London Troxy - Aug 25 2009

[keeprighton2]

Yep, there were cakes, two of them (on one plate) candles on both, side by side and in the shape of a nice round pair of you-know-whats or 'something eternal' as Jeff pointed out to the 2,500 rammed in The Troxy. And, of course we then got a hearty 'Happy Birthday' sung by every man jack inside the venue. Terrific stuff.

 

The cakes were trundled on by Jeff's guitar tech right after they'd played 'Can't Stand It' and before they broke into a joyous 'Hate It Here'.

 

Quite a few surprises - Radio Cure, Company In My Back, Nothing'sEverGonnaStand....., Can't Stand It, and a visceral ALTWYS to start the encores followed by Forget The Flowers.

 

Great gig, we even got a rendition of Queen's 'We Are Tha Champions' from band and audience at full volume right in the middle of Spiders after Jeff had wanted everyuone to clap along 'like at a Queen concert..

 

Started with Wilco The Song and finished with Hoodoo Voodoo/I'm A Wheel. Top stuff. Roll on Forum in November.

[bböp]

Great gig, we even got a rendition of Queen's 'We Are Tha Champions' from band and audience at full volume right in the middle of Spiders after Jeff had wanted everyuone to clap along 'like at a Queen concert..

 

Here was the complete setlist:

 

—"The Price Is Right" theme music intro—

Wilco (the song)

IATTBYH

Company In My Back

Bull Black Nova

You Are My Face

One Wing

A Shot in the Arm

Radio Cure

Handshake Drugs

Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway(again)

Deeper Down

Impossible Germany

You Never Know

Jesus, etc.

Can't Stand It

Hate It Here

Walken

I'm The Man Who Loves You

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

At Least That's What You Said

Forget The Flowers

Heavy Metal Drummer

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

I'm A Wheel

Hoodoo Voodoo

 

Hummingbird was also on the printed setlist, I believe after Spiders, but Jeff audibled out of it. It seemed like they were gonna run out of time (11 p.m. curfew) after I'm A Wheel, but Jeff got the thumbs up apparently so they went ahead and also did Hoodoo.

 

The "We Are The Champions" fragment was more of a crowd singalong started by Jeff than anything that the band really played. After his Queen comment, I guess it was sort of apropos as a way to get the crowd going during the usual clapping section. I don't think too many people were participating in the clapping, at least initially.

 

The rest of the band also had confetti poppers (or whatever those things are) they they deployed during Jeff's birthday "festivities." So the stage was pretty much strewn with streamers and such from that point on, some of which Nels delightfully sprinkled over Jeff amid his one-legged solo during I'm The Man Who Loves You.

[H.Stone]

I've been listening to Summerteeth a lot lately and was just thinking how much I'd like to hear "Nothingsever..." again. Nice setlist. And glad to hear Jeff received proper birthday attention/goodies.

[thisyearsgirl]

I've been listening to Summerteeth a lot lately and was just thinking how much I'd like to hear "Nothingsever..." again.

 

That's seriously my favorite Wilco song.

 

I request it for pretty much every show I attend, including the first night of the upcoming Chicago shows.

 

It was great hearing Jeff do it solo recently at the Emanuel show, even after he has mentioned on many occasions how tough it is to play.

[pivoboy]

Quite a good show - better in spirit I think than the last London club gig I saw at Hammersmith four years ago - full of good humour and energy. Would have liked a few more new songs but we did get a handful off Summerteeth and even Forget the Flowers. The club setting, not a constant venue for a lot of Londoners as opposed to Hammersmith or Shepard's Bush places, was quite good with a raised level in the back so those down front didn't block views for everyone. The sound was a tad too loud in that it drowned out nuances or muddied up finer points of songs like Jesus Etc. But when they got into the torque and drone it was monsterously wonderful - especially the triple axe attack on Impossible Germany and Spiders. My mulling of the Amsterdam show in November became ``hell yeah'' by the end. Off to buy tickets now.

[m_thomp]

I was at this show, and at Green Man incidentally, and it has to go down as one of my favourite London shows - a city whose concert-goers usually prefer to have the performing band act as background music to their own personal chat parties. Tonight was different, the crowd were eager and excited for the music, younger than expected and totally enamoured with the band.

 

I was stood about 6 people (or rows, not that there were rows) behind the guy who wanted 'Richard' to come down from the stalls.

