Wilco 12/16/2011 Chicago, IL -Metro

[lzylight]

i am one tired rock -n- roll chick for sure!..danced my butt off..we were sorta riding the rail & i only went to the jane once..i almost got my butt kicked37 times trying to get back to my peeps up front.."excuse me, im sorry my people are this way, pardon me, please let me pass" just wasnt effective..i continued to recite this & gently nudge my way between load of irritated folks..lukily the closer to the stage the more room there was..plenty of dancing space..anyone who is in town for the sunday show & is looking for more music tonight check out some of our blues bars...or steve kimock n friends are playing tonight in the city..just blocks from the metro..nappy nap time now.

[lzylight]

went to the opera house gig too..& last night i knew the metro would rock, thats what they do there..no comparison to either show..like snowflakes, brilliant!...& thanks for the cup of joe guys =)

[Autumnteeth]

We watched the show in the hallway by the bar and there was a drunk girl that kept trying to start a fight with anyone who would try to get by her to get into the ballroom, like this was the first GA show she'd ever been to. It was the most obnoxious thing I've ever seen at a concert and definitely affected my enjoyment for the first 30 minutes while everyone was settling in. Of course, by the end of the show, she was the one barging in front of people and yelling at them, drunken hypocracy at it's finest. It was a fun show with a stellar setlist and I love the metro, but they definetly over sold the place which probably had a lot to do with all of the angry people in there. I'm just glad that most everyone else was cool and composed so that the situations never elevated to full blown fisticuffs. Hopefully LH is just as good musically and much better from a crowd/comfort perspective.

 

Sorry to hear that. Had to miss the show due to my car getting stolen. The first three were, for lack of a better word, Woodstockish in the sense the crowd was totally respectful and overwhelmingly cool. Monday an old couple was having a hard time coping with paper tickets, I stopped to help them because they looked lost and were not being helped at all ,and it was Glenn's parents. They took my address, said they would get me an autograph, and in today's mail I got a package of wristbands, photos, a Nels Cline pick, and a disk of Glenn's solo work. Tuesday at the riv I had to dig in my pocket for a dollar to cover three beers I bought and the guy behind me paid for all of them and said enjoy the show. Think it is the venue. Saw Hunter Thompson there back in the 80's and some guy had another guy by the ankles hanging him off the balcony due to a dispute regarding one of the 10 or so seats upstairs. Lincoln HAll is an awesome venue, and sort of the closest thing to ground zero, so hopefully that works better for you.

[hwllo]

I think that people may not have known what to expect at the metro. I'm not saying there should be fights or anything at a show, but it's not a fancy theater with seating, it's a smaller rock and roll club. rock shows like that are always a bit more lively with the crowds i suppose. It's a rock show, not a broadway production!

[Madcap]

The metro is one of my favorite venues, I just think the over soldness of it probably caused some problems that may have otherwise not happened.

[hwllo]

I guess the show just felt special to me because as much as I loved other Wilco shows, and I absolutely did, I felt a lot more connected with the band than I normally do. Even though some of their theater shows are small, they are still large rooms, but the Metro was so small that in my opinion the connection with the band was a lot stronger. Maybe it was just me though!

[HelloNinja]

We were lucky enough to get to go to all four of the shows thus far (didn't get LH tix) but sadly, I have to say that we had a pretty awful time last night at the Metro.

 

I have to say first that the band was amazing and I have zero complaints about anything coming from the stage. They were hitting on all cylinders (and I think they even managed to find some new cylinders to hit).

 

I've seen a lot of shows at Metro and have never really had any problems there. It's a small tight space so crowding is to be expected. However, the floor last night was insanely overcrowded. We noticed that the club had huge sections blocked off on either side of the balcony for "VIPs". One side for XRT I think, and the other for guests of the band. Fine, no big deal. But the VIP areas were half-empty at times with large amounts of empty unused space because so many of these pass holders decided to go to the floor (evidenced by all of the passes we saw on people downstairs). So the crowding on the floor was a lot worse than usual and made for an "oversold" situation.

