Wilco DVD

[Guest Hollinger.]

It's not the Val Air performance. It's a soundcheck, I think at Tipitinas.

[Preferred B]

Soundcheck at Cain's Ballroom.

[jillrachele]

It looks like the I-65 bridge over the Alabama River just north of Mobile. Don't know what the official name is, all I've ever heard it called is the Dolly Parton bridge, for obvious reasons. Its not a terribly unique bridge design, so who knows if it is, but it would make sense considering they're including the Mobile show.

 

It does indeed look exactly like the google image of that bridge, and since Mobile's in that would make sense, but it also looks EXACTLY like the I-255 bridges that connect South St Louis with Illinois--you take these bridges from St Louis and not too far across them is the Belleville exit. In fact, I went over them yesterday. I was just assuming it was them until I saw your post, but now I'm pretty convinced they've been designed by the same engineering firm!

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

poppydawn was going to pick it up for me at Euclid Records in St. Louis tonight, since none of my local shops are carrying it and I'd wanted to support Record Store Day, but it's sold out I'm going to see it tomorrow night, but I guess I'll have to order a copy online.

[jmacomber68w]

So happy to see Jeff's dad, anyone from the Northampton show was treated to some of his wisdom!

[Guest Speed Racer]

Okay, is there anyone whose order hasn't been shipped? I'm pissed as fuck - I pre-ordered on 3/22 and my order is still being processed...? I get DVDs out faster than Musictoday, and that's saying something.

[dondoboy]

watched it last night. Fantastic. The sound mix is incredible.

 

not sure the point of having his father there, but it's easy to see how awkward their relationship is. Jeff might be a brilliant musician, but he is socially inept.

Yer nuts.

[junkiesmile]

Okay, had a few beers so I'm shootin' from the hip. Got the DVD Thursday but just watched it tonight so my wife and I could watch it together. She's a bigger Wilco fan than I am(I'm a big one)just not masochistic enough to subject herself to a Wilco forum. I swear I had a grin a mile wide the whole time I was watching it. It felt like I was at a concert with no beer lines. Man what a great representation of the miracle that is music. Someone stated earlier that it was light? Considering the fact that we got all of the audio from this DVD and a bonus full concert? My God, what wealth. My wife and I have seen them many times live and this was just as exciting(well almost). I've been in a few bands and I know how good it feels when everything is clicking. It's ecstasy. Man, I just watched twenty songs worth of ecstasy. I'll admit I was one of the doubters when Nels joined the band, but he has settled in like a worn out pair of jeans. I remember thinking last year in Houston(drove from Austin, can't claim Houston)when they were playing "Airline to Heaven" that this is the greatest band in America right now. I felt that way tonight watching this DVD. What beauty. What life affirming intensity. These guys work hard and deserve all of the long overdue praise that is being heaped upon them. I've been a fan since "Being There" and have long held them close to my heart. I have at times been resentful(jealous) of all of the "mainstream" recognition that they have received. I felt like the secret was out for the hounds to sully. I still feel that way at times. They are now being judged by people who are unworthy to judge. But man, they are thriving. God bless them(a figure of speech). I'm about to order Glen's album(That guy is incredible), I have a renewed respect for John( I'm going to buy all of the Autumn Defense albums), and I can't wait for the new Wilco album. Jeff is a true troubadour for our generation(as cliche as it may sound). Anyway, to wrap it up, I can't wait to watch it again. Long live Wilco and I thank them for their generosity. Sorry, I know that this post is a bit to long to read but I am pumped.

 

 

 

p.s. I didn't think that the scene between Jeff and his dad was awkward at all. It just seemed that Jeff was a little uncomfortable with all of the praise that his dad was throwing his way(calculated humbleness, another endearing quality of Jeff's).

[Moss]

Amazing stuff on the DVD. I thought they were speeding up the filming on some of those Nels close ups where he is strumming. His hand is just a blur. I never thought about the toll the shows must take on them until the scenes with him and Glenn icing down after the show.

[Beautiful & Stoned]

Okay, is there anyone whose order hasn't been shipped? I'm pissed as fuck - I pre-ordered on 3/22 and my order is still being processed...? I get DVDs out faster than Musictoday, and that's saying something.

