Wilco — 7/2/12, Rochester, MN (Mayo Civic Center Auditorium)

[bböp]

Didn't necessarily start off that way, but what a wacky, awesome setlist for tonight's show!

 

If I'm not mistaken, this was the first indoor show in a little while so I'm not sure if that had anything to do with the rarities. Or perhaps it had more to do with the fact that the band seems to play Rochester relatively frequently and, as Jeff said, was trying to play some songs it hadn't done here before. Jeff asked the crowd midway through the main set, "Do we come here more than any other band?" Someone yelled out, "Bob Dylan." To which Jeff replied, "Well, we're probably at least in the top 20."

 

Jeff had some other choice banter at the start of the first encore, first thanking Blitzen Trapper, as well as a young boy who was apparently dancing toward the front. Jeff jokingly accused the kid of upstaging the band, pointing out that Jeff saw him turn his back to the stage a couple of times to pose for pictures and/or videos. "Cool it," Jeff said in his classic deadpan. "(The) show's up here, fella."

 

Shortly thereafter, he gently chided the front row center section which, with the exception of one or two guys, had remained seated for the entire main set. Finally they got on their feet in the first encore and of course Jeff couldn't let that go by without a comment. "Hey, you guys got up," he said. "You all rested now?" Jeff continued, before launching into Passenger Side, "Now we're gonna play a ballad...and not one of you is gonna sit down."

 

A song or two later, Jeff had one more gentle jab at the front row, "Thanks for not sitting down. I thought (you were) at the Mayo Clinic for chronically not being able to enjoy yourself. ... I've been there, trust me."

 

As far as the show itself, I thought the sound was surprisingly good considering the venue was sort of like half a small basketball arena. You could hear Nels even from the other side of the stage, which is sometimes tricky. And he had a great night on lap steel, which he played on Poor Places, Black Moon, What's The World Got In Store and Christ For President. The latter two songs were obvious highlights, given how rarely they're played. To the band members' credit, I thought they really nailed both.

 

Like the previous night in Duluth, the set was played exactly as scripted. There were no changes off the printed list. I clocked the Rochester show at about 2 hours and 7 minutes, so just a hair longer than Duluth. Speaking of Duluth, Jeff also asked the Rochester crowd at one point, "Where's your mayor?" and briefly told the story of Don Ness' antics in Duluth a night earlier. Someone next to me said, "Have you seen our mayor?" Haha.

 

Anyway...here was the complete setlist, as played:

 

One Sunday Morning

Poor Places>

Art Of Almost

I Might

You Are My Face

Black Moon

Impossible Germany

Born Alone>

Wishful Thinking

What's The World Got In Store

Whole Love

I Must Be High

I'm Always In Love

Via Chicago

War On War

Dawned On Me

A Shot in the Arm

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

Kamera

Passenger Side

The Late Greats

Heavy Metal Drummer>

I'm The Man Who Loves You

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

Handshake Drugs

Christ For President

Monday>

Outtasite (Outta Mind)

[indy81]

Wow, what a setlist! Nice to see "Black Moon" back, not to mention "Kamera", "Christ for President", "Wishful Thinking", and "What's the World Got in Store" (!) Thanks for the post.

[Shug]

I wish Wishful Thinking wasn't so rare these days. I really love the lyrics and the melody, just beautiful and soothing to me.

[Eternal Instigator]

Disclaimer: I'm originally from Rochester, MN and couldn't get out fast enough after high school - growing up and going to the same schools from kindergarten on with many of the doctors' kids who were entitled brats left me jaded and probably contributed to my punk rock ethos. Best place to live in the U.S., my butt. I've also become blunt in my middle age and couldn't care less if I come off as a b**ch when I point out the fact that someone is rude or disrespectful. I'll start off politely, but if you can't take the hint, I'll hit you over the head with a 2x4 of an explanation of how you're an a$$. I'm done pandering to rude people so as not to offend.

 

I've seen Wilco/Tweedy in Rochester, MN a number of times and have yet to leave one of these shows with the same warm fuzzies I get everywhere else. I'm always stuck next to drunks who cause me to divert my attention from the music to either self-preservation or submission of rising anger and there always seems to be more people who bought tickets so they could sit around and talk over the band. I love a show, like the night before in Duluth, where the whole venue feels like a community and we're sharing something special. Rochester makes me feel like someone has taken my toy and is playing with it wrong and I'm worried it's going to break...and I want it back >. There are so many people that I run into that have never heard of Wilco and I will gush about their music and live shows and encourage them to catch one someday. I want to share my toy, but Rochester never plays nice with me and I hate that feeling of "mine".

 

Shortly thereafter, he gently chided the front row center section which, with the exception of one or two guys, had remained seated for the entire main set. Finally they got on their feet in the first encore and of course Jeff couldn't let that go by without a comment. "Hey, you guys got up," he said. "You all rested now?" Jeff continued, before launching into Passenger Side, "Now we're gonna play a ballad...and not one of you is gonna sit down."

