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Wilco — 2/3/12, Eugene, OR (Hult Center for the Performing Arts)


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A very nice-sounding venue plus a solid crowd, many of whom eschewed their comfy seats and stood from start to finish, combined with a professional effort by the band, translated into an enjoyable evening in Eugene.

 

As is the case with many venues of that ilk, it seemed like there was a pretty tight 11 p.m. curfew, which resulted in Via Chicago and Jesus, etc., being setlist casualties. Those two songs were listed as the first two of the encore on the printed setlist. The band came on a minute after 9 and played until exactly 11.

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played:

 

One Sunday Morning>

Poor Places>

Art Of Almost

I Might

IATTBYH>

One Wing

Company In My Back

Spiders (Kidsmoke) (acoustic arrangement)

Born Alone

You Are My Face

Impossible Germany

Handshake Drugs

California Stars

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Standing O (started and restarted)

Misunderstood

Dawned On Me

Hummingbird

A Shot in the Arm

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

Whole Love

Hate It Here

The Late Greats

Heavy Metal Drummer

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Just to add on a couple show notes to what I wrote last night...

 

About halfway through the show, a 10-year-old boy named Cale (sp?) attending his first concert appeared at the foot of the stage for a few songs (accompanied by a woman—I assume his mother or possibly an aunt—who danced pretty vigorously with him). Jeff had some fun interacting with the kid until he got "busted by The Man" (a/k/a the surprisingly persistent security guards keeping people out of the aisles). After Handshake Drugs, for instance, Jeff joked that he was "going to check in periodically with Cale...he's the only one I trust." :lol

 

Jeff also poked fun at a guy apparently taking detailed notes in the front row, but unlike the other night in Davis, he didn't say anything about people missing the "no cameras" memo. :pirate

 

And one other small bit of banter I noted, after Whole Love, Jeff said, "That's almost the title of our record...but it's not." Take heed, people. :ninja

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I thought it was a great show. The Hult Center was very convenient and the sound is wonderful. One downside to these kind of places is that there were no drinks allowed in the actual theater. I found it funny that the people on the floor stood throughout with the exception of the first 10 rows in the center section. The 1%. I was worried that Sunday Morning was going to put people back in their seats, but better results ensued. Everybody seemed to be in a great mood across town all day - great weather may have been inspiring. The production is just so neat, especially on the new songs. I've seen the band play Art of Almost 6 times now and last night's was the best I have seen.

 

So that was a highlight. I really dug Impossible Germany. Usually my bathroom break song, but not last night.

 

I thought White Denim was a great opening band. The songs got better as the set went along. I would have liked to see them play a few more. I tried to buy a cd but they were sold out. Oops.

 

The setlist was typical of The Whole Love tour down to the songs cut by the curfew even. Why does this curfew thing keep happening to the band? It is not like the curfew is a surprise in any of these towns. That and the length of time they want to play should dictate the start time which seems to be too late in a lot of cities on this tour. I have to question the band's management.

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Setlist length does not tell one the full story of a show.

The opening salvo of One Sunday Morning,Poor Places,Art Of Almost can run well over 20 minutes.

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Really enjoyed this show. First time in 9 years that they played in my town and I didn't have to drive a couple hours. For my wife, it was the first time she had seen them in eugene since we saw them at the WOW Hall in 1997. She had to skip the 2003 show.

 

Looking forward to the Portland show as well.

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I thought it was a great show. The Hult Center was very convenient and the sound is wonderful. One downside to these kind of places is that there were no drinks allowed in the actual theater. I found it funny that the people on the floor stood throughout with the exception of the first 10 rows in the center section. The 1%.

 

Agree on sound in Hult Center. That place always sounds great, and Wilco really took advantage.

 

Not sure I understand the downside of no alcohol in the venue. In my experience easy access to alcohol equals a very chatty crowd, while less alcohol means a more attentive audience. Though I suppose those tending towards alcoholism may have difficulty enjoying anything without a drink in their hand.

 

And I completely disagree with the comment about the first 10 rows. I was in the 7th row center, and I did not notice anyone in front of me or immediately behind me sitting at any time during the show. And I am not sure what makes those up front the 1%, unless you mean the 1% most committed fans who made a point of getting tickets early.

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Not sure I understand the downside of no alcohol in the venue. In my experience easy access to alcohol equals a very chatty crowd, while less alcohol means a more attentive audience. Though I suppose those tending towards alcoholism may have difficulty enjoying anything without a drink in their hand.

 

And I completely disagree with the comment about the first 10 rows. I was in the 7th row center, and I did not notice anyone in front of me or immediately behind me sitting at any time during the show. And I am not sure what makes those up front the 1%, unless you mean the 1% most committed fans who made a point of getting tickets early.

 

Ouch.

 

I enjoyed the show just fine without alcohol. No difficulty. Sometimes it is nice to have a beer while listening to rock n' roll - I didn't like being restriced from doing so. I agree it can be a chattier crowd with alcohol, but think it can be fun watching Wilco play off such a crowd. I'm going to ignore what I'm interpretting as an insinuation that I am an alcoholic (other than this sentance - ha).

 

Regarding the people sitting in the center section of the orchestra section, we saw different things. I saw a woman with blonde hair in the front row pretty much in front of John standing and dancing the entire show. Awesome. Next to her and going the rest of the row, the front row was seated. I noticed that most of the next 7 or so row behind them were sitting as well. In general, the rest of the orchestra was standing the whole show which I thought was awesome.

 

We disagree about how the tickets are given out. I don't think it is the most committed fans or even those getting the tickets earliest that always end up with seats in the front.

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I was in the third row, left, and from where I was sitting, looked like the first two rows of the center section were up and down, but behind that seemed to be a pretty solidly standing group.

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Also, I ended up getting those third row (Row CCC) seats just a couple of weeks ago. Just checked the site again on a whim, and there they were. I got Row H in the pre-sale.

 

...and this is just one example of why I *heart* Gogo. Great show, nice evening in Eugene.

 

Highlight: Poor Places was a highlight for me. Per usual.

Lowpoint: Jeff's new denim jacket. It's gotta go.

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............

And I completely disagree with the comment about the first 10 rows. I was in the 7th row center, and I did not notice anyone in front of me or immediately behind me sitting at any time during the show. And I am not sure what makes those up front the 1%, unless you mean the 1% most committed fans who made a point of getting tickets early.

 

You must have been close to me. I was in row D and stood the entire time as did folks either side of me.

 

Great show; shame about the 2 cut songs.

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I was in orchestra center row AAA (1st row) on the right side and there is no doubt that a majority of the center section 1st 2 rows AAA, BBB (including the guy with a notepad that Jeff called out) were sitting down through the main part of the show. They only stood up for the encore. This was my second Whole Love show, and after seeing the excitement of the crowd at the general admission Detroit show up front, the relative subdued feeling at Eugene in these upfront rows was somewhat surprising (although I know there were many more lively fans behind). The venue was great and the band as tight as ever, so I'm just happy to have had the chance to see another great show!

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  • 2 weeks later...

The show was great. Living behind the redwood curtain means I don't get to see them nearly as often as I wish I could. Hearing/seeing the opening trio of One Sunday Morning, Poor Places, Art Of Almost up close (and standing) is like a dream-come-true! The Hult Center sound is always fantastic.

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