 

Slight grumble: if Jeff wanted a Queen-moment for his birthday then he must realise that the song to clap along to is 'We Will Rock You' not 'We Are The Champions'

 

Also, given connecting trains to catch, I had to bail during the start of I'm A Wheel, predicting it was the last song. Didn't know they played Hoodoo Voodoo too, which was a shame because the version played at Green Man was a blast.

[heffer]

This was my first time seeing Wilco, and before the gig i spent ages talking about how i wanted this song or that song, but the truth is, it really doesnt matter what they play. The intensity they put into EVERY song is incredible! Nels was on fire last night, throwing his guitar around and pulling screaming feedback out of his pedals. His lead playing on Forget the Flowers had Jeff grinning his face off!! There were so many highlights - Radio Cure was a nice surprise, and Nels laid his magic all over that too - BBN was immense, the duel on Handshake was insane!!!

 

Here's the printed setlist hope it works!!!

 

 

Venue was excellent too - nice change from the academies. the guy asking for richard completely confused jeff at first, Jeff said "i'm not the usher!" It was great when they gave jeff his cake and he pretended to cry his eyes out. Nels draping confetti over Jeff as he played his ITMWLY solo was ace too.

[keeprighton2]

Here was the complete setlist:

 

Wilco (the song)

IATTBYH

Company In My Back

Bull Black Nova

You Are My Face

One Wing

A Shot in the Arm

Radio Cure

Handshake Drugs

Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway(again)

Deeper Down

Impossible Germany

You Never Know

Jesus, etc.

Can't Stand It

Hate It Here

Walken

I'm The Man Who Loves You

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

At Least That's What You Said

Forget The Flowers

Heavy Metal Drummer

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

I'm A Wheel

Hoodoo Voodoo

 

Hummingbird was also on the printed setlist, I believe after Spiders, but Jeff audibled out of it. It seemed like they were gonna run out of time (11 p.m. curfew) after I'm A Wheel, but Jeff got the thumbs up apparently so they went ahead and also did Hoodoo.

 

The "We Are The Champions" fragment was more of a crowd singalong started by Jeff than anything that the band really played. After his Queen comment, I guess it was sort of apropos as a way to get the crowd going during the usual clapping section. I don't think too many people were participating in the clapping, at least initially.

 

The rest of the band also had confetti poppers (or whatever those things are) they they deployed during Jeff's birthday "festivities." So the stage was pretty much strewn with streamers and such from that point on, some of which Nels delightfully sprinkled over Jeff amid his one-legged solo during I'm The Man Who Loves You.

 

Yes, seemed to be a bit of confusion/discussion onstage after Spiders. Looked like they hastily rearranged with the clock ticking down - they squeezed in a quick blast of I'm A Wheel, then thought, f*** it and threw in Hoodoo Voodoo which took them five minutes or so past the curfew.

Shame they didn't come onstage earlier than 9 - then there wouldn't be an issue.

 

Still no sign of much of the new material. Maybe it'll appear on the autumn tour.

 

One other suggestion I'd really like to see happen at future Wilco shows. A Tweedy solo section of two or three acoustic songs would break up the show a bit and bring a little light and shade. He's got so much to offer on his own as anyone who's been to one of his solo shows will know.

Sometimes I think the shows are too one-paced and predictable - Handshake Drugs Spiders IATTBYH and ITMWLY always seem to make the sets - I'd prefer to see these rotated in favour of an acoustic section. Would make the Tweedy experience much more rounded (and representative of what he does best).

[tblair]

fantastic show last night... the band still seem to be getting better.

The venue was nice, but it won't last long as a 'proper' venue unless it sorts a few things out. No bar to speak of upstairs, just a couple of tables selling bottles (and a long queue), the stage isn't much of a stage, the lighting was very basic (Jeff was pretty much in darkness for lots of the set), side monitor speakers blocking some of the view..... and we had reserved seats in the blacony, but when we got there, we were told there was a cock up with the seats, and they showed us a couple of seats but said if someone comes for those seats, you'll have to move. I said I don't want to spend half the evening being shoved around, just give me a couple of seats that we've paid for... anyway, sure enough, about 20 minutes into the show, some guy comes up to us and says we're in his seats, so I said talk to the usher, who then said we might have to move. I'm starting to get pissed off now, I've waited months for this show, don't make me miss half the show by sorting my seats out... anyway, we got another couple of seats (with a better view of Nils), and eventually calmed down and loved the whole show...

can't wait for the Forum in November.... a 'proper' venue

[heffer]

 

Sometimes I think the shows are too one-paced and predictable - Handshake Drugs Spiders IATTBYH and ITMWLY always seem to make the sets

 

 

Thats because they are unbelieveable live songs!!! i dont know how the band could get tired of playing them and people could get tired of seeing them!! theyre amazing songs!!!