 

A song or two later, Jeff had one more gentle jab at the front row, "Thanks for not sitting down. I thought (you were) at the Mayo Clinic for chronically not being able to enjoy yourself. ... I've been there, trust me."

 

Jeff was far too kind. Lamest front row at any rock concert ever! I'm guessing it was made up of people who probably donate big chunks of change to the city's Riverside Concerts program (we started getting mail/donation requests for them after we saw Greg Brown there several years ago). I don't care how much money they give to host music at the MCC which, other than frequent visits by Wilco, Dylan and Greg Brown, pretty much consists of ancient bands with one original member or crappy modern "country" (term used loosely) - they were a waste of perfectly good dancing space. I think the two teenaged guys that stood up for the first song or two (right smack dab in the middle of the row) were told to sit down by their mother. Seriously, I'm not joking.

 

Also, you had the better end of our row, bbop. I had lots of chatter behind me and two super drunk guys with a woman whose ticket was for several rows back on my left. First off, they were absent for Blitzen Trapper and then came in during the 2nd verse of "One Sunday Morning", loudly announcing that we were in their two seats (they had been up at the bar the whole time and couldn't be bothered to watch a great opening band or get to their seats on time for Wilco). We moved down and then, a couple songs later, they had the woman come up to join them, forcing my group of 3 to move down (they wound up taking the space of 4 seats total, 2 of which were ours). I had to watch for swinging limbs because the one next to me couldn't stand well if he tried to dance. I even politely asked that he be a little careful since my face was right at elbow height. Granted, the rows were so close together that it was hard to do any serious dancing, even when we folded up our seats, but seriously, all I ask for is a little common courtesy.

 

As far as the show itself, I thought the sound was surprisingly good considering the venue was sort of like half a small basketball arena. You could hear Nels even from the other side of the stage, which is sometimes tricky. And he had a great night on lap steel, which he played on Poor Places, Black Moon, What's The World Got In Store and Christ For President. The latter two songs were obvious highlights, given how rarely they're played. To the band members' credit, I thought they really nailed both.

 

"What's The World Got In Store" and "Christ For President" - how awesome was that??!! And "Wishful Thinking" - I'm pretty sure I was giving myself a hug at that point LOL! That's one of the many, many things I love about Tweedy and Wilco - the wonderful, deliberate and caring thought that goes into putting those setlists together. And you nailed it - the Civic Center venue is where they used to host All Star Wrestling (precursor to WWE lol) and, about once a year, the Harlem Globe Trotters (at least that's what I remember as a kid)! I do wish they'd book the smaller Presentation Hall instead of the Civic Center since the larger venue doesn't sell out - the more intimate venue would be more suited to the crowd size and it has far better sound which is what their music deserves. I thought the setlist was still a pretty safe one - everything was from a studio record with nothing obscure that might leave the crowd wondering if it was a new song. Many of the people there wouldn't know that they rarely play some of those songs live.

 

Like the previous night in Duluth, the set was played exactly as scripted. There were no changes off the printed list. I clocked the Rochester show at about 2 hours and 7 minutes, so just a hair longer than Duluth. Speaking of Duluth, Jeff also asked the Rochester crowd at one point, "Where's your mayor?" and briefly told the story of Don Ness' antics in Duluth a night earlier. Someone next to me said, "Have you seen our mayor?" Haha.

 

My cousin shouted, "Our mayor's too fat for that!" I was talking to one of the security guards who said that he doesn't allow them to grill at the Concerts in the Park anymore because he doesn't like the smell of charcoal. It's not the fire danger...it's the smell LOL!

[cc3078]

I made a similar post on the July 3rd thread for Davenport.

I was the only photographer for the Rochester show. Here's a link to the review and 80+ photos from the Mayo Civic Center:

 

http://wp.me/p2kytK-1AF

 

 

As of today, July 4th - both reviews are featured on the home page and you can just click here to see both:

 

http://www.TheWayThatHeSings.com

 

Enjoy.

[Eternal Instigator]

I made a similar post on the July 3rd thread for Davenport.

I was the only photographer for the Rochester show. Here's a link to the review and 80+ photos from the Mayo Civic Center:

 

http://wp.me/p2kytK-1AF

 

 

As of today, July 4th - both reviews are featured on the home page and you can just click here to see both:

 

http://www.TheWayThatHeSings.com

 

Enjoy.

 

Phew - it's not just me that notices the crappy Rochester crowd! I was venting to a friend who's also from down there and she's heard the same complaints - they act like red-neck idiots. You mentioned in your review that it's Wilco's constant touring that may be the reason the show didn't sell out. I disagree. Rochester is an easy drive from the Twin Cities where they always sell out. I'm guessing enough people have had a bad experience down there to cause them to stay home and wait for the band to hit Mpls/St. Paul again. After Monday, I've even entertained thoughts about not going down if they play there again (and I haven't missed a MN show in over a decade) - I'm still missing my warm Wilco show fuzzies and am patiently waiting for Sunday night's Geneva show to get them back. I'm glad I didn't go to the Davenport show - I might have been the one to start the fight this time.

