Wilco - The Roundhouse, London 28th October 2011

[Albert Tatlock]

Think I've got all the songs except perhaps one in the encore, but definitely a sketchy order other than they started with AoA ... Head still buzzing, so can spend a few minutes more before coming down and being able to get some kip.

 

Art Of Almost

I Might

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

One Wing

Bull Black Nova

Ashes of American Flags

Side with the Seeds

One Sunday Morning

Dawned On Me

Jesus, Etc.

Capitol City

Handshake Drugs

Standing O

Shouldn't be Ashamed

Born Alone

Impossible Germany

I'm The Man Who Loves You

 

Encore:

Whole Love

Shot in the Arm

A.N.Other

 

So, definitely light on Being There, Summerteeth, and even AGIB, not to mention MA (would love an At My Window Sad And Lonely one day). Maybe more tomorrow. However, very pleased to see a set choc full of the new stuff as it's so good & fresh live.

 

Jonathan Wilson - after the briefest of Myspace listens I was actually dreading this, especially as I was going to have to see it twice, but it turned out rather good in a AD sort of way - though dare I say with stronger melodies (though I'd be hard pressed to distinguish or remember them now as a bit samey). Also Pat came out to play acoustic with them for the first half dozen songs. They went electric near the end and a good proportion of the crowd broke out into mild bopping. All in all they were pretty well received. Apart from being able to study Mr S in some detail, they also got bonus points due to the bass player sporting a hat in perfect Mike Nesmith Monkee styl-ee. A personal role model of mine.

 

Banter Corner

All quiet for some time. An uninspiring 'hello London' type exchange, though seemed in good spirits and just concentrating on the music rather than the stand-up. Bit later (another) apology for Shepherds Bush '97 - really Jeff, we don't care any more (even though I myself recently posted some old reports on that show I hadn't seen before just out of historical curiosity).

"Do you know what a rammy is? In Glasgow they say all our songs end in a rammy, a wig-out. Well not all of them do ..."

Well Jeff, a rammy is actually slang for a fight :-). I think you had just the one there...

The Roundhouse was "awesome". They probably appreciated the history of the place with Hendrix And the early Floyd 'happenings'.

Some see you tomorrow type stuff.

 

Also JT, I think you pull off the hat well, but my big gripe is that with the majority of the lighting coming from above, you might as well have been a Mexican wrestler for all the emotion you could put across and the connection you could make with the audience, albeit a rather hairy one with a mid-western accent and an ability to write rather good songs as well as execute a mean half-Nelson. Towards the end and during the encore most of the lighting was from below and we could see your face. Made a difference to me and did you think the crowd was more animated then or was it just me? Anyhow ...

 

Now a few random personal comments per song.

 

Art Of Almost - definitely the most visceral Wilco show I can remember. Maybe the Floyd thing or the retro industrial sci-fi atmosphere of the venue made them start full on and continue largely in that vein. At times the volume certainly detracted from the clarity (I was dead centre in front of the sound desk so this must have been intentional?), and that is a bit of a hobby-horse of mine generally at gigs, but the bass and drums thumping in my diaphragm was a good feeling - Wilco have their Mojo back as far as I'm concerned. I passed on the last couple of WTA-heavy visits to London after catching an early show of that tour period in Spain. That felt like a run of the mill 'rock show' to me, when I had been accustomed to Wilco shows being 'events'. This was a 'rock show' in the most positive energised sense.

I Might - enjoyed Pat in his command bunker using one drumstick periodically on a tambourine. Love his little flourishes here and there.

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart - as mentioned, a louder/more forceful arrangement than I can remember

One Wing - my second favourite WTA song. Bring back Wilco the Song! I only have 2 favourites from that album ...

Bull Black Nova - I have never liked this song. Was actually getting into it for the first time because of the continued power of the Wilco performance, but the second half turned into a loud unstructured mush, as I always remember it ...

Ashes of American Flags - here I spit in the face of perceived wisdom by stating that I have always found this boring, despite the great lyrics of the second half and Nels' often sublime solos. But that's just me and I'm weird - bring back Wilco the Song! :-)

Side with the Seeds - a SBS track that I think always works well live.

