Wilco 08/12/2008

[Magus673]

Great show. I had seats on the left side in the second group of seats, but managed to get to the front row for the last few songs after timing it right and getting by the security guard. After the setlists disappeared, me and my friends hung around until a roadie threw one of Glenn's sticks to some guy. He missed the catch and I was able to snatch the stick off the ground before it bounced away. So that was pretty exciting.

[M. (hristine]

I hope it's just the cowboy threads.

Something else too. A kind of easiness and charm.

[watch me fall]

the reworking of california songs with keys & horns was a great tune up. i hope watch me fall got that when she saw them!

They didn't play any of my requests at the two shows I attended but I'm not complaining! Had an awesome time and the horns are definitely a great addition. I especially liked Hate it Here. I saw the pic of you getting your poster signed. Glad you had a good time!!

[Oil Can Boyd]

Pretty good review in today's Boston Globe. The paper edition has a nice picture too.

 

A Wilco crescendo at Tanglewood

By Joan Anderman, Globe Staff | August 14, 2008

 

LENOX - If it had been any other band, the opening stretch of Wilco's much-anticipated show at Tanglewood on Tuesday would have seemed insanely temperate. Who greets a pumped, rabid crowd with a laid-back soft-rocker ("Either Way"), a gentle pop tune ("Hummingbird"), and a winsome country-folk song ("Remember the Mountain Bed")?

 

Wilco does - precisely because the band has built a relationship of uncommon trust with its audience. Intensity and noise would materialize, in a pitch-perfect tangle of earthy comforts and perilous adventure, during a stellar set from the planet's most radical roots band.

 

Tanglewood rarely presents nonclassical music, and the special circumstances weren't lost on Wilco. "We were up all night sewing," cracked sly frontman Jeff Tweedy of the group's sparkling, Nudie-style suits. "Do you guys shout requests at the BSO? 'Mahler!' " he shrieked, and then gave the people what they wanted: "Jesus, etc."

 

Marveling at the venue's deep history, Tweedy noted that the graffiti in the men's room - "Music Iz Gay" - must predate the modern usage of that adjective. "This song is really gay!" went the introduction to "What Light," and so it was: an ebullient waltz sandwiched between a rough rock song ("A Shot in the Arm") and Woody Guthrie ("California Stars").

 

The inspired collision of sturdy songcraft and genuine fearlessness has become Wilco's signature. The group's nearly 2 1/2-hour concert was a beautifully proportioned blend of the two, spread out on a canvas of lush pop, heavy rock, psychedelic soul, and country music.

 

Avant-garde guitarist Nels Cline, the newest member in Wilco's famously unstable lineup, can turn the sweetest song into a thrill ride. With a few punishing notes, he stiffened the soft breeze blowing through "Muzzle of Bees" and lifted the mellow midtempo of "Impossible Germany" to heights of majesty on the back of his searing, serpentine solo.

 

Cline's mind-altering excursions were the loudest, proudest piece of the puzzle. But the current Wilco lineup (Tweedy, Cline, bassist John Stirratt, drummer Glenn Kotche, multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone, and pianist Mikael Jorgensen), supported by a three-piece horn section, is a phenomenally dynamic machine.

 

It takes a village to bring off "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," a sprawling shape-shifter that morphed last night (I've heard three wildly different live incarnations of this song) from sinuous and humble - the Middle East meets Middle America - to a primal singalong, and finally splintered into pieces on a blood-red stage. Wilco is occasionally and erroneously slapped with the dad-rock tag; rest assured, this is not your father's alt-country.

 

Singer-songwriter, violinist, and virtuoso whistler Andrew Bird opened the show with a set of riveting little dramas built of loops and Latin flavors, the Beatles and spaghetti Westerns, mysterious neuroses and impossibly smart wordplay. Somebody give this man an independent film to score.

[radiokills]

i had incredible seats, like 5 rows back right in the middle. either way was a waste of a song, but besides that it was an incredible set. poor places into spiders was amazing as usual, and the crowd was very into it. great night.

 

ah, and i got a set list from a roadie i plan on framing it with a ticket stub and with a poster from this show if one comes out.

 

i am very tired but very fulfilled.

[So Long]

i had incredible seats, like 5 rows back right in the middle. either way was a waste of a song, but besides that it was an incredible set. poor places into spiders was amazing as usual, and the crowd was very into it. great night.

 

ah, and i got a set list from a roadie i plan on framing it with a ticket stub and with a poster from this show if one comes out.

