Wilco 24/10/11 Glasgow

[not going far]

Just some thoughts from last nights show:-

 

Opening 3 songs was about the best start to a show I've seen (possibly ever....!)

Setlist (not in order) was something like this:-

 

One Sunday Morning

Poor Places

Art of Almost

I Might

IATTBYH

One WIng

Bull Black Nova

You Are My Face

Impossible Germany

Born Alone

Jesus, Etc

Standing O

Rising Red Lung

Dawned on Me

War on War

Shot In The Arm

 

---

 

Whole Love

California Stars

HMD

ITMWLY

Misunderstood

 

 

Great show. Quite unusual to see Wilco in a restrained all seating venue like the Concert Hall but worked well I think. Not too much talking - Jeff said they were trying to fit in as many songs as possible.

 

In particular, I thought the new songs sounded pretty awesome especially Dawned On Me, Born Alone and Standing O (AOA and OSM taken as a given!).

[Albert Tatlock]

Nothing about the rumoured Glasgow kiss in the balcony?

Maybe JT didn't make himself clear enough in the sitting versus standing debate.

[not going far]

Nothing about the rumoured Glasgow kiss in the balcony?

Maybe JT didn't make himself clear enough in the sitting versus standing debate.

 

I didn't want to detract from the performance - there's always some t***** who threatens to spoil things for everyone. As it was seated, I believe people were shuffling in and out with drinks at inappropriate times which resulted in someone expressing his displeasure perhaps more forcefully than he should have. Don't know what else happened though.

[Albert Tatlock]

I see. Thanks for the setlist anyway.

[50footqueenie]

According to my notes (tip of the day - don't write in pencil in the dark, it takes hours to decipher!) the full set list was:

 

One Sunday Morning

Poor Places

Art of Almost

I Might

IATTBYH

One Wing

Black Bull Nova

You Are My Face

Rising Red Lung ( Restarted after 'the fight')

Impossible Germany

Handshake Drugs

Standing O

Jesus, Etc

Born Alone

War On War

Dawned On Me

Shot In The Arm

 

Encore: Whole Love

California Stars

Heavy Metal Drummer

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Misunderstood

 

I enjoyed the show but thought 'the standing v sitting argument' was totally lost - the audience, though vocal, were pretty lame throughout. It actually took the fight in the gallery to liven things up - not there that wasn't plenty of energy coming from the stage - the new songs are really rockin' and are starting to change shape slowly. Glenn's caveman impersonation on Standing O and Born Alone will surely get him a call for the next Flinstone's Movie!

 

Tweedy quote of the night: 'My family are from Scotland, I believe from Tweedvale (sic)... But they decided to move to a country with religious intolerance'

 

Now for two standing shows in London. Bring. It. On.

[not going far]

I thought he actually did say 'Tweedsdale' as in the River Tweed? I could be wrong though.

[loopsicle]

Thanks so much for posting the setlist! While on the night I was in a swept away/ Penny Lane (Almost Famous) moment and didn't want to write the songs down, it is really good to have a note of what order they were in.

 

Re venue, I was blown away by how incredible the sound was at GCH and that made up for the non-standing thing for me. It was the best sound quality of any Wilco gig I've been to, with all the layers coming through really distinctly, even during the shredding/feedback/glorious chaos sections. And sitting in the balcony being able to look down on the stage and get a great view of the percussion and keyboards set ups was a treat.

[50footqueenie]

Residing in the Borders as I do, I should know it was indeed 'Tweedsdale' - doh!

 

I meant to add comment on the support act Jonathan Wilson. I heard his album online a while back and thought it a bit too Laurel Canyon insipid to make me want to examine further, but live he was more interesting and has a reasonable band behind him. Once he took up lead guitar for the final couple of tracks, it got very interesting indeed - in a very Dave Gilmour / Floyd kind of way. We'll see over the coming shows if this becomes of more interest to Queeniears, but I'd suggest it's worth your while turning up on time for the support act for a change people.

