Two Questions

[worldrecordplayer]

1. First heard Wilco in 1999 on the Gram Parsons tribute album (Return of the Grievous Angel).

Whoa, I have Grievous Angel, and until I read this post had completely forgotten that Wilcon is on it. Hmmm, was I ever conscience of that? Now I know what I am doing next.

[dvigs24]

i don't think that Wilco was the cause for those ticket prices.

 

and $75 for GA was the best deal in town for that particular night.

 

 

I worded that kind of awkwardly, I just meant that the main reason I went, despite NEIL'S high ticket prices (I had just paid $100+ to see him on the first leg of the Chrome Dreams tour the year before), was because Wilco was opening.

 

My run on sentences and continuous use (abuse?) of commas sometimes makes my writing hard to understand.

[dvigs24]

I was at that Worcester show. I was already a big Wilco fan, and was thrilled at the double bill with Neil. I have vivid memories of Wilco's set. This was definitely a Neil crowd, It was pretty clear to me that most people had no idea about Wilco when they hit the stage. They opened with Via Chicago, and I stood there and watched heads snap and jaws drop as they worked their way through the calm and chaos of Via Chicago. By the time they finished that song they had the entire crowd in their hands.

 

I agree with this completely. When I saw Via Chicago live, I was instantly hooked. Neil was a bit of a letdown for me after that (all too short) brilliant Wilco set. Not that Neil didn't rock, he always does, but I remember him meandering off in to a bunch of new songs in the middle of the set, and I got kind of bored and walked around the venue looking for some friends.

[worldrecordplayer]

I was into Uncle Tupelo, but missed A.M. Wilco first got me with the release of Being There. I played those 2 discs over and over. Then went backwards to A. M.

 

Don't have the date of my first show, but it was the original band , probably at the Avalon ( maybe the Paradise) in Boston. I was seeing Son Volt and Wico when they came through. but this current personnel lineup so far surpasses anything I saw in the earlier incarnations, it's hard for me to even remember those nights.

[worldrecordplayer]

I agree with this completely. When I saw Via Chicago live, I was instantly hooked. Neil was a bit of a letdown for me after that (all too short) brilliant Wilco set. Not that Neil didn't rock, he always does, but I remember him meandering off in to a bunch of new songs in the middle of the set, and I got kind of bored and walked around the venue looking for some friends.

Neil did a couple of terrible new songs in the middle of that set. Just awful.

[Ghost of Electricity]

1. A friend introduced me to UT and gave me a third generation cassette which I played the hell out of. I was living abroad and this was the days before internet, so all I knew about them was the name. A couple of months later a friend sent her some cd of two new bands, Son Volt and Wilco.

 

2. The next summer I was back stateside and there was something called Sunshine Fest or something like that in Wisconsin somewhere near the Illinois state line. There were two big bands on the bill, Wilco and the Jayhawks. Wilco played first, they had just hired a new guitarist, some dude with red dreadlocks. The set included lots of UT stuff. The Jayhawks set was cut short by a massive downpour which threatened to electrocute everyone on stage. They only played about four or five songs, and Victoria Williams sat in on those. Afterwards chatted with her and Olson about Lou Reed, among other things.

[shoesgetcold3]

1. XRT (I figured a lot more people would be the same) I moved from LA to Chicago in the summer of 2000. XRT was such an upgrade over the Blink 182 and Moby that KROQ was playing. I remember seeking out Wilco thanks to Outtamind and Jayhawks (I'm gonna make you love me) my first summer in Chicago.

 

2.Wilco at Riv late 2000 followed almost immediately by Tweedy solo at Abbey Pub also late 2000. Jeff solo was what hooked me when I realized he was a singer songwriter on par with the musicians I listened to growing up.

[Cam Jones]

1. I'm a huge rockumentary guy. So my friend brought "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" over one day and I thought it was great. I ripped off all his Wilco CDs and have bought every CD since just to support the band.

 

2. I've only seen Wilco twice and Jeff once. My first show was at the Maine State Pier back in '09. Connor Oberst opened. Fuck that guy.

[howdjadoo]

great thread,can it be

 

[Kilgore Trout]

1. Somewhere around '96/'97 on a radio station we could get out of Athens GA, whenever Being There first came out. Outtamind, Outtasite. I had heard of Uncle Tupelo and already owned and loved Trace at the time.