One Sunday Morning - what was totally unexpected here was the amount of soft shuffle grooving this triggered. I found this quite funny given the gravitas of the song, but I would not have wanted it any other way. A man (or woman)'s gotta jig when a man (or woman)'s gotta jig. Secondly, the return of the song after the first controlled fade generated cheers, almost rhythmic clapping, and a wave of appreciation that you normally feel after a guitar solo. Again a little odd reaction that I was not expecting but nice all the same.

Dawned On Me - another of the new tracks that is a winner with me and comes across really well live.

Jesus, Etc. Again I sound like a strange sort of supposed fan by declaring this very very low on my list of faves, but at least it was the proper version not the sing along. I don't know the words.

Capitol City - quite often skip it on record, but BRILLIANT live and seemed like they were having a lot of fun playing it's jaunty tune - plus Mike was in control of the sound effects. Are the bells off a standard sound effects record? Always reminds me of the bells on a Style Council record but I have not heard it in years to compare ..

Handshake Drugs - John brings the bougie as usual and Pat does the knee-bends.

Standing O - Mike has legs? Who knew? Much better live than on album. Glenn = caveman. Really he was on monster form tonight.

Shouldn't be Ashamed - first time for me. Interested to see how much energy and life Glenn gave to replace the rather plodding album rhythm track, and Nels gave us a nice solo. Gaiters and World War One. As a history buff this is right up my street. Got anything on the go based on the Russo-Japanese conflict of 1905 Jeff. Surely there's a song in that north sea fishermen's incident?

Born Alone - was it here that Nels had his Parkinson's attack or on another song. My Alzheimer's means I don't remember.

Impossible Germany - not the usual emphasis on the triple whammy.

I'm The Man Who Loves You - I appreciate it's Sue's song but I have heard this every single time I've seen Wilco (though if it keeps the God awful Walken out of the setlist then I don't mind.)

Whole Love - With the last couple of the main set and during the encore the crowd were really rippling and JT was smiling a lot - probably appreciating the response.

Shot in the Arm - epic fist punching stuff. Being the tidy straight cut kind of guy he is, Mike decides that by this late on in the evening his corner is looking a bit dusty, so sets about polishing his keyboard vigorously with a pillow.

 

OK, now feeling tired enough to go to sleep. May add more tomorrow in the day but I think I'm spent - though will probably have to deal with the haters. Really Jeff, I do like an awful lot of your songs more than you can imagine, I'm just very picky. Don't you find sycophants boring? :-)

 

See you tomorrow Wilco.

 

Goodnight everybody, everywhere ...

[IRememberDBoon]

great review! thanks!

[tblair]

said the same things about his hat AND the Shepherds Bush incident... his head in a shadow all evening...? is he starting to get paranoid about the possibility of a tiny bald patch on his head? ... and THAT incident... yes, we either don't care anymore, or we don't know what you're talking about (which was the case for the 2 people I was with.. .so I had to explain why he was apologising..)

 

never heard so many new songs from the latest album, which was a change. The shows seems to be very based around songs where Nels shines... Wiclo, featuring Nels Cline on guitar ...?

 

pretty amazing show though, unsurprisingly.

 

tonight...? expect a few less new songs, maybe...

 

 

ps... wasn't Shot In The Arm the last song??...

shortest encore ever from them

[Nick110581]

What time did it end?

 

My train is 23.32 from Victoria!

[tblair]

I think it ended just before 11

[Nick110581]

That would be perfect.

 

Tube is about 20 mins.

 

There is another train at 0.05 but it takes 55 mins longer.

[barry wom]

If you've got a train to catch I'd suggest positioning yourself near the exit, it took me about 10 minutes to get out afterwards.

 

Anyway, great gig, if a bit shorter than we've come to expect. I'd have liked to have heard more from AGIB but they've got such a great back catalogue it's hard to quibble.

[Albert Tatlock]

ps... wasn't Shot In The Arm the last song??...

shortest encore ever from them

You're spot on. Nabbed this from elsewhere and looks more accurate than mine. In the words of Eric Morecambe, all the right notes, but not necessarily in the correct order ...