[not going far]

Residing in the Borders as I do, I should know it was indeed 'Tweedsdale' - doh!

 

I meant to add comment on the support act Jonathan Wilson. I heard his album online a while back and thought it a bit too Laurel Canyon insipid to make me want to examine further, but live he was more interesting and has a reasonable band behind him. Once he took up lead guitar for the final couple of tracks, it got very interesting indeed - in a very Dave Gilmour / Floyd kind of way. We'll see over the coming shows if this becomes of more interest to Queeniears, but I'd suggest it's worth your while turning up on time for the support act for a change people.

 

I'd definitely echo that. The first couple of acoustic introspective songs washed over me but after that sounded pretty good!

[winterland121072]

There was a fight? Between Jeff and Nels?

[PaulTMA]

_{The people fighting looked liked a couple of sacks of tatties falling down some stairs, on a balcony.}

 

_{Anyway, wanna hear the fight? I recorded it! It's pretty LOL:}

_{http://www.mediafire.com/?neybpgofrxrjx3q}

[PaulTMA]

Anyway, some thoughts on the gig itself... all-seated was nice for a while, though I kind of expected Jeff to get the crowd on it's feet at some point. I was disappointed when the audience sat down again for the encore and I wasn't going to do it alone. Unsurprisingly it was a relatively subdued gig compared to last year's superior Barrowlands show, I haven't been following the setlists recently but am I right in thinking the band are largely through with Summerteeth? There were lots of comical requests for ELT which would have easily been my highlight of the night, though Jeff made it very clear it wasn't going to happen. Quite frankly I think I've had my fill of IATTBYH and Poor Places live, even if Wilco clearly haven't, though it was good to hear a healthy amount of songs from the new album and not too many from the previous one, which still baffles me.

 

I guess they didn't think Spiders was appropriate for this particular show (EDIT: just found out it's not been played recently), but that's twice in a row we've missed out (Glasgow, that is) which is a shame as it's a song I don't think I could ever get sick of.

[tugmoose]

Tweedy quote of the night: 'My family are from Scotland, I believe from Tweedvale (sic)... But they decided to move to a country with religious intolerance'

*Sigh* Really don't wanna get into it (my leanings probably are pretty similar to those of Mr. Tweedy), but making sport of your country to an overseas audience - even as a joke - just rubs me the wrong way. Ya don't have to come back, Jeff.

[50footqueenie]

I think thou misseth the point: Scotland, especially the west of the country and particularly Glasgow, isn't particularly noted for its religious tolerance, or as we found out this week, when a guy was murdered in Ayshire, for its tolerance towards homosexuality.

 

However if you don't want Mr Tweedy back, then we'll happily let him stay!

[Albert Tatlock]

One good ...

 

http://www.scotsman.com/the-scotsman/arts/gig_review_wilco_glasgow_royal_concert_hall_1_1928745

 

The Scotsman

 

Gig review: Wilco - Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

 

 

By Malcolm Jack

Published on Wednesday 26 October 2011 00:00 formatPubDate("Wed Oct 26 00:00:00 BST 2011");

“I CAN’T do this, you knuckleheads need to go,” protested Jeff Tweedy, to a hearty cheer from the crowd, as two blokes having a noisy fist fight on the balcony forced the Wilco frontman to pause during what he called “the most tender ballad of the night”.

 

It was an incident weirdly at odds with an otherwise civilised evening in the company of a six-piece who are nearly elder statesmen of American alt-rock.

Fans who have themselves grown older with Wilco will probably have approved of their decision to play an all-seated venue; indeed, it felt perfect for this two-hour range through the dense back catalogue of a band whose music is always involved, rarely predictable and never comes in small doses. “You get Wilco in bulk,” joked Tweedy.

Twelve-minute folky ramble One Sunday Morning – a standout from their new album The Whole Love – was a beautifully judged start to a set that covered all the bases, from the left-field stuff that’s seen Wilco characterised as the American Radiohead (I Am Trying to Break Your Heart), to their forays into plaintive Americana (California Stars).