[keeprighton2]

Thats because they are unbelieveable live songs!!! i dont know how the band could get tired of playing them and people could get tired of seeing them!! theyre amazing songs!!!

 

Don't disagree with that but Spiders for example eats up 10 minutes plus of a two hour set which means two or three others are squeezed out. It's not as if they haven't played this in London every time they've played there. Same goes for the others. I say rotate and let's hear more of the gems that rarely get played.

[tblair]

Don't disagree with that but Spiders for example eats up 10 minutes plus of a two hour set which means two or three others are squeezed out. It's not as if they haven't played this in London every time they've played there. Same goes for the others. I say rotate and let's hear more of the gems that rarely get played.

I think it's weird the way die-hard fans, who go to multiple shows, expects 'their' band to change the set for them, who are probably in the minority. I'd imagine most punters at the shows, haven't seen every show Wilco have played over the last few years, and might not have seen them play Spiders, which is a major highlight of their show (and has changed a little over the years). It's the same with Springsteen fans who complain about him playing Thunder Road (or whatever) most of the time. I, for one, would be dissapointed if these staples were missed out. My wife came last night, she doesn't see them as often as I do, but thought the show was amazing, and thought Spiders was fantastic

[heffer]

i honestly cant fault them for playing it. Spiders is an amazing song, and the tension they build through it is incredible. you can see how much they love playing it too, Glenn bashing seven shades out of his kit in the riff sections is worth the entrance fee!

[Preferred B]

Very brief review from the Evening Standard here.

 

It did teach me a new word.

[suites]

Anyone notice any tapers?

[Edie]

Don't disagree with that but Spiders for example eats up 10 minutes plus of a two hour set which means two or three others are squeezed out. It's not as if they haven't played this in London every time they've played there. Same goes for the others. I say rotate and let's hear more of the gems that rarely get played.

 

You brits hardly have a corner on the "more rotation" or "spiders takes up too much time" argument

 

For a band that is supporting a new record, they cut a pretty wide swath through their catalog. Here's my count:

 

WTA - 5

SBS - 4

AGIB - 5

YHF - 4

ST - 2

MA I/II - 1

BT - 1

AM - 0

 

Plus, Can't Stand It and Nothingsever hadn't been played live by the full band in years until the residency in Chicago 18 months ago. Radio Cure and Forget the Flowers are hardly regulars in the rotation, and the new stuff needs to get played. All in all -- they really do hit nearly every corner of their catalog most nights.

 

And, you got the Jefftivus -- so that's pretty OK!!

[keeprighton2]

I think it's weird the way die-hard fans, who go to multiple shows, expects 'their' band to change the set for them, who are probably in the minority. I'd imagine most punters at the shows, haven't seen every show Wilco have played over the last few years, and might not have seen them play Spiders, which is a major highlight of their show (and has changed a little over the years). It's the same with Springsteen fans who complain about him playing Thunder Road (or whatever) most of the time. I, for one, would be dissapointed if these staples were missed out. My wife came last night, she doesn't see them as often as I do, but thought the show was amazing, and thought Spiders was fantastic

 

Think you might find there's a high percentage of regulars at the London shows. As Tweedy himself has pointed out, Wilco always sell the same amount of records in the UK.

[keeprighton2]

 

, and the new stuff needs to get played.

 

 

 

You said it.....so let's have one or two more from the new record in place of one or two of the songs I quoted which they've been playing to the same audience for years

[nads]

Sorry to say that I was the bloke asking for Richard. Until a few weeks ago he'd never heard of Wilco and I'd been raving about how great they are and let him borrow Kicking Television. Five minutes before kick off he heads to the gents and by the time he gets back Security won't let him down to the front.

 

Still he must've enjoyed it as he's booked a ticket for the forum.

 

Roll on November.....and this time nothingsevergonnastandinourway.

[heffer]

as for regulars, i was shocked at how many american voices i heard down the front. they play lots of american shows, right?