 

Second, I know it's a rock show. And I know it's a Wilco show. But the number of drunk belligerent frat-boy types we encountered was just crazy. No matter where we tried to stand, within a few minutes we had people shoving us, or fighting near us, or couples breaking up (yes, this happened), or one crazy dude in an oversized sportscoat asking my wife if she stole his coke. "Did you set it on the bar?" she asked, thinking he was talking about the beverage. "NO! Why would I leave my blow on the bar???!!!" was the reply. Wow. He bothered a bunch of others about it until security finally escorted him out of the venue.

 

Another complaint we had about the Metro is that if you're in the back of the floor, or on the far sides, the sound is pretty terrible. I'm sure it sounded great right in the middle of the floor - but we could barely hear Jeff while he was speaking and a lot of the quieter songs were quite muffled in the rear. Of course there were also a million loud-talkers in the back. Ugh.

 

Early in the show, we were standing at the far right of the floor and I had to run to the men's room (I tried to hold it, I really did - but I just couldn't wait) and the people near us were cool and let me out easy enough - but when I tried to get back to my wife, everyone in the area decided that it would be a great time to form a solid wall and not let me through. I wasn't able to get back to my wife and she had to fight her way out to get to where I was in the back. Shitty. On top of all that, one fellow concert goer was kind enough to make fun of my weight while I was trying to get through.

 

I really am glad that so many of you had such an amazing time, but between the assholes, the fights, the coked out weirdo, and the sound issues - the entire night was bad-vibes city for us and ranks as one of the absolute worst concert going experiences of my life. Makes me sad.

[hwllo]

We were lucky enough to get to go to all four of the shows thus far (didn't get LH tix) but sadly, I have to say that we had a pretty awful time last night at the Metro.

 

I have to say first that the band was amazing and I have zero complaints about anything coming from the stage. They were hitting on all cylinders (and I think they even managed to find some new cylinders to hit).

 

I've seen a lot of shows at Metro and have never really had any problems there. It's a small tight space so crowding is to be expected. However, the floor last night was insanely overcrowded. We noticed that the club had huge sections blocked off on either side of the balcony for "VIPs". One side for XRT I think, and the other for guests of the band. Fine, no big deal. But the VIP areas were half-empty at times with large amounts of empty unused space because so many of these pass holders decided to go to the floor (evidenced by all of the passes we saw on people downstairs). So the crowding on the floor was a lot worse than usual and made for an "oversold" situation.

 

Second, I know it's a rock show. And I know it's a Wilco show. But the number of drunk belligerent frat-boy types we encountered was just crazy. No matter where we tried to stand, within a few minutes we had people shoving us, or fighting near us, or couples breaking up (yes, this happened), or one crazy dude in an oversized sportscoat asking my wife if she stole his coke. "Did you set it on the bar?" she asked, thinking he was talking about the beverage. "NO! Why would I leave my blow on the bar???!!!" was the reply. Wow. He bothered a bunch of others about it until security finally escorted him out of the venue.

 

Another complaint we had about the Metro is that if you're in the back of the floor, or on the far sides, the sound is pretty terrible. I'm sure it sounded great right in the middle of the floor - but we could barely hear Jeff while he was speaking and a lot of the quieter songs were quite muffled in the rear. Of course there were also a million loud-talkers in the back. Ugh.

 

Early in the show, we were standing at the far right of the floor and I had to run to the men's room (I tried to hold it, I really did - but I just couldn't wait) and the people near us were cool and let me out easy enough - but when I tried to get back to my wife, everyone in the area decided that it would be a great time to form a solid wall and not let me through. I wasn't able to get back to my wife and she had to fight her way out to get to where I was in the back. Shitty. On top of all that, one fellow concert goer was kind enough to make fun of my weight while I was trying to get through.

 

I really am glad that so many of you had such an amazing time, but between the assholes, the fights, the coked out weirdo, and the sound issues - the entire night was bad-vibes city for us and ranks as one of the absolute worst concert going experiences of my life. Makes me sad.

 

it's so weird, I feel like every wilco show I go to, there are always a few giant douchebags around me, but I didn't have that yesterday, so I was thrilled haha

[nalafej]

Show #4. Wilco at the Metro. Every song was the first time played at the Metro! No repeats. Couldn't have been happier to hear I Got You. I Got You was my favorite song for so long then it fell out of favor. Back at the top. So much energy.