 

i am very tired but very fulfilled.

 

There was a poster for the show there. Jeff signed mine. I'm still on a high from this show!

[tlwood]

Profound gratitude to the individual who so quickly posted the recording of the show. I don't know if you'll see this, but the quality is EXCELLENT, thank you.

 

BTW - I saw a car in the parking lot plastered with McCain sitckers and jesus fish. Seemed odd and out of place. Maybe the religious right has better taste in music than i had previously given them credit for.

good for them.

[So Long]

Profound gratitude to the individual who so quickly posted the recording of the show. I don't know if you'll see this, but the quality is EXCELLENT, thank you.

 

BTW - I saw a car in the parking lot plastered with McCain sitckers and jesus fish. Seemed odd and out of place. Maybe the religious right has better taste in music than i had previously given them credit for.

good for them.

 

It's more likely that the person was a Tanglewood season ticket holder...

[tlwood]

It's more likely that the person was a Tanglewood season ticket holder...

 

Your cynicism has destroyed my dream of a Wilco inspired bipartisan harmony, thanks for that.

[renic]

Actually it wasn't my poster but I did have a wonderful time! Part of me really wanted to be out on the lawn though.

 

 

They didn't play any of my requests at the two shows I attended but I'm not complaining! Had an awesome time and the horns are definitely a great addition. I especially liked Hate it Here. I saw the pic of you getting your poster signed. Glad you had a good time!!

[Guest Jules]

BTW - I saw a car in the parking lot plastered with McCain sitckers and jesus fish. Seemed odd and out of place. Maybe the religious right has better taste in music than i had previously given them credit for.

good for them.

Oy friggin vey

[radiokills]

There was a poster for the show there. Jeff signed mine. I'm still on a high from this show!

 

thats awesome. i didn't see a merch table. hopefully the poster will be available online in the near future.

[Sparky speaks]

Good review and photos.......

 

http://www.berkshirefinearts.com/?page=art...785&catID=8

[StillLoveRockAndRoll]

Shit. Having seen 8 or 9 shows...sound-wise, this was the very worst ever...I was so bummed, I thought the sound TOTALLY SUCKED!!! I kept moving around, lawn, shed, left. right...nothing helped. I asked the sound tech what he thought..he said "I'm really struggling here...", so I knew it wasn't just me. I finally gave up and just danced, but seriously....I thought this as the absolute worst sound EVER!! Is there anyone out there agrees with me?

 

Can't wait to hear them in a good venue again. loved the Nudie Suits. Missed Jeff's banter and his way of connecting. Missed the audience participation.

 

Loved: the sky blue sky of the day, the scene, bringing my 15 year old son who is now not only a Wilco fan but who discovered Radiohead's In Rainbow's on my iPod and couldn't stop listening...we were so bummed we didn't have tix for their show the next night.

 

Karen

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

Good pictures, but holy lack of editing in that article, Batman. The writing is so jumbled and unclear. That first paragraph alone has six comma errors, and the rest of it is just as confusing because of errors.

 

Sorry--you can tell I'm gearing up for the start of the school year. I'd like to take my red pen to this one.

[fatheadfred]

Oy friggin vey

Oh, Julie, don't get too excited. It was one of the dopes that couldn't clap correctly.

[W(TF)]

Nice review, but.....

 

Pretty good review in today's Boston Globe. The paper edition has a nice picture too.

 

A Wilco crescendo at Tanglewood

By Joan Anderman, Globe Staff | August 14, 2008

 

-snip-

 

Avant-garde guitarist Nels Cline, the newest member in Wilco's famously unstable lineup, can turn the sweetest song into a thrill ...

 

C'mon Joanie..... Nels has been in the band 4 years now, FFS. And he's the junior boy. That's hardly 'unstable' for a rock band on the bleeding edge of gestalt-country. Whatevs.

[viatroy]

Shit. Having seen 8 or 9 shows...sound-wise, this was the very worst ever...I was so bummed, I thought the sound TOTALLY SUCKED!!! I kept moving around, lawn, shed, left. right...nothing helped. I asked the sound tech what he thought..he said "I'm really struggling here...", so I knew it wasn't just me. I finally gave up and just danced, but seriously....I thought this as the absolute worst sound EVER!! Is there anyone out there agrees with me?

 

Can't wait to hear them in a good venue again. loved the Nudie Suits. Missed Jeff's banter and his way of connecting. Missed the audience participation.