[cc3078]

Phew - it's not just me that notices the crappy Rochester crowd! I was venting to a friend who's also from down there and she's heard the same complaints - they act like red-neck idiots. You mentioned in your review that it's Wilco's constant touring that may be the reason the show didn't sell out. I disagree. Rochester is an easy drive from the Twin Cities where they always sell out. I'm guessing enough people have had a bad experience down there to cause them to stay home and wait for the band to hit Mpls/St. Paul again. After Monday, I've even entertained thoughts about not going down if they play there again (and I haven't missed a MN show in over a decade) - I'm still missing my warm Wilco show fuzzies and am patiently waiting for Sunday night's Geneva show to get them back. I'm glad I didn't go to the Davenport show - I might have been the one to start the fight this time.

 

Your thoughts on why Wilco didn't sell out in Rochester are very valid. When I went to the Davenport show the next next and that wasn't sold out either I figured it had to be the constant touring, or ticket prices or a loss in interest. So, I don't think people lack an interest and ticket prices are very fair for the quality of the show thus I was wondering if people just budget for one show per year... If my calculations are wrong this was Wilco's 4th show in 8 months between Minneapolis, Duluth and Rochester. Perhaps there are more but I've been to 3 of those 4. Regardless, the crowd in Rochester was a struggle for me and I found your comments dead on. Thanks for sharing them!! Sorry you didn't make it to Davenport...

[Emily313]

This is Aidan, we met Monday at @Wilco in #Rochester, #MN. This was Aidan's first concert ever. His energy was hypnotic and his interpretive dance moves were truly out of this world. After shooting this video, Tweedy called out Aidan for stealing this thunder. "the show's up here, fella"

 

I was seven when I saw the Stones for the first time with my folks. It was defining: the great gateway to a rock and roll life path. His rad Mama, Eileen emailed me post show to say that Aidan is now gearing up to start a rock band. #futurerockstar #musicislove

 

Here's Aidan: http://youtu.be/dNFFZwW8yLY

[Gold87]

Your thoughts on why Wilco didn't sell out in Rochester are very valid. When I went to the Davenport show the next next and that wasn't sold out either I figured it had to be the constant touring, or ticket prices or a loss in interest. So, I don't think people lack an interest and ticket prices are very fair for the quality of the show thus I was wondering if people just budget for one show per year... If my calculations are wrong this was Wilco's 4th show in 8 months between Minneapolis, Duluth and Rochester. Perhaps there are more but I've been to 3 of those 4. Regardless, the crowd in Rochester was a struggle for me and I found your comments dead on. Thanks for sharing them!! Sorry you didn't make it to Davenport...

 

I think the biggest reason for the lack of tix sold is that it was a holiday week. I work in a dept of 80 people, and more than 50 of them have been on vacation, most going to cabins. Add in that there was a show in Duluth the previous night, those from the Twin Cities would likely choose one or the other. I chose Roch because I live in the southern suburbs so it was much closer for me and I didn't want to chance the weather

 

Those that did not make it to Roch missed out on a great show, one of my favorite mixes of songs throughout the wilco catalog. I'm a big fan of the Monday/Outtamind finale. I do wish they would throw in a Tupelo song every now and then.

[Eternal Instigator]

I think the biggest reason for the lack of tix sold is that it was a holiday week. I work in a dept of 80 people, and more than 50 of them have been on vacation, most going to cabins. Add in that there was a show in Duluth the previous night, those from the Twin Cities would likely choose one or the other. I chose Roch because I live in the southern suburbs so it was much closer for me and I didn't want to chance the weather

 

Those that did not make it to Roch missed out on a great show, one of my favorite mixes of songs throughout the wilco catalog. I'm a big fan of the Monday/Outtamind finale. I do wish they would throw in a Tupelo song every now and then.

 

Holiday week - good point. Why on earth one wouldn't plan their holiday week around 2 Wilco shows is beyond me, but to each their own. I agree that the set in Rochester was pretty awesome! I just wish I hadn't allowed myself to be so distracted by the people around me so I could have enjoyed it more - but I really HAD to watch out so I didn't get elbowed in the face. I've already had one pair of glasses broken by someone's elbow (not concert related, however - it was Tackle Beer Pong) and I really like my new frames LOL!

 

I was hoping to hear "New Madrid" at least once during my little 5 show run. Crossing my fingers for Sunday night! We've caved in and are taking both of our boys (9 and 3) instead of just the oldest one! Should be an interesting drive...our little guy is quite a talker and usually doesn't stop in the car unless he falls asleep. "Are we halfway?" "Is this Chicago?" "I have to go to the bathroom." "Can I have some milk?" "Which way is Chicago?" "Which way is our house?" "Hey Mom, look - there's some cows!" "Mom, what do cows say? Oh, yeah - MOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" Please wish us luck!