 

1. Art Of Almost

2. I Might

3. Ashes Of American Flags

4. Bull Black Nova

5. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

6. One Wing

7. Some Side With The Seeds

8. One Sunday Morning

9. Shouldn't Be Ashamed

10. Born Alone

11. Jesus, Etc

12. Capitol City

13. Handshake Drugs

14. I'm The Man Who Loves You

15. Standing O

16. Impossible Germany

17. Dawned On Me

ENCORE

 

1. Whole Love

2. Shot In The Arm

[keeprighton2]

Quite a short show really - a fair bit under 2 hours - don't know why they cant come on at 9 instead of gone 9.15 and off by 11

 

Agree about the hat - couldnt see Jeff's face at all with overhead lighting and thought he was very quiet last night - said nothing at all until half way through and then got going a bit. A little underwhelmed by the sound after good reports I'd heard about Roundhouse PA - sounded cluttered and dense for first half of show - very much the 'alt rock' side of the band for most of the first hour - nothing we haven't heard before and at times felt they were going through the motions a bit.

 

Ashes was played third and Impossible Germany was last of the main set - and agree shortest encore I've seen them do - just two songs.

 

Hoping for some variety tonight - looking forward to it - great venue.

[keeprighton2]

Didn't mean that to sound so negative - new songs sounded pretty good I thought live.

 

Just could have done without so many of the songs we've heard so often before - Handshake, ITMWLY Shot In The Arm, IATTBYH etc and dont think Bull Black Nova was a great addition - anyone new to Wilco might have been blasted back through the entry doors that first half hour - not much light and shade there.

[Albert Tatlock]

Just had a curry to load up with carbs for tonight. Leaving in an hour. Meanwhile ...

 

http://www.clashmusic.com/live-review/wilco-live-at-the-roundhouse-london

 

Clashmusic Reviews 2011-10-29 19:23

Wilco - Live at The Roundhouse, London

 

Moonlighting in the support act before taking centre stage in the headlining band may be viewed as spreading oneself too thin; however, hard work is clearly not something that multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone is averse to. After strumming the six-string for Jonathon Wilson in a set that was full of nods to various 70’s stoner rock influences and CSNY-esque song structures, Sansone nipped off for a quick break before joining his ‘day job’ outfit to fill The Roundhouse’s expansive space with a melodious sonic assault on the audience’s senses.

 

Opening with the first track from new album ‘The Whole Love’ Wilco sets the bar incredibly high with ‘Art Of Almost’, an anthemic slow burner that builds to a climactic psych-jam. With anguish laden lyrics crooned over a digital wall of sound interspersed by screeching guitar licks, this inaugural number posits the band to be somewhere between The Jayhawks and Radiohead.

 

Another new track follows, with the whole band giving ‘I Might’ everything that they have in terms of vigour and passion, with the virtuoso lead guitarist Nels Cline infusing each hook with innovative squeals and feedback courtesy of his on-stage mixing board and dozen or so FX pedals. The technical proficiency of Cline is one of the key elements that raise Wilco well above the standard alt. country indie fare; with his bold improvisational skills combined with a seemingly unending knowledge of musical styles, production technique and guitar tones, his performance is tantamount to sheer wizardry.

 

Although the full band are always involved in each of the songs in some facet, the rest of the group hold back on slower songs like the heartbreakingly melancholic ‘Ashes Of American Flags’ and the 12-minute opus of ‘One Sunday Morning (Song For Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)’, where Jeff Tweedy’s warm, beautifully flawed voice is allowed to shine out over the instrumentation, capturing the ears and hearts of all present. Tweedy has not always been such an affable performer; he actually took a break in the show to apologize for his behaviour at a now infamous Shepherds Bush gig over ten years ago, where he become enraged with the somewhat placid crowd and actually launched himself into them with the spirit of an overzealous rock and roll preacher, literally shaking his crowd into action.

 

There was no need for any stage diving to engage tonight’s audience, however, with the crowd chanting back every word to the bigger hits such as ‘I Am Trying To Break Your Heart’ and ‘Jesus, Etc.’ With the venue consisting of approximately 80% males, this is surely one of the only gigs where the queue for the Men’s toilets is notably longer than the one for the Ladies’, (overheard in the Men’s queue, “It’s all right for the girls, they can just nip into ours if they’re desperate; if we do it, we get three years!” Clash sincerely hopes that this punter was not speaking from experience).

 

With almost 20 years in the game, Wilco have the art of nailing down a tight set mastered and a relatively brief but welcome encore that ends in a joyfully sanguine version of ‘A Shot In The Arm’, with the entire audience tunefully begging for dose after dose, “Baby all I need is a shot in the arm…”

 

One gets the impression that no matter what medicine it is that Wilco decide to deliver, they’ll always have a veritable army of fans who are willing to roll up their sleeves, no matter how sharp the needle is.

