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"Wilco Is Dave Matthews Band


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http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2009-05-14/...nd-that-s-okay/

 

Here is an interesting article a friend sent me. It discusses Wilco, Dave Matthews Band, and Jimmy Buffet, among other things. I know this might cause a stir, since in my experiences, DMB can be fairly polarizing group. Personally I love both bands, but I gotta agree with the author, the fans at DMB shows suck.

 

Best line - "I can't get past the crowd at the DMB show. Even before I'd walked through the gate, I saw a gray-haired man in a backwards Callaway Golf hat playing quarters with his Panama-hatted friend, using nickels and a foam cup. But for the vast majority of the middle-management types at the show, it was a chance to kick back on a weekday evening. Drink a few beers, maybe smoke a joint. Chillax, as the kids say.

 

The scenario, for many people I associate with, would be a nightmare. Because many of the people I associate with are hipsters. And, as it turns out, hipsters hate fun."

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Boy am I glad to see your comments above. I was beginning to think I should try and read it over again because I must not be following what the author is trying to say. But when I read this: "Wilco is a jam band" that's when I knew to just stop reading.

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What a shite article. Tried to read it and nearly choked on my hipster coleslaw when I read this-- "Wilco are a country-rock band with long, jazz-inspired, improvisational piano and guitar solos. DMB are a folk-rock band with long, jazz-inspired, improvisational violin and saxophone solos. Honestly, we could compare snippets from the middle of either band's "jams" and they would be indistinguishable from the other band's jams

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i really disliked that article. the guy seems to be having an identity crisis. i love wilco and really don't care for dave matthews. not because i don't think dmb is talented, they are, but because they write some 'shoddy songs'(haha), and yeah, they do 20 minute versions of multiple songs at shows. that's not fun, it's boring. wilco does not do that, wilco jams out, but is not a jam band.

i admit, one of the things that turns me off about dmb is the fans, but that wouldn't keep me from going to the shows if they were worth seeing 50 million times. they just aren't. this guy should stop stereo-typing people. just because people like good music doesn't mean they are trying to fit into a crowd and analyze everything. i think the author just assumes that everyone is like him.....insecure and constantly looking for a scene to fit in to. he seems to embody everything i hate about the 'hipster scene'.

 

just my opinion, maybe i misinterpreted the article.

 

and how can this guy assume that no one is having fun at these shows he speaks of. i go to a lot of concerts and i always see people having fun, no matter who the artist is that's playing.

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I havent seen anyone at a Wilco show not having fun (demonstrably), or otherwise being a snob or a hipster. Maybe he's only seen Wilco crowds in the Ashes film. (which doesn't really capture the spirit of being in the crowd at a live show)

 

Ah well....who cares.

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I havent seen anyone at a Wilco show not having fun (demonstrably), or otherwise being a snob or a hipster. Maybe he's only seen Wilco crowds in the Ashes film. (which doesn't really capture the spirit of being in the crowd at a live show)

 

Ah well....who cares.

I have certainly curtailed my concert going over recent years, but in most of the Wilco shows I've been to, a good portion of the audience is extremely chatty. I can't understand people who are *fans* going and being more into their own inane chatter rather than listening.

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I have certainly curtailed my concert going over recent years, but in most of the Wilco shows I've been to, a good portion of the audience is extremely chatty. I can't understand people who are *fans* going and being more into their own inane chatter rather than listening.

 

We certainly know what Jeff thinks of chatty fans - as in Portland on the Pacific NW tour DVD

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I have certainly curtailed my concert going over recent years, but in most of the Wilco shows I've been to, a good portion of the audience is extremely chatty. I can't understand people who are *fans* going and being more into their own inane chatter rather than listening.

 

This is true to a point. I can say that in Chicago there are many young professionals that go to the show to be seen... not for the music. This is most definitely... annoying. Not that they are not "true" fans, but that they won't shut the F up.

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This is true to a point. I can say that in Chicago there are many young professionals that go to the show to be seen... not for the music. This is most definitely... annoying. Not that they are not "true" fans, but that they won't shut the F up.

I noticed this at the MP show. Showed up in suits and seemed to be on their phones all night.

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In the past two days I have seen Wilco compared to Dave Matthews and Hootie and the Blowfish here, two of the shittest fucking bands I can think of, maybe Panther had the right idea.

 

--Mike.

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In the past two days I have seen Wilco compared to Dave Matthews and Hootie and the Blowfish here, two of the shittest fucking bands I can think of, maybe Panther had the right idea.

 

--Mike.

 

 

...At least the DMB comparison wasn't done by a fucking board member.

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I am not taking time to read this article, because the one quote I read in a post about Wilco being a jam band and improvising only proves that the writer never has seen Wilco. What Wilco does isn't improv and band members, with the exception of the guitarists rarely take solos. Nearly all of what Wilco does is well planned out.

 

LouieB

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I have a confession. I went to see DMB once at the Gorge (amazing Washington outdoor venue which abuts the mighty Columbia River) and they were fantastic. A friend bought a great seat and a kindly fan sitting next to me shared doobage all night. Because Dave Matthews had strained his voce they only played 10 + minute songs. I didn't care: the music, the vibes, the setting, the crowd and the bud made for a wonderful night. (That said the comparison between Wilco and DMB is fallacious.)

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A funny thing happened to me as I watched the new Wilco concert DVD, Ashes of American Flags: I was forced to admit, without hesitation, that my favorite band is, in fact, a jam band.

The author of this article must've been watching a different version of Ashes than I was.

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I have certainly curtailed my concert going over recent years, but in most of the Wilco shows I've been to, a good portion of the audience is extremely chatty. I can't understand people who are *fans* going and being more into their own inane chatter rather than listening.

 

This is true to a point. I can say that in Chicago there are many young professionals that go to the show to be seen... not for the music. This is most definitely... annoying. Not that they are not "true" fans, but that they won't shut the F up.

 

I would consider myself a young(ish) professional, though more of the (somewhat) reformed hippie with kids to feed type than of the suit-wearing ilk, and having been to the recent Knoxville show, I would have to say that the chatters were more hipsters that otherwise. Maybe I don't know what a young preffesional is. Does that just mean that you are employed? If anything, I think my impressions of a yuppie and a hipster now-a-days are very similar. Conspicuous Blackberry, striped shirt, hair prodicts, etc...

 

May I also take this opportunity to start a sit vs. stand debate? I couldn't agree more with the idea of paying attention to the band during a concert and being respectful to thase who have spent their hard earned money to HEAR the music. That being said, couldn't we all concentrate better on the performance by actually SEEING the band without constantly jockeying to and fro to catch the occasional glimpse around the fist-pumping loudmouth in front of us? Inded, might a seated, eyes forward audience be more conducive to artistry and it's appreciation than douchery and it's ruination.

 

I'm just sayin'.

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In the past two days I have seen Wilco compared to Dave Matthews and Hootie and the Blowfish here, two of the shittest fucking bands I can think of, maybe Panther had the right idea.

 

--Mike.

The Hootie comparison was in a thread called "Post inane comments about the new Wilco album" - I'm not sure, but I think that makes it a joke.

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