 

Same boat here. I pre-ordered it more than a month ago, and it was "shipped" last Saturday. I blame musictoday; I normally receive mail pretty quickly. Now I have to wait until Monday ...... maybe.

[pfox7]

Don't know if this was posted...

 

 

 

http://www.rollingstone.com/blogs/smokings...lco-doc-ash.php

 

 

But because I was at the show when Jeff made the comment about the show needing an "astrisk" because he was on steroids, I feel compelled to say they got that wrong. That was at the Tulsa show! Unless he recycled that banter from the earlier Nashville show. Which is possible, I guess. Not important in the grand scheme of things, but still kind of irritating.

 

 

I have listened to both Nashville and Tulsa, he only says the steroid comment in Tulsa. I was at the show in Houston the night before Tulsa and his voice was really bad! Good show none the less.

 

 

It's definitely the Cain's show in Tulsa. I remember reading VC reviews of the Houston show (the day before) where fans said his voice was ailing and they were wondering if his voice would hold out in Tulsa. Plus, the doctor who gave him the shot was at the show. The trailer editing makes it look like it's at the Ryman since the full stage shot comes right after the closeup of the steroid comment (assuming that's the venue with the balcony -- sadly I've never been there). In Tulsa, he also gave a funny flex to show off his chemically-enhanced physique ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am glad I am not the only one this bugged. I'll get over it.

 

I started a new thread...sorry for the repeat.

 

They made Cain's look just as awesome as it is, FWIW.

[LouieB]

Like millions (well maybe thousands) of Wilco fans, I watched the DVD last night. I had seen it at the Music Box a few weeks back so I knew what to expect. I have a few things to say also and the thing about the Tulsa/Nashville thing is something I couldn't know about, but I have some other issues with the movie.

 

First some of backpedaling before I wade into some shit....I know the band reads stuff here and maybe the film makers do too, I don't know. I am an old fan of Wilco and have talked to all the band members on one occasion or another over the years. They are all massively talented and interesting people. A movie could be made about any one of them and I would buy it or watch it. So just like every other fan here I love seeing and hearing them in the comfort of my livingroom. But if my comments piss some people off, sorry about that.

 

My issues are not with the band, but with the narrative of the film. I love the concert footage and will watch the movie for that repeatedly in the future, but the flow of the movie (as a film) is so broken up it is very distracting. If all we want (and maybe this is simply a fan movie and nothing else) is to see our favorite band play some songs, this movie fits the bill, but as a movie; well not so much.

 

Where do I start? Even during the initial viewing at the Music Box, I developed a small internal joke which was "Bye Pat." Seeing snippets of several different shows including some sound checks is really distracting. So we get see Pat wave goodbye in each. The filmmakers never really decided on what they wanted this thing to be about (okay so it is about Wilco, maybe THAT should be enough), then don't have the band talk about random stuff and stick it in. Here are the narrative threads that seem to go nowhere, any of which make a pretty good narrative.

 

1. Old stuff in America that is disappearing (Pat taking pics around Cains with a Polaroid.) I like this thread because it who doesn't like old stuff that is disappearing in America? I know I do. Great idea, but is only the first one that is giving a few minutes and then never revisited.

2. The death of small towns (John talking about Walmart.) Who doesn't like talking about Walmart? I know I do, it sucks and it sucks the life out of the small towns I have visited. Actually none of the places Wilco even plays in this movie are really small towns. None of the band members even lives in a small town any more.

3. Historic places. Who doesn't love historic places? I know I do. I could have watched an entire concert filmed at Cains, a place I have never been to, but clearly an epicenter of American music. The footage and the feel of the place was great (although the extreme close-ups at the beginning bugged me a bit.) They rushed through each place never giving any of the cities they were in much of their due. Each town is historical and interesting for any number of reasons.

4. How difficult it is being a musican and putting it out every night and the toll it takes on ones body. Of all the narratives that were brought up and dropped, this one was the MOST compelling. The footage of Nels talking about his physical problems and watching Glenn ice down his hands and arms and Jeff being examined (why didn't we get to see the steroid shot?? That would have been great cinema...) were my favorite non-musical parts of the movie. That is not only really interesting as a back story, but something most fans don't think about. They simply think musicians have an easy life and work two hours a day once in awhile. Great stuff, but it was dropped all too quickly.

