on Sky Blue Sky but perhaps more focused/less loose and jammy. It was something else to hear two new Wilco songs the first time the public has EVER heard them - in Alaska. Wow. And perhaps I've been at the wrong ones but in 9 Wilco shows that was the first time I've ever heard them have John sing It's Just That Simple (in Anchorage). The Fairbanks show was equally great, and between the two shows I have very few complaints regarding setlist omissions. I really can't reasonably ask for anything more than I got.

 

I should also mention the Whipsaws, who I've seen in my favorite bar in Fairbanks playing with Tim Easton. They are from Anchorage and opened both shows. If any of you are fans of the Drive-By Truckers or other Southern-ish rock bands, you should check them out. They are an incredibly hardworking band and their new record is pretty good.

 

Anyways, this has been a long ramble, but I felt compelled to let you all know how special this experience was for a huge Wilco fan stuck in the interior of Alaska. Jeff mentioned at both shows how "hardy" Alaskans are and its true. The people here suffer through brutal winters (50 below with no sunshine, anyone?) and relative isolation (I am 2,500 miles from my hometown, and I grew up well west of the Mississippi). And those of us who once enjoyed a ton of options for live music now only get a few a year at best (still bitter about Meg White's anxiety forcing cancellation of the Stripes' date in Anchorage). So, uh, this was a big deal. Thanks for reading.

 

Justin

 

PS I snagged a setlist from the Anchorage show, and have decent pictures from both, which I'll get up on the web somewhere soon.

[jracette]

"I'll mention the new songs here - they both really sounded great, especially Sunny Feeling which had a mood that suited its title - a good midtempo rocker with a really great melody. One Wing had a somewhat darker tone, especially lyrically (I remember specifically a line about "this sort of thing happens to deadweight" or something close to that) but maintained a good groove."

 

 

I should clarify about Sunny Feeling that I agree with the others lyrically it is not a happy one either, by mood I meant the music and arrangement. Of the two this was the more straightforward rock tune. I didn't quite get psychedelia out of One Wing, but it is definitely more of a guitar workout. My other cent on the new songs.

[Muskeg]

Daily News now has a write-up on the Anchorage show:

 

http://www.adn.com/life/story/478021.html

[lamradio]

"I'll mention the new songs here - they both really sounded great, especially Sunny Feeling which had a mood that suited its title - a good midtempo rocker with a really great melody. One Wing had a somewhat darker tone, especially lyrically (I remember specifically a line about "this sort of thing happens to deadweight" or something close to that) but maintained a good groove."

 

 

I should clarify about Sunny Feeling that I agree with the others lyrically it is not a happy one either, by mood I meant the music and arrangement. Of the two this was the more straightforward rock tune. I didn't quite get psychedelia out of One Wing, but it is definitely more of a guitar workout. My other cent on the new songs.

 

Thanks for that. Hopefully they will play them in Charleston next week. Can't wait to hear them.

[Central Scrutinizer]

Daily News now has a write-up on the Anchorage show:

 

http://www.adn.com/life/story/478021.html

Following the writer's tagline to her bio has an interesting surprise at the top.