 

Loved: the sky blue sky of the day, the scene, bringing my 15 year old son who is now not only a Wilco fan but who discovered Radiohead's In Rainbow's on my iPod and couldn't stop listening...we were so bummed we didn't have tix for their show the next night.

 

Karen

 

 

I thought it sounded great just outside the pavilion -- much better than inside. But I'm known to have a tin ear, so I'm easy to please.

[LouieB]

Pieholden with horns. Enough said.

True indeed. Amazing/

 

As for the sound, it was not the best but it wasn't that bad. (You want bad...check out the Rave in Milwaukee...that was the worst ever...)

 

A funny thing happened as I was coming home today. I passed the Loft just as a tour bus was leaving and left off a bunch of the crew (I think). It looked like the end of a field trip at school. Is this the end of a leg of the tour??

 

LouieB

[laurie]

Shit. Having seen 8 or 9 shows...sound-wise, this was the very worst ever...I was so bummed, I thought the sound TOTALLY SUCKED!!! I kept moving around, lawn, shed, left. right...nothing helped. I asked the sound tech what he thought..he said "I'm really struggling here...", so I knew it wasn't just me. I finally gave up and just danced, but seriously....I thought this as the absolute worst sound EVER!! Is there anyone out there agrees with me?

 

Can't wait to hear them in a good venue again. loved the Nudie Suits. Missed Jeff's banter and his way of connecting. Missed the audience participation.

 

Loved: the sky blue sky of the day, the scene, bringing my 15 year old son who is now not only a Wilco fan but who discovered Radiohead's In Rainbow's on my iPod and couldn't stop listening...we were so bummed we didn't have tix for their show the next night.

 

Karen

 

 

We thought it was a great show (Andrew/Wilco). You must be trying for some attention. It must be hard being tone death.

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

I was sixth row center and didn't have any major complaints with the sound. My friends were on Nels's side about another five rows back and didn't say anything, either. Nels seemed a little too quiet in the mix except during his solos, but that seems to be a nagging problem on this leg. I imagine this must have been a difficult venue for the sound crew, given that it's not designed acoustically for rock shows, and it's a much bigger place than they usually play. The lawn section is huge. Andrew Bird was still doing his sound check when the gates opened, so Wilco might've encountered problems during their sound check.

 

Another problem I had with that article from Berkshire Fine Arts is that it completely blows out of proportion the security "problems." The crowd was certainly rowdier than a symphony crowd, but aside from those two kids running past the stage at one point (which was still pretty harmless), there weren't any huge problems. By the end of the night, a lot of the security guards seemed stressed out, and I think tempers flared, but the article makes it sound like there was a stampede rushing the stage.

[rac1234]

We thought it was a great show (Andrew/Wilco). You must be trying for some attention. It must be hard being tone death.

 

 

The expression is "tone deaf", but I totally agree with what you're saying

[Wilco Worshipper]

Pieholden with horns. Enough said.

And to think just last June when I requested it for the sound check Jeff said "That's old. We don't really play that anymore." John added, "It'll be the worst version you ever hear."

 

Thank goodness for the Residency and da Total Proz

[StillLoveRockAndRoll]

The expression is "tone deaf", but I totally agree with what you're saying

 

 

Huh? I'm completely baffled. Trying for attention? From whom?? What a tremendous laugh I got out of that. I'msimply reporting on what I experienced.Tone deaf? From Wikipedia:

 

"Tone deafness is the lack of relative pitch, the ability to discriminate between musical notes. Being tone deaf is having difficulty or being unable to correctly hear relative differences between notes..."

 

My problem with the sound was the incredibly muddiness of the mix. I won't reveal more than to say I've been in the music business for a lot of years, and know shitty sound when I hear it. When the sound tech admits he's "really struggling" you know, that confirmed for me it wasn't just my own ears that were having a real problem.

[So Long]

Huh? I'm completely baffled. Trying for attention? From whom?? What a tremendous laugh I got out of that. I'msimply reporting on what I experienced.Tone deaf? From Wikipedia:

 

"Tone deafness is the lack of relative pitch, the ability to discriminate between musical notes. Being tone deaf is having difficulty or being unable to correctly hear relative differences between notes..."

 

My problem with the sound was the incredibly muddiness of the mix. I won't reveal more than to say I've been in the music business for a lot of years, and know shitty sound when I hear it. When the sound tech admits he's "really struggling" you know, that confirmed for me it wasn't just my own ears that were having a real problem.

 

No, I agree with you. Inside the shed, at least, the sound was pretty muddy.