Jump to content

outsidelands sf 08/24/08


Recommended Posts

wow how beautiful this evening was:

 

Mountain Bed

Company in my Back

You are my face

Spiders

Hummingbird

IATTBYH

Handshake Drugs

Jesus ect

Impossible Germany

Via Chicago

California Stars

Hate it Here

Walken

ITMWLY

 

 

The sound was really great where I was by the sound board. It seemed super crowded and most folks saw Wilco and split that were near me. I must say that the ducks flying over at the end of You are My Face added a special bit of magic. Impossoble Germany just gets better and better for me. And the Glen ROCKSTAR before ITMWLY was the greatest one yet. Walking home watching the last of the sunset from the top of my street with Jack singing away...well it was a perfect day.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I came a long way to see Wilco. This was the first time I saw them and I wasn't disappointed. Quite possibly the greatest live show I have ever seen. The only complaint I have is that the show was too short.

 

They should have switched places with F*ck Johnson. Do a two hour show on the big stage.

Link to post
Share on other sites

gotta love Jeff's "glad you found love" comment, and nod during Jesus, etc. to the "crazy man" too...

 

nice set, but rushed and short...pretty much the theme for the weekend (beside the other gripes about logistics, pa failures, etc.)

Link to post
Share on other sites

In the end, it was a fairly typical festival set...albeit one played with a lot of intensity. The highlight for me, and probably a lot of others, was Nels' searing solo on Impossible Germany (which the band had to start three different times). To paraphrase one of my festival cohorts, Nels was seemingly on another planet during that song. Afterward he dedicated it to the late, great Bay Area guitarist John Cipollina. Jeff, in an attempt at a lighthearted aside, had pointed out that Nels had played that great solo while having his pants zipper held together by a safety pin, which Nels briefly showed the crowd. Imagine having to play, Jeff said, while worrying about whether "your schlong was going to fall out." Then Jeff spotted a little girl down in the photo pit and realized he probably hadn't chosen the best banter topic there. :blush

 

For me, one small surprise was that no special guests joined the band on stage. I know people usually make way too much of collaboration between artists and sometimes it just isn't feasible for one reason or another, but it's too bad because there were plenty of potential candidates. Andrew Bird played a fun set on the same stage two time slots before Wilco, so he was probably around (although they didn't get a soundcheck to run through anything, which I think they usually like to do). I thought I also spotted Justin from Bon Iver watching from the back part of the stage after having played on another stage earlier in the day. Again, there probably wouldn't have been time to work anything out, but in light of the recent performances with Fleet Foxes, something like I Shall Be Released would have been fun to see.

 

And last, but not least, was Spiral Stairs (a/k/a Scott Kannberg) of Pavement, who joined Broken Social Scene for their closing number. Of course, Scott has a connection with Wilco as well; his post-Pavement band, Preston School of Industry, opened some Wilco shows back in 2002. So there was some thought that he might possibly join in on something like California Stars. But ultimately, no dice... :(

 

Nonetheless, it was a fun day overall. The weather cooperated -- the sun finally came out -- and we got the chance to see several great performers precede Wilco on the Twin Peaks stage. And then Wilco's own performance, of course. So it's hard to complain too much.

Link to post
Share on other sites
gotta love Jeff's "glad you found love" comment, and nod during Jesus, etc. to the "crazy man" too...

 

nice set, but rushed and short...pretty much the theme for the weekend (beside the other gripes about logistics, pa failures, etc.)

I have to say that I was relieved that the power did not go out during Wilco...that seemed to be the problem on the big stage. bbop's right about so much great music leading up to Wilco is somewhat of a trade off. I got to see 5 of my favorite bands in one day! Short sets of course but I'm pretty amazed right now. We are spoiled here in SF we have Hardly Strictly Bluegrass to look forward to and that one is free. So I guess it all balances out.

Link to post
Share on other sites

>And last, but not least, was Spiral Stairs (a/k/a Scott Kannberg) from Pavement, who joined Broken Social Scene for their closing number.