 

Best of the 4 shows! Great setlist! The band looked like they were having fun for the first time on this run.

 

Can't wait for tomorrow night.

[smells like flowers]

The show had such a dirty rock and roll overtone the whole night.

 

There's nothing you could have said to make me wish I was there more than this.

[H.Stone]

the entire night was bad-vibes city for us and ranks as one of the absolute worst concert going experiences of my life. Makes me sad.

 

That sucks--I'm sorry. I slipped out at the Riv between the opener and Wilco to use the bathroom, and I couldn't believe how jam-packed it was just a few rows back and throughout the rest of the venue. It was unbelievable. I don't know by how much they oversold the venues, but after that night I decided I wouldn't take that chance again. Maybe they will release some LH tix at the last minute and you can cleanse your palate?

[lzylight]

sorry ninja, for sure the outer perimeter were pretty surly...but the bubble of folks up close to the stage were cuddlier than kittens..try for lincoln hall..theyve been releasing tix for every show @ the b.o...i AM that obsessed that 'i might' get on my bike & haul down there @ sunset, 'i will i will'... =)

[hinko]

We watched the show in the hallway by the bar and there was a drunk girl that kept trying to start a fight with anyone who would try to get by her to get into the ballroom, like this was the first GA show she'd ever been to. It was the most obnoxious thing I've ever seen at a concert and definitely affected my enjoyment for the first 30 minutes while everyone was settling in. Of course, by the end of the show, she was the one barging in front of people and yelling at them, drunken hypocracy at it's finest. It was a fun show with a stellar setlist and I love the metro, but they definetly over sold the place which probably had a lot to do with all of the angry people in there. I'm just glad that most everyone else was cool and composed so that the situations never elevated to full blown fisticuffs. Hopefully LH is just as good musically and much better from a crowd/comfort perspective.

 

I agree, it did get tight and there were some idiots for sure. I generally wait in line for a couple of hours (I know some of you wait way longer, but that gets me where I want to be) and with a bad back it's literally a pain, especially when you consider a total of 7 hours or so of standing. It really makes me angry when the drunks that roll in after the show starts and push up in front. That's why I hit the balcony at the Riv and Vic and get a good seat. That still didn't stop a couple of idiots from walking to the rail and blocking our view. Luckily a staff member made them move. Some people have no regard for others, especially when we stand in line and freeze our arses off to get the view!

 

I was able to get a good spot in the balcony on the rail at the Metro and we all looked out for each other trying to hold a space when necessary. At one point a guy just barged in where there was no room and about knocked me over. I just said "take it easy dude", he didn't even acknowledge me. I did however, hold my ground and keep an elbow in his side until he moved over some. I wasn't going to get squeezed by this tool but I'm also not going to start a fight at a Wilco show! He ended up switching places with someone else who was much less intrusive. Anyway, that stufff is distracting and rude. If you want a good view, GET THERE EARLY!

 

That was way to good of a show to get screwed. In fact, right away I could tell they were playing every song like it was their last and it just got better. The songs, the space and the talent were all absolutely the best I've seen. I have no idea how many times I've seen Wilco, probably 25-40 times including Tweedy solo shows and this was in my opinion the best yet. I don't know that I've seen Jeff smile so much at a show. Everyone in the band seemed as excited as the fans. This one will be hard to top. Wish I was going to Lincoln Hall, but no luck. I have a feeling that will be a somewhat mellower show but I may be wrong. Not to say it won't rock hard but I hope the Metro was the best! (just being selfish I guess!) All things considered, getting a ticket for 4 of the 5 is pretty good. I got in for the Lincoln Hall tickets 4-5 times, but kept getting shut-out. Tried for an hour, after 45 minutes, said tickets available, but got shut-out once again. Have fun if you are going to Lincoln Hall!

[Jimmy Coulas]

Here is my review for Hidden Track.

 

http://www.glidemagazine.com/hiddentrack/wilco-metro-setlist-and-recap/

[IRememberDBoon]

We were lucky enough to get to go to all four of the shows thus far (didn't get LH tix) but sadly, I have to say that we had a pretty awful time last night at the Metro.