5. What a brilliant writer and bandleader Jeff is. Who doesn't like hearing that? I knowI do, but once again there was nothing shown about what makes him great and how he writes and what goes into his creative process...zilch.

6. The band members all all talented and unique individuals and make the band what it is. Great. Who doesn't love hearing about the band members?? I know I do. I like all of them. But the sections near the end were gratutious and kind of dumb. How did each member become so wonderful and talented and what brought them to Wilco, which makes Wilco the band it is. All it sounded like was a big circle jerk, no insightinto why these guys are great. If you are fan, like we all are, we know the history of the band members. But to someone watching this who is not aquainted with the band it just sounds stupid. Fortunately John gets the most footage in what was a compelling sequence, although again too short, talking about his musical background. (What were those songs from the 20s and 30s he learned as a kid? I really want to know!!)

7. Fans are important. Who doesn't love seeing the band talk to fans? I know I do, since I love being talked to by the band myself. Those shots are fun and the most compelling footage of this narrative came after the credits with the band's biggest fan of all, Jeff's father, who was funny and engaging.

8. It is a long hard road being in a band and getting gigs and coming up the ladder of success. Who doesn't love hearing about how difficult and long it takes to make it in the music business. I know I do. I talk about this all the time since I have seen bands come and go, some on the verge of making it and just don't make it to the next plateau. What makes Wilco so succussful? This narrative was introduced and dropped. (Incidently it looks like there is a terrific movie about this subject that is just out called Anvil! The Story of Anvil. I can't wait to see this one even though I am not a heavy metal fan. A compelling fllm doesn't even have to be about something you know something about, in fact the joy of seeing a great movie is learning something new about a subject you do now know know anything about, such as an old heavy metal band still trying to make it...)

9.It is possible to pick out a dozen more threads that were not explored. Bands say funny shit in concert, traveling is interesting, boring, tedious, excilerating, stupid (take your pick), it is hard being away from your family as a traveling musician (they miss wives, girlfriends, children, expected children, friends, comforts of home etc.), who are the Total Pros and what is their relationship to the band, why are we showing you soundchecks and not concert footage, how do musicians prepare themselves and practice (OMG the sequence of Glenn practicing, who couldn't watch that all night, I know I could.) Someone else can chime in here if they want before you rip me a new one...

 

Okay so maybe this is not a flim, maybe this is simply a video. That's fine. I have no problem with that, but as a film, it missed the mark on many occasions and frankly missed some great opportunities to enlighted the rest of the world as to why Wilco is one of the best things on the music scene. The great music movies and you all know what the great ones are (Don't Look Back, the Last Waltz, Stop Making Sense, Spinal Tap, etc.) last because they say something universal and something coherent. Music videos are simply product. This one will please the fans. Personally I am sorry that Live at the Vic never got made. A concert of Wilco in their home town during what was a period of this band when things were just starting to gell Ior actually had gelled) would have been great. (Too bad no one filmed the Otto's shows...) Maybe someday someone will finally edit and mix it and release it. That was a very compelling time for the band and I know I would like to see that. Meanwhile we have a movie of the band in full flower singing and playing their hearts out, with very little understanding of what made this tour important to film.

 

Sorry to piss people off, but I felt compelled to say these things. Great concert footage, not such a great movie. (and it is Sunday morning so there are lapses in spelling and grammar.)

 

One last thought before I post this. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart IS a great movie. Long after Ashes is forgotten, we have a movie about Wilco that does tell us why they were and are important and gives a compelling and universal story that anyone can enjoy about a band trying to make good music and be successful. There are parts of that movie that are beautiful, funny, upsetting, triumphant, insightful, artistic, etc. Ashes is nice to look at and sounds great, but is ultimately a bit frustrating and deals with the surface only.

 

LouieB

[cryptique]

Sorry to piss people off, but I felt compelled to say these things.

I'm not sure who's going to be pissed off about your post. Much of what you said echos my own thoughts about the film, and I can't imagine that there aren't many others who feel similarly.