 

2. May 2003, Asheville at the Orangepeel.

1. My friend downloaded a couple of songs from Wilco around the time YHF came out. I think I got AM first, and then my wife bought YHF for my birthday. It honestly did not click with me the first time I heard it. Around the third or fourth time I listened to it, it was like a lightswitch went on. YHF is probably my favorite album ever, and still routinely gets played on the ol' LP player (sounds so freaking good on vinyl).

 

2. I went to that same show in Asheville as my first. I can still remember them opening with One by One. It was a great show, that included a few songs I haven't heard since, like Bob Dylans Beard, More Like the Moon, Laminated Cat, and Casino Queen. I need to listen to this boot soon.

[Doug C]

1.Being an Uncle Tupelo fan, I bought AM when it was released. I have to agree with the "AM to Being There to Summerteeth, okay this is the shit" sentiments.

 

2.22 July, 1995 at Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg, FL. Wilco opened for the Jayhawks and did not disappoint. One of the best double-bills that I have seen.

[Magnetized]

1. and 2. I first heard Wilco at my first Wilco concert, at a little club called Traxx in Charlottesville, VA, where I lived at the time. My memories of that show are hazy, but I do remember thinking they were good. Since I'd never heard them before, though, and I was with a date I was trying to impress, I didn't get all that involved in the music and I certainly didn't become obsessed with them. I think the first album I bought was Mermaid Avenue, which I loved, but I still wasn't hooked.

 

There was a long break between my first and second shows. The second was at the Norva in Norfolk, VA in 2004. Now the love was starting to kick in for sure, because I ditched my date so I could move up front to really get into the show. (Well, I didn't ditch him really--just told him "I gotta go up there!" and he did not follow.) I started buying up all their music, including UT, and really loved the IATTBYH documentary. I moved to Tallahassee and saw them at The Moon in 2006, a great show that had a little drama--a guy in dreadlocks in the audience got offended at something Jeff said from the stage. (What is it with Jeff and guys with dreadlocks?) I had just moved to Tallahassee at that time and I tried really hard to find someone to go to the show with me, but no one had heard of them--I couldn't believe I had so little credibility with my new coworkers that they didn't trust my enthusiasm! Just as well, probably, because I might have derailed my career prematurely if they'd seen me yelling like a fool up front. And still. . . the serious obsession had not yet kicked in. That happened with a vengeance at the Evening With show in Richmond, VA at the National in March, 2010. Something kicked in at that show and I haven't looked back since. Both Solid Sound Festivals, Jeff solo in Charlottesville last December,and I'll definitely be seeing a few of the shows on the upcoming tour. At my advanced age I have become a full-fledged obsessive! I can't think of a band that merits this level of devotion more than Wilco--I just love everything about them.

 

Sorry for going a little beyond the topic at hand, but I do tend to get carried away with this band.

 

 

[froggie]

1. mermid avenue, being a Dylan fan i had to check it out. suddenly this 'Wilco' band jumoed out to me

 

2. 26 feb 2003 in Melbourne. i nearly cried when they played Airline and Flowers

[dagwave]

1. I purchased Summerteeth through one of those Columbia House "Buy 10 for a penny" promos (then immediately cancel................too funny) and fell in love from the first note. i remember absolutely insisting some friends listen to "She's a Jar" which they found peculiar for a title, bt agreed the song was a winner. from there I went backwards, and although AM and Tupelo took me in a different direction somewhat, I've come to cherish those records.

 

2. philly tower theater maybe 2008??? had a hell of a time getting tickets on the shadier secondary market- eventually scored two tix in the back back back of the balcony from a kind hearted law student via this board. thankyouthankyouthankyou. up to roughly 12 shows since, some with my (ex) girl, a handful with my son, and a smattering solo.

 

An Evening with Wilco at the Electric Factory with my boy will always be a treasured memory.

[Albert Tatlock]

1. Saw the Man in the Sand film on BBC2 - having an interest in Woody/roots country/Americana (for want of a better description) and also great respect for Billy Bragg. Then there was this band producing some fantastic melodies. So it was Mermaid Avenue. Got Being There soon after but it just didn't click and in fact I gave it away. Had to buy it again later once I had come to my senses :-)

 

2. 2004 London Astoria on the AGIB tour. A few weeks earlier found VC and asked if Wilco were worth seeing live, since on the I Am Trying DVD (which I had got by then along with YHF & ST and loved them all) they struck me as a bit ramshackle at times. Also met my first US VCers there and later became good friends with a few UK ones too. This was also about the first live band I had seen in many years after not having time for music for quite a while. Got my second wind after the teenage years and the start of a major re-ignition of interest in music and hugely rewarding when I think of the shows I've seen since (Wilco & non-Wilco). Most UK tours and a few European jaunts since, plus very luckily 3 JT solo - 2 London and 1 HSB in lovely SF.