 

Nice spot. He would have been good shouting "Nothing ... nothing" at the end of Misunderstood.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Did Jeff play a solo set early in the day? This is from the rollingstone.com article about the show

 

Unless Jeff somehow slipped in a couple covert songs before the Animal Liberation Orchestra rocked the house ( :ermm ), that Rolling Stone account of the show probably should have read Sunday closer or something--although technically that wouldn't have been right either.

 

Anyway, no, Jeff didn't play a solo set.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Is the Rolling Stone thing a review of Jack Johnson, specifically? Because it would be a stretch to say that Wilco "opened" for Jack Johnson, but maybe that's what they're getting at?

 

Anyway...

 

I felt that Jeff's comment that San Francisco is the greatest audience didn't meet with quite the hearty response that he had probably expected. :lol It kind of felt like everyone was just standing there looking at him, thinking "yeah, we know".

 

A fun show in a lovely setting, in better weather than I had anticipated ( :D ), with a very mellow, appreciative crowd. Good times. :thumbup

Link to post
Share on other sites

It's hard to say anything bad about a festival taking place five blocks from your flat, especially if it includes your favorite band, even more good music, lots of yummy food, and -- finally -- some sun. Throw in a houseful of good friends, and you pretty much have an amazing weekend.

 

In addition to the appreciative audience (even if our "Spiders" claps went down in flames in record time), the badge holders really came out for Wilco, settling down in front of the barrier and along the sides of the stage, where they sang along and danced about -- while remaining very respectful for us regular ticket holders.

 

Another major treat: Broken Social Scene. I haven't seen them in concert for a number of years, but you couldn't help but be carried along by their kinetic performance. It also didn't hurt that they brought Spiral Stairs out to play or that they departed the stage by urging us to stick around for "America's best band."

Link to post
Share on other sites

My best friend proposed to his girlfriend during the show ("Jesus Etc.") - and afterwards an exceptionally nice came over and said he got it on video after noticing the commotion. Somehow my friends lost his email and are looking for some way to get in touch with this guy. Any suggestions?? Email catfishvegas@gmail.com.

 

All in all what a hell of a show to cap an incredible weekend!

Link to post
Share on other sites
Somehow my friends lost his email

They obviously had more important things on their mind than keeping track of that little slip of paper!

 

What a cool story. I've got no help for you at all, but congrats to the happy couple. :cheers

Link to post
Share on other sites
I must say that the ducks flying over at the end of You are My Face added a special bit of magic. Impossoble Germany just gets better and better for me. And the Glen ROCKSTAR before ITMWLY was the greatest one yet.

 

Show was spot on for the short amount of time and I totally agree with the above statement with the ducks (seagulls?) flying overhead, and I think Jeff noticed it too, i caught him look up near the end of the song in appreciation of the surrounding area (cypress trees, sunset, birds, 10,000 people) and it was one of those 'everything is alright with the world' moments.

 

The Glen Rockstar was the best I've seen yet as well, and I've gotta say as much as I am tired of hearing the Walken-ITMWLY combo (especially to close the set), those songs just never really get old and Wilco always finds a way to make them sound alive.

 

Third time I've heard Mountain Bed live, and I feel like it is such a treat to get that one, such a great way to start the show!

 

Finally, i was with my sister who had never seen them before, and she was floored to say the least, it was great!

Link to post
Share on other sites
My best friend proposed to his girlfriend during the show ("Jesus Etc.")

 

Oh, so THAT'S what happened! I was way over to the right of the soundstage and saw everyone turning to look but I couldn't see what was going on.

 

Beautiful version of Handshake. Hope someone recorded the show!

 

We need a full length show in SF.

Link to post
Share on other sites
My best friend proposed to his girlfriend during the show ("Jesus Etc.")

 

Having done it, I would recommend this to any guy that is pretty sure she is going to say "yes".

 

Having a crowd cheer when she said "yes" while Wilco was playing "our song" was a dream come true.

 

Seriously y'all, now that I know this video is out there I would really like to find the guy.

 

Help me out and e-mail me at freaktown22@yahoo.com or my friend at catfishvegas@gmail.com if you see any mention of my marriage proposal on any blogs or video/photo sites.

 

We are both kicking ourselves for losing the e-mail address of the guy that has the video.

 

Help me get the word out if you are so inclined.

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

Needless to say, that was the best show I have ever been to!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...