bböp Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 While it may be named after a prison and sort of looked like one from the outside, the Alcatraz turned out to be a pretty cool rock club. Certainly it was one that Mr. Tweedy couldn't seem to get enough of, joking at one point that the band was "glad to be in front of a real crowd. It's freaking us out. We're used to people sitting (in other countries)." He also proclaimed tonight's crowd the best of the tour so far. Of course he quickly backtracked, saying that he didn't mean to insult anyone who had come from another country. Then inevitably, someone yelled out, "Chicago!" really loudly and Jeff pointed at them and said, "I do mean to insult your country...just kidding." But anyway, to this humble concertgoer, it did seem like Jeff was a bit taken with this audience as he and his bandmates played Milano for the first time in a little over two years. He granted a request by the first people in line for the relatively rarely played Open Mind, for example (upon which said people in the front row unfurled a big sign that I'm pretty sure read "Mr. Tweedy, please open our minds.") And he encouraged the crowd to sing on Jesus, etc., ceding the vocals for at least part of the first verse. Personally I didn't think the crowd was quite as great as perhaps Jeff did. The applause after the main set certainly died out pretty quickly, so that if you were using that as a barometer on whether the band should come back out for an encore, you would have to say no. There was a briefly spirited soccer-style chant at one point in the main set, though, which I think always amuses Jeff and Co. But I think the Spanish still do that best, fwiw... As for the setlist itself, Hell Is Chrome was a pleasantly surprising opener (argh, sorry Mr. Queenie!) and it's nice to hear the aforementioned Open Mind resurface. I was told that we got an added Outtasite in the encore that wasn't on the printed list as well (though I didn't personally get a glimpse of the actual list tonight). At 2 hours and 10 minutes and 27 songs, I'm pretty sure it was the longest show of the tour thus far. It will definitely be a show that sticks in my mind, not only because of what I've previously written and not only because the shirtless roadie struck again(!) but because of the slew of vendors hawking comically pirated Wilco T-shirts literally right outside the front door of the club. (It was kind of hilarious to me, though probably not the band's management.) I mean, I've seen people selling bootleg Wilco shirts after shows before, but never on this scale and never so blatantly. Maybe the funniest thing to me was that while in line to get into the show, I saw one of the vendors actually being issued a ticket by the police. He simply accepted the penalty, though, and continued hawking his shirts, both before and after the show. Ah, Italia! (Just for the real nerds, I also wanted to mention that I finally could hear some of the subtle little contributions Mike has been adding to several songs recently — or maybe for a while now — with his palette of analog synths. I have enjoyed hearing those of late, as well as his "monkey sounds" synthesizer bit that has replaced the gong part on the show-climaxing, heavy metalish riff that the band does most nights before the end of the show.) Anyway...here was the complete setlist for Milan, as played: Hell Is ChromeArt Of AlmostI MightMisunderstoodBull Black NovaAt Least That's What You SaidSpiders (Kidsmoke) (acoustic arrangement)Impossible GermanyBorn AloneLaminated Cat (electric arrangement)Open MindHummingbirdHandshake DrugsBox Full Of LettersCapitol City>War On WarDawned On MeA Shot in the Arm-------------------------------Whole LoveI'm The Man Who Loves YouJesus, etc. (partial crowd singalong)TheologiansHeavy Metal DrummerRed-Eyed and Blue>I Got You (At The End of the Century)>Outtasite (Outta Mind)Hoodoo Voodoo (w/ bass/guitar/keyboard tech Josh on cowbell and cymbal) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Inside of Outside Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Love the nine-song encore...... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
50footqueenie Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 "As for the setlist itself, Hell Is Chrome was a pleasantly surprising opener (argh, sorry Mr. Queenie!)" That'll be aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh actually! Damn und blast and damn again!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hippityville Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Geez! I'm really sorry for you, Mr. Queenie... Thanks a lot for the report, Paul. Sounds like we really missed something. I always like Jesus, etc. with crowd singalong and the last four songs - that's my favorite ending for a show. So, I'm curious about Bologna now. Looks like the next time I have to make it to Italy, too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Delmore Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Great setlist. Nice opening and fantastic ending Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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