 

If the film had been two hours long maybe I wouldn't feel as I do -- they'd have given us a hell of a lot of Wilco performance footage and that's a good thing in and of itself. However, it's not even 90 minutes long -- so clearly there was time to develop some of these themes more. OK, maybe they didn't get enough offstage footage to do that effectively, but sometimes the filmmaker has to lead his subjects a bit. It was likely already happening anyway (I doubt that all of the offstage banter was completely spontaneous with no prompting) so there's no harm in prodding a bit more.

 

I'm also not too sure why they reversed the sequence of the shows. This is a minor point, but I'd heard about this long before I saw the film and was expecting to see a good reason for it; I saw none. Cain's would have been a hell of a way to end it.

 

I had some continuity issues, but those are to be expected when you're only showing a few songs from each show (e.g., late in the film Jeff has one guitar for a song, another for the banter that appears to occur immediately after that song and before the next song, and yet another guitar for the next song). Ultimately this doesn't bother me much, but I did notice it.

 

All that aside, I didn't have the kinds of problems with camera shots that some have mentioned, and I thought the overall look and feel of the film were fantastic. It's a glorious document of this band on tour, and even though I would have liked it to present a more cohesive narrative (which only became an issue for me because the filmmakers so clearly wanted there to be such a narrative), it's a hell of a lot of fun to watch and I know that over the next few years it'll never be on my shelf long enough to get dusty.

[LouieB]

Thanks.....I really have not spent any time finding out anything about the tour itself. Really to me that is not even important. They can present things in any order they want and still make a good film. The casual viewer won't know or care about these details. But since you mention it, ending a film at Cains rather than the 930 would have been spectacular and as I said, an entire film at Cain's would have been fantastic. (Filming at the Ryman, while clearly an historic and cinematic spot, has been done recently in Prairie Wind, an amazing film as far as I am concerned.) What better place to film a show. Some of the greatest American musicians have played there and now Wilco joins their ranks. That in and of itself would have made a great movie. How does Wilco relate to the history of American music.

 

What does Ashes of American Flags have to do with this movie? (Again, calling the earlier Wilco movie I Am Trying to Break Your Heart reverberates with so many wonderful meanings that keep compounding as the years go by.) Maybe someone can enlighten me. Having brought up and then dropped the end of small town life and the glorious history of the US and Americain roots music, etc., makes the title kind of hollow.

 

LouieB

[Analogman]

1. Old stuff in America that is disappearing (Pat taking pics around Cains with a Polaroid.) I like this thread because it who doesn't like old stuff that is disappearing in America? I know I do. Great idea, but is only the first one that is giving a few minutes and then never revisited.

 

2. The death of small towns (John talking about Walmart.) Who doesn't like talking about Walmart? I know I do, it sucks and it sucks the life out of the small towns I have visited. Actually none of the places Wilco even plays in this movie are really small towns. None of the band members even lives in a small town any more.

 

I have not seen the film, does anyone mention anything about the Interstate System, and how the growth of big box stores and fast food places around the exits have also made it easy for people to not have to go into town to get anything? Or something like that. This is nothing new, it has been going on for years.

 

I have seen many pre-Civil War buildings and houses torn down, to make way for new crappy apartment buildings, it's a sad deal.

[Guest Hollinger.]

Louie -

 

It's definitely not just you. I enjoyed the movie because it's Wilco, but would much rather have just had a straight concert film than what was put out. The small town narrative was completely incoherent. I think what happened is they tried to shoehorn the narrative into the movie after they had shot all their footage. They really should have gone back after the fact and shot footage with the band and with people in those cities to flesh things out if that was the route they wanted to go. And yes, I'm sure that would have taken money that they didn't have available to do, so really it should have just been a document about life on the road with Wilco and focused on the cities they played specifically instead of trying to paint in such broad strokes as they did.

[mountain bed]

Thanks for the post, Lou. Michelle and I both read this and for the most part we thought you were spot-on. Give us a concert film, or a documentary...but trying to somehow do both in less than 90 minutes left us feeling like neither was done to our satisfaction. It WAS enjoyable, just not what I expected, I guess.

 

And IATTBYH IS a GREAT film.

[Guest Speed Racer]

Sorry to piss people off, but I felt compelled to say these things. Great concert footage, not such a great movie. (and it is Sunday morning so there are lapses in spelling and grammar.)