Nels Cline’s hurricane soloing underscored his reputation as the alternative guitar hero of choice, while Tweedy – whose battles with depression and painkiller addiction are well documented – is tapping a rich vein of personal and professional good form.

“You’re looking great Jeff,” proclaimed a fan during one quiet moment, and the singer seemed genuinely flattered by the compliment. The standing ovation that followed the juddering climax of closer Misunderstood was entirely deserved.

 

Rating: ****

 

One misguided ...

 

http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobile/arts-ents/music-reviews/wilco-glasgow-royal-concert-hall-1.1131173

 

Wilco, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

 

Published on 26 Oct 2011

Stuart Morrison

 

It is, as the poet Keats had it, the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.

Jonathan Wilson, opening for Wilco on the UK tour, was so mellow as to be almost horizontal. But he and his excellent band won over the crowd with some truly gorgeous songs, with the title track of his second album, Gentle Spirit, quite outstanding.

Wilco, in my opinion, were awful. I know that reviewers aren’t really meant to speak plainly, far less give the game away at an early stage of the proceedings, but there really is no other way for me to put it.

Don’t get me wrong, Jeff Tweedy and his pals are excellent musicians, they have good songs tucked away in the repertoire, but almost from the start, every one of them descended into what can only be described, in Glaswegian terms, as a rammy.

Ironically, of course, their first proper ballad was interrupted by a fight in the circle, with security having to remove the miscreants.

Tweedy handled the situation brilliantly, and started the song again. The interruption prompted his first interaction the audience and he proved himself a charming and engaging front man, promising less talk and more songs.

Wilco’s fans rejoiced, needless to say, giving them a standing ovation as soon as the final aural assault had subsided.

There is no doubt whatsoever that if prolonged bursts of white noise or atonal twiddlings are your thing, then you would have loved this lot. For the rest of us, I suspect that young Wilson was closer to the mark.

HH

[jocko]

I think thou misseth the point: Scotland, especially the west of the country and particularly Glasgow, isn't particularly noted for its religious tolerance, or as we found out this week, when a guy was murdered in Ayshire, for its tolerance towards homosexuality.

 

However if you don't want Mr Tweedy back, then we'll happily let him stay!

 

I got the gag but understood it more as a dig at Jeff's homeland rather than ours but then maybe he is more aware of the situation with sectarianism in Scotland than I give him credit for.

 

Anyway what is (IMHO) not so forgiveable is his comments in Manchester about the lack of enthusiam in Glasgow... if you don't want people to sit down when you play then don't play seated venues!

[choo-choo-charlie]

I don't understand why people periodically hear noise and feedback in Wilco sets and then say it lasted for the whole show. I mean, if you're going to review a band's concert, you should probably be somewhat familiar with their material and know what you're getting into. To me, complaining about those parts of a Wilco set is like complaining about getting wet when standing outside during a storm.

[PaulTMA]

I prefer the latter review to be honest, at least he didn't use the term "American Radiohead" which nullifies any good intention, frankly.

 

Jeff could easily have got the audience on it's feet if he'd just asked us to, seen it happen with other bands many times.

[choo-choo-charlie]

Being at a rock concert generally entails being on your feet. You shouldn't have to be asked to show some enthusiasm.

[tugmoose]

So misunderstood.

[PaulTMA]

Yeah, I should have stood up defiantly on my own, in the third row, and had missiles thrown at me for two hours.

[dave41]

Everything in moderation. If I'm going to remain seated for a Wilco show, I'm up for the encore unless they drag me out.

[chrismc]

been a member for some time but this is my first post. have to say thought it was a great show but wrong venue. I love the sound in the concert hall but it's not a venue for a rock gig and it often lacks atmosphere. Barrowlands or the academy would have siuted the show much better though the sound would not have been as perfect.

[PaulTMA]

Download the Glasgow gig:

http://viachicago.org/topic/46641-glasgow-royal-concert-hall-2011-10-24/