 

I have to say first that the band was amazing and I have zero complaints about anything coming from the stage. They were hitting on all cylinders (and I think they even managed to find some new cylinders to hit).

 

I've seen a lot of shows at Metro and have never really had any problems there. It's a small tight space so crowding is to be expected. However, the floor last night was insanely overcrowded. We noticed that the club had huge sections blocked off on either side of the balcony for "VIPs". One side for XRT I think, and the other for guests of the band. Fine, no big deal. But the VIP areas were half-empty at times with large amounts of empty unused space because so many of these pass holders decided to go to the floor (evidenced by all of the passes we saw on people downstairs). So the crowding on the floor was a lot worse than usual and made for an "oversold" situation.

 

Second, I know it's a rock show. And I know it's a Wilco show. But the number of drunk belligerent frat-boy types we encountered was just crazy. No matter where we tried to stand, within a few minutes we had people shoving us, or fighting near us, or couples breaking up (yes, this happened), or one crazy dude in an oversized sportscoat asking my wife if she stole his coke. "Did you set it on the bar?" she asked, thinking he was talking about the beverage. "NO! Why would I leave my blow on the bar???!!!" was the reply. Wow. He bothered a bunch of others about it until security finally escorted him out of the venue.

 

Another complaint we had about the Metro is that if you're in the back of the floor, or on the far sides, the sound is pretty terrible. I'm sure it sounded great right in the middle of the floor - but we could barely hear Jeff while he was speaking and a lot of the quieter songs were quite muffled in the rear. Of course there were also a million loud-talkers in the back. Ugh.

 

Early in the show, we were standing at the far right of the floor and I had to run to the men's room (I tried to hold it, I really did - but I just couldn't wait) and the people near us were cool and let me out easy enough - but when I tried to get back to my wife, everyone in the area decided that it would be a great time to form a solid wall and not let me through. I wasn't able to get back to my wife and she had to fight her way out to get to where I was in the back. Shitty. On top of all that, one fellow concert goer was kind enough to make fun of my weight while I was trying to get through.

 

I really am glad that so many of you had such an amazing time, but between the assholes, the fights, the coked out weirdo, and the sound issues - the entire night was bad-vibes city for us and ranks as one of the absolute worst concert going experiences of my life. Makes me sad.

 

HA! sounds like a 930 club show. sometimes its hard to breathe in there

[zspaul]

For anyone who was confused about the band playing the first chord of "Hard Day's Night," someone in the band must've heard the clip this week of Randy Bachman speaking on his radio show about how he got to hear the original master tracks from Giles Martin and revealing the combination of chords (minus piano, strangely) that the band were playing on the original recording. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvxPc5MPEuQ

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

LOL

That made me grin like a monkey flinging poo

[emerald772]

Wow. I guess I was lucky that getting there around 6:45pm was just early enough to politely get to the middle of the floor. It was amazingly civil down there. Everyone was totally respectful, and I don't think I've ever seen more sober crowd at a Metro show. Seriously. A tall couple saw that there was a shorter couple behind them, and switched places so they could see. Same with two people in front of me; the guy was about a foot taller then the girl behind him, so he switched with her. People apologized if they brushed against you when they took off their coat!

I don't think I could have asked for a better view/performance/energy!

[hwllo]

The Lincoln hall show looked incredible, but I'm so glad I picked the Metro to go to!

 

As much as that show looked good, I much prefer a rock show!

 

I feel like sometimes at wilco theater shows the crowd isn't part of the show and it is like watching a movie or a novelty or something if that makes sense. There's always so many people on cell phones taking pictures or recording videos, but the metro being so tight and small with no seating kind of forced everyone to be a part of it.

[Sandoz]

...And the Rogue Dead Guy (per doctor's orders!) and gyros afterwards were the perfect way to finish the night...or early morning, as it were. I am so glad I have been able to be a part of these shows.

 

That's some good beer, no?

I am really astounded that this was the first Wilco show at the Metro. Weird! Super fun, sweaty rock show. Just like all shows should be at The Metro. However, next time I'll prefer not to be surrounded by the Irish Mafia on the Shanahan-side balcony. Heh heh.

[renic]

and it's now up on dime!!!!