 

Words by David Harfield

[LeeIOW]

This was our first Wilco gig after being fans for years. We weren't expecting to be hit by such a freight-train of noise!

 

After reading the reviews of the second night at the Roundhouse (featuring a Nick Lowe cameo, and a quieter set), we evidently chose the wrong evening of the two. It would have been great if there had been some kind of indication that it was going to be so ear-splittingly heavy but, we appreciate that it's pot luck with concerts, especially with a band with such a diverse back-catalogue. Sorry to be a downer but we feel a little cheated.

 

Having said that, Bull Black Nova, Handshake Drugs, Sunday Morning, I Am Trying.. and Germany were definitely highlights for me.

[keeprighton2]

This was our first Wilco gig after being fans for years. We weren't expecting to be hit by such a freight-train of noise!

 

After reading the reviews of the second night at the Roundhouse (featuring a Nick Lowe cameo, and a quieter set), we evidently chose the wrong evening of the two. It would have been great if there had been some kind of indication that it was going to be so ear-splittingly heavy but, we appreciate that it's pot luck with concerts, especially with a band with such a diverse back-catalogue. Sorry to be a downer but we feel a little cheated.

 

Having said that, Bull Black Nova, Handshake Drugs, Sunday Morning, I Am Trying.. and Germany were definitely highlights for me.

 

My point exactly - for a band on the cusp of 'crossing over' and with some fans probably attending for first time, I thought it was a serious sonic assault on the first night (first half hour), not that I don't like any of the songs that were played. It's just that the pacing/sequencing maybe wasn't quite right for a potentially broader audience. As Tweedy admitted during the show 'Not ALL of our songs end like that....(ie noise an distortion)...'just MOST of them do...' haha

 

Think sometimes Tweedy feels he has to do more of a 'rock' set when he comes to London (less of the Americana type stuff) because he's worried maybe that the 'cool' crowd might think they're going soft. Just a hunch. But thought he got it dead right for night two, much more variety and the inclusion of the poppier uptempo newer stuff mixed in with the classics and a willingness to drop some of the longtime live staples worked well. It's such a great back catalogue, and it just felt right. Nice one.

[LeeIOW]

The second night sounded perfect. My wife is doubly miffed that she missed Nick Lowe! We'd travelled up from the Isle of Wight and stayed over at a hotel for a night. A lot of money just to have your ear drums blasted like that. Ah well..

[tblair]

I don't think the second night was any 'quieter'

 

Wilco have been playing loud and hard for a few years now... I'm surprise anyone is surprised anymore

[keeprighton2]

I don't think the second night was any 'quieter'

 

Wilco have been playing loud and hard for a few years now... I'm surprise anyone is surprised anymore

 

I think he means there were a succession of the denser noise based songs in succession from the start and I tend to agree...no banter in between...just a bit of an assault on the senses, but you're right only slighly down on the noise count second night, just sequenced better

[LeeIOW]

Seriously, they play that loud normally? The overhead speaker above us (to the right of the stage) was actually fuzzing-out when the volume hit a certain level, which was spoiling the songs towards the end of the set. Sounds like they sorted out the levels for the second night, from the reviews I've read.

 

I fully expected sections of some songs to be heavier but, for the most part, only I Am Trying.. and Sunday Morning were less than full-tilt. Sorry to labour the point but the second set seems to have peaked-and-troughed more.

[Albert Tatlock]

Second night was loud, just no distortion where I was. Agree with others - they have been loud for years. A while back in Hammersmith we were even 'treated' to the drone from Less Than You Think. It wasn't full length, but was definitely 'challenging' passing through the awkward 'ok I get the statement, now how much longer will this go on for' stage, and everyone was still heads down coaxing feedback out of their instruments for some considerable time more. I still think it was the result of a little contrary streak JT harboured towards the London 'musical establishment/concert-going elite' (if you know what I mean), though the night ended with everyone seemingly happy enough and perhaps was the beginning of the end of PERCEIVED hostilities. Now it definitely feels from my side of the fence that the crowd are there because they want to see Wilco, not because they want to be seen to be going to a Wilco show, and I hope Wilco themselves now realise it.