LouieB

 

The only thing that pisses me off about this is that I can't comment because I DON'T HAVE THE FUCKING DVD BECAUSE APPARENTLY IT'S REALLY HARD TO SHIP A FUCKING DVD IN APRIL WHEN IT WAS ORDERED ON 3/22!!1!!@

 

Musictoday is getting some nastygrams.

[mpolak21]

The only thing that pisses me off about this is that I can't comment because I DON'T HAVE THE FUCKING DVD BECAUSE APPARENTLY IT'S REALLY HARD TO SHIP A FUCKING DVD IN APRIL WHEN IT WAS ORDERED ON 3/22!!1!!@

 

Musictoday is getting some nastygrams.

 

I am sorry, I got burned by them when I pre-ordered Sky Blue Sky the day it went up in March and they got it to me eight days after it was released, that along with hearing horror stories from others has made me decide to never use MusicToday again for anything.

 

I still haven't seen the movie yet, I was working all of yesterday and didn't have time to swing over to Minneapolis to pick up a copy. I suppose I will eventually get this, but I don't really feel a pressing need to see it right away.

 

--Mike

[junkiesmile]

I was under the impression that it was a live concert film. At least that's how it was advertised on the Wilco website. It even reads "Wilco live" on the cover of the DVD so I wasn't expecting an Oscar caliber documentary on the Walmartization of America or an in depth story on the disappearance of small town life or even much insight into a rock band's creative process. I was expecting to see live concert footage and this film delivers that in spades. I am grateful to Wilco for allowing this film to be made. It captures a great american band in it's prime.

[GtrPlyr]

I was another one left a bit disappointed in the film as a whole. Concert/documentary combo films can, and have worked in the past. Unfortunately this one lacked any real insight into the creative minds of the band, opting more for tiny soundbites and minor backstage moments. Fun to watch, but would've been better as extras, and not part of the main feature.

 

Another thing I wasn't too impressed with was the way the band was shot in concert: the framing and angles used was less than stellar for a lot of it. The 3 ACL broadcasts--though maybe not as rich with dark club atmospherics as the shows used in the film--are better shot, and more cohesive documents of the band playing live in my opinion.

 

Overall I enjoyed it and am happy the band put it out, but, I would definitely put it below IATTBYH and Sunken Treasure Live.

[Guest Speed Racer]

I still haven't seen the movie yet, I was working all of yesterday and didn't have time to swing over to Minneapolis to pick up a copy. I suppose I will eventually get this, but I don't really feel a pressing need to see it right away.

--Mike

 

The funny thing is, neither do I. I'm mostly pissed off that services were NOT rendered. I'm going to be out of town when/if the package comes, missing the concert download window. If I wanted the fucking DVD a week from now, then that's when I'd buy it. If I want it early, I'd buy it early.

[Elixir Sue]

I agree with most of the criticisms. I did like hearing the band members talk about each other, particularly Jeff: "This band could probably absorb another change...as long as it's not John."

 

I don't have a problem with the way the concert footage was shot, although I don't love the song selection. Still fun to watch, though! Nels looks like a badass through pretty much the whole thing.

 

Also, the look on Jeff's face when that woman is about to throw her bra onstage is priceless.

[ditty]

The funny thing is, neither do I. I'm mostly pissed off that services were NOT rendered. I'm going to be out of town when/if the package comes, missing the concert download window. If I wanted the fucking DVD a week from now, then that's when I'd buy it. If I want it early, I'd buy it early.

 

 

I will be glad to send you the DVD "extras" as I have seen you do special things for others. Just PM your address at your convenience.

[bleedorange]

I was under the impression that it was a live concert film. At least that's how it was advertised on the Wilco website. It even reads "Wilco live" on the cover of the DVD so I wasn't expecting an Oscar caliber documentary on the Walmartization of America or an in depth story on the disappearance of small town life or even much insight into a rock band's creative process. I was expecting to see live concert footage and this film delivers that in spades. I am grateful to Wilco for allowing this film to be made. It captures a great american band in it's prime.

 

 

My thoughts exactly. Perhaps our standards are much too low to be proper Wilco fans.