 

P.S. Nice inclusive thread for a change

[The High Heat]

2. philly tower theater maybe 2008???

Yes. Feb. '08. I was there, too. That was the "Foo Fighters are Neanderthals" show.

[musikfilmbook]

1. I purchased AM right around the time it came out.

 

2. My first show was at the TLA in Philly in June 2005. I didn't get to my next show until 2002 but have more than made up for it in the last 9 years.

[parisisstale]

1. Got turned on to Still Feel Gone in college, and got AM right away.

 

2. Though I liked the band in the mid to late 90s, just never went to shows then (other than Pavement). YHF turned on a light for me, then AGIB connected w/ me like no other album I can remember (primarily due to my own battles w/ substances and anxiety at the time).

 

Oh yeah, first show 6/8/04 at my favorite venue Irving Plaza in NYC. 6th show with the current lineup. Favorite quote: "I just got outta the hospital, man, i'm not playing mountainbed.....lotta words". Handshake Drugs opener, The Lonely One closer. Been to tons and tons since (and that's the only one where I could barely see the band), yet I think it's still my favorite.

[sftravis]

1) 9-16-03

2) 9-16-03

 

A friend of mine worked at one of the nicer hotels downtown. John Stirratt was getting something from the front desk and was talking with my buddy. Friend had no clue who he was but they started talking about music. John asked what he was doing that night and gave my friend two tickets and backstage passes to the show. He never said who he was or anything. Friend calls me and I say I'm down for the show. I had never heard them but had heard of them. I did know that Nels Cline was in the opening band and really wanted to check him out. Went to the show and was blown away. Been a fan ever since.

[parisisstale]

1) 9-16-03

2) 9-16-03

 

A friend of mine worked at one of the nicer hotels downtown. John Stirratt was getting something from the front desk and was talking with my buddy. Friend had no clue who he was but they started talking about music. John asked what he was doing that night and gave my friend two tickets and backstage passes to the show. He never said who he was or anything. Friend calls me and I say I'm down for the show. I had never heard them but had heard of them. I did know that Nels Cline was in the opening band and really wanted to check him out. Went to the show and was blown away. Been a fan ever since.

 

Love love love those recordings. Early AGIB, lotta Mermaid and Being There, awesome.

[Queen Amaranthine]

I first heard Wilco in April 2002, when my husband found YHF for me on Napster (I think it was). He said, "This sounds like something you'd like." He burned it onto a CD for me. He was right--it was something I liked. Rather, love! Funny, though, either my husband or napster didn't have the song order right, so to me even after eventually buying a legit copy, on YHF I think of "Kamera" as the first song and the whole thing is supposed to conclude with "Poor Places," not "Reservations."

 

First show: July 2002 in Minneapolis, at the Orpheum there. Pure magic!

[The Inside of Outside]

1. Got into UT just as they ended their run. Bought AM when it came out. Became a huge fan when Being There came out. Remember hearing Misunderstood on a bootleg cassette of Being There a month or two before it came out and it blew me away.

 

2. February, 1997, NYC, on the Being There tour. The Deli Tray show. Ended up with some lettuce and tomato on me when the contents of the tray flew into the crowd. If I remember right, Jeff crowd-surfed, then said that was the first time he had ever done that (maybe the last time, too).

[blueorchid]

1. I first heard Wilco in 2000 when I worked at a small coffee shop on my college campus. We could play whatever music we wanted and a coworker brought "Summerteeth." I was hooked right from the start and forced him to play the record on a continuous loop until the end of our 7 hour shift.

 

2. I saw Wilco for the first time at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis in 2004. Amazing show!

[rwilco12]

I read a short review of Summerteeth. It mentioned John Lennon, Pink Floyd and Woody Guthrie. I had to give that a try. My first listen I was hooked.

The first show was a 300 mile drive to Shelburn, Vt. 2007

[Oil Can Boyd]

1. Got AM when it came out.

 

2. Camden Maine July 3, 2000. I know I have mentioned this here before but by about 30 seconds in to the opening song (Airline to Heaven) I knew I had a new favorite band.