[tblair]

Think you might find there's a high percentage of regulars at the London shows. As Tweedy himself has pointed out, Wilco always sell the same amount of records in the UK.

maybe... depends what a 'high' percentage is. I'd be surprised if even close to half the audience would have seen them more than a couple of times (especially as it was a show in a part of London that they probably have never played). And it would be a mistake (imo) to simply 'preach to the converted'...

still, different strokes, an' all that

[Albert Tatlock]

Guardian Review

 

Wilco - The Troxy, London

3 out of 5 stars

 

Paul Lester Wednesday 26 August 2009 21.30 BST

 

You would never have guessed from tonight's performance that Wilco had recently lost a former member, Jay Bennett, who died in May this year. If the audience was subdued until a series of guitar solos and instrumental workouts towards the end raised the temperature, there was a quietly jubilant atmosphere on stage. Singer Jeff Tweedy's 42nd birthday was celebrated with cake and a round of Happy Birthday, and the sense of a band revitalised was palpable – Wilco have just released their best album for a good while.

 

Its audaciously self-titled opening track Wilco (the Song) has the insistent momentum of the Velvet Underground. As a set-opener this was electrifying, but elsewhere, much of the album's sense of rich detail was lost in translation to the live setting.

 

In a set that ran the gamut of their seven albums, some songs explored the interface between psychedelia and bluegrass, A Shot in the Arm from 1999's Summerteeth boasted the hooky charm of power pop, while other moments – a gentle harmony here, a honeyed chorus there – evoked American 70s soft rock. There were Neil Youngish rockouts, while the duelling lead guitars of Tweedy and Nels Cline recalled those of Television's Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine.

 

Many of the straighter, country rock-inflected numbers were plodding, and Walken felt perilously close to southern-fried boogie; strange when you consider that, around the release of 2002's experimental Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco were being touted as a sort of American Radiohead.

 

Tweedy's voice ranges from rasp to a soul falsetto, although he mainly employs a boyish tenor, one quite at odds with his status as a road veteran with a notorious past, suffering from depression and an addiction to painkillers.

 

Yet, the playing was superb and the songs were well-crafted, even if at times they could have taken some risks and sounded more like themselves. This impression – of a group who are accomplished yet somewhat lacking a unique musical identity – is perhaps a function of a band whose only constant during their 15-year career has been Tweedy himself. Tonight, it felt as though we were watching a frontman take centre-stage, while the rest of the band, although excellent, were happy to lurk in the shadows.

 

But for the audience – a breed of fortysomething men as steadfast as the Chicago alt-rockers themselves – maybe the jabbing keyboard motif and eerie effects on Bull Black Nova provided enough sonic departures for one night.

[tblair]

Guardian Review

I s'pose that's why they never get the 'attention' (?) they deserve in the uk. How a show as good as it was only gets 3 out of 5 stars just baffles me.

They do sometimes show their Velvet Underground influences, but Wilco (the song) isn't one of 'em. Either the reviewer doesn't know VU or the song itself, one or the other.

Which songs were the country-rock ones that plodded?... I don't recall any 'plodding' at all.

they could have taken some risks and sounded more like themselves.

what on earth does that mean. There aren't many bands that take the musical risks that Wilco does.

 

I wonder what the reviewer would consider a 5 star show?

[pillowy star]

I wonder what the reviewer would consider a 5 star show?

 

The Spice Girls dancing naked/Oasis not turning up?

 

I don't know and I don't care. This was one of the absolutely best Wilco shows I've seen, the guys seemed to burst with joy playing their surprise-packed set, the sound was good even in the front row, everything else was perfect too, so just ignore complete music illiterates like this guy.

[tblair]

The Spice Girls dancing naked/Oasis not turning up?

I don't know and I don't care. This was one of the absolutely best Wilco shows I've seen, the guys seemed to burst with joy playing their surprise-packed set, the sound was good even in the front row, everything else was perfect too, so just ignore complete music illiterates like this guy.

I don't really care either. It always comes with mixed feelings when a band you like gets very popular. It's disappointing that it gets harder to get tickets, and the venues (usually) get bigger and less friendly, but I do like to see people who I think deserve it, get the recognition.

I think where Wilco is at the moment, in many ways, is pretty good. I'm sure they're making enough money to gey by ( ), yet they still have the freedom (artistically and personally) that acts like U2 probably can't enjoy as much.

I imagine a day when people ask me who I really like, and I answer "Wilco", that they won't say "who?"