 

Oh, and later on the same night there was a gorgeously frail Reservations as far as the discussion about always being loud goes. One of the prime reasons why I love Wilco almost as much as my beloved Beatles - the variety. I love them but certainly don't love everything they do - even within a given album, but I have a 'defend to the hilt their right to do it' type attitude. Sometimes they convert me to the wisdom of their examples, sometimes I remain a stubborn old bastard naysayer, but I enjoy the tussle - their musical creativity and my subjective preferences.

 

Oh, back to the person who was unhappy with the volume: if you want the softer side then please try to get to a JT solo show. They don't come around very often here, but that would be worth making a financial/logistical commitment to see. Believe me they're special.

[Newman]

I was on the barrier, right in front of Jeff for both nights.

From that position, there was a massive difference in his guitar level on night 1, it was loads louder. To the point where it was overpowering everything else at times.

 

I am guessing it may have just been right up on his monitor as it was instantly noticeable during the soundcheck. I guess from the barrier, you hear more monitor than the main sound system.

 

I have no problem with loud volume, but it has to be loud across the board, not just one instrument. Night two was perfectly balanced.

[LeeIOW]

Thanks for your input guys. I'm a new poster here and it was my first gig. Despite the volume issues, I was thrilled to see Wilco live. : )

[-seven]

I LOVE loud Wilco and I can't wait to be assaulted (sonically) in Madrid Tuesday night.

[Albert Tatlock]

The Financial Times review of night 1.

Was expecting a few more of the official reviews to filter through, maybe give them a couple of more days. But Arctic Monkeys were at the O2, and that new Damon Albarn venicle were performing for the first time too, and they might have hogged the live music coverage of the broadsheets.

 

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/685ade62-046f-11e1-b309-00144feabdc0.html

 

November 1, 2011 6:15 pm

Wilco, Roundhouse, London

By Ludovic Hunter-Tilney

 

Wilco were over from Chicago touring their eighth studio album The Whole Love. In the past there was nothing remarkable about a band lasting long enough to release eight albums. But such longevity is rare in an age of record label churn and declining sales. For once the fans filming every guitar solo on their smartphones were performing a valuable documentary service. Disbelieving later generations will be able to marvel at shaky footage of a group of 40-something rock musicians at the peak of their powers.

 

Their show, the first of two nights at the Roundhouse, was a testament to the benefit of bands being allowed to mature. For the first decade of their 17-year existence Wilco underwent numerous personnel changes. Led by singer-guitarist Jeff Tweedy, they have had the same line-up since 2004, a period that has also been their most successful. The Whole Love, released on their own record label, was their third consecutive album to debut in the top five of the US album charts.

 

They began with a bold choice of opener. “Art of Almost”, from their new album, was a seven-minute krautrock jam climaxing in a wild scree of distortion from three electric guitarists. It was an abrupt jolt, like plunging into cold water, but the gambit paid off. The band’s confidence in each other and their audience was palpable.

 

The set went from the alt-country songs of their early years to The Whole Love’s expressive tour of classic rock, Can-style experimentalism and power pop. At times they seemed in danger of lapsing into a mid-tempo chug, the musical equivalent of developing a taste in real ale or complaining about young people’s hairstyles – but then they’d pull the rug from under your feet.

 

“I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” illustrated vocals about heartbreak by breaking down mid-song with a crazy patter of keyboards and drums. Lead guitarist Nels Cline, with a background in avant-garde jazz and rock, went from Television-style classicism to intense scribbles of noise in the course of a single fluent solo.

 

The only time the balance between wildness and tradition went wrong was when a grumbling hum of distortion marred the flowing acoustic melodies of “One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)”, one of the most beautiful songs in Wilco’s increasingly impressive repertoire.

[CrisBcn]

Agree with the sound, it was better on the second show. And also the setlist seemed much better the second night (I happened to talk to Pat Sansone before the show in Barcelona, just bumped into him outside the venue, and he also said the second night's setlist had been better).

And about the shows not being that long, the Roundhouse had a curfew at 23h, so that explains why they couldn't make it longer... though I agree that both the supporter and them could have started earlier so the concert would have been at least 2 hours long... But it was great. The new songs sound so good live and for me "One Sunday morning" was the best unexpected opener for the concert!

[blureu]

Pictures:

 

http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4143974-in-photos--wilco-the-roundhouse-london