Wilco — 10/25/14, Raleigh, NC (North Carolina Museum of Art)

[bböp]

I guess this one will forever be known as the One With The Beer Can Throwing...but thankfully it came early on and ended up still being a fun night.

 

Looks like there was one change from the printed list: Unfortunately they cut Kicking Television (which was apparently soundchecked) in the first encore and replaced it with Outtasite. Red-Eyed>I Got You>Outtasite is the classic rockin' encore, but it's been a while since full-band Kicking TV!

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played:

 

Ashes Of American Flags

Either Way

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart>

Art Of Almost

At Least That's What You Said

Hell Is Chrome

Handshake Drugs>

Side With The Seeds

Pot Kettle Black

Cars Can't Escape

Spiders (Kidsmoke) (acoustic arrangement)

She's A Jar

You and I

Hummingbird (w/Lilac Rain on guest vocals)

A Magazine Called Sunset

Via Chicago

Whole Love

Impossible Germany

Passenger Side

Theologians

Jesus, etc.

Box Full Of Letters

Heavy Metal Drummer

I'm The Man Who Loves You

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

Kingpin

Red-Eyed and Blue>

I Got You (At The End of the Century)>

Outtasite (Outta Mind)

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

Misunderstood* (Mikael on acoustic guitar)

New Madrid* (Mikael on melodica)

California Stars* (Mikael on melodica)

 

*— "hootenanny" style performed partially with PA system; Jeff and John on acoustic guitar, Pat on banjo, Nels on dobro, Glenn on percussion and Mikael on acoustic guitar or melodica

[shawnsolo73]

Beer can throwing AND a firework display during Jesus, etc!

[shawnsolo73]

Also, the venue running out of beer by Handshake Drugs. Glad I got a few before the show started. Had to make them last. Did anyone see the bats swooping around the ceiling / front of the stage?

[HungryHippo]

What a wonderful night. So glad they played Cars Can't Escape and the acoustic Spiders was a treat. Tonight was my 30th bday and I couldn't have spent it in a better way. However, standing next to the speaker stack for most of the show wasn't the best idea...

[The Inside of Outside]

Also, the venue running out of beer by Handshake Drugs.

What a wonderful night.

Once upon a time, I would not have been able to write these two sentences about the same concert.

 

Love to see She's A Jar and Pot Kettle Black on the set list.

[HungryHippo]

Did anyone else find it ironic that the beer can was tossed right before the "disposable Dixie cup drinker" line in IATTBYH? Jeff pretty much dug the guy out after the song and the security guard escorted him away. The guy came back a few songs later and was escorted away again. What happened to enjoying music instead of attempting to create your own show at someone else's expense?

[bböp]

Beer can throwing AND a firework display during Jesus, etc!

Or The One Where Jeff Mistakenly Called A Young Boy A Girl...

[Magnetized]

Whoo, Tweedy overload--in a great way. Got back to my hotel from the phenomenal show tonight and turned on the TV to unwind, and just caught the last half of TWEEDY on Austin City Limits. Mindblowing!

[reched]

Nice show, pretty standard set list. They really were not a jam band tonight, concise songs and to the point. The shortest Handshake Drugs and Impossible Germany performances in a long time. Spiders was a great change up from the norm and the 2nd encore acoustic set caught most by surprise. Oh, Kingpin was a lot of fun and the reference from the iPad incident of a couple days ago rung true and made the Raleigh audience look better. Side note, I thought by getting there before 6  there would be a good shot at getting good GA seats down front but hard core Wilcoites  were out in full force and we wound up in the back lawn section. Did people start lining up at 3 in the afternoon?

[Tomer82]

They played "Either Way"!! This one and "Say You Miss Me" are like two songs that I dream to see live...Maybe in Port Chester. 

 

Looks great. All this shows are really awesome setlist wise. 

[Pennyghael]

Nice show, pretty standard set list. They really were not a jam band tonight, concise songs and to the point. The shortest Handshake Drugs and Impossible Germany performances in a long time. Spiders was a great change up from the norm and the 2nd encore acoustic set caught most by surprise. Oh, Kingpin was a lot of fun and the reference from the iPad incident of a couple days ago rung true and made the Raleigh audience look better. Side note, I thought by getting there before 6  there would be a good shot at getting good GA seats down front but hard core Wilcoites  were out in full force and we wound up in the back lawn section. Did people start lining up at 3 in the afternoon?

 

I'm confused. Whilst not a DEEP cuts sort of setlist, I'd say the above set was a hell of a lot better than standard. Ashes, Either Way, Hell Is Chrome, Pot Kettle Black, Cars Can't Escape & A Magazine Called Sunset have hardly been staples since 2011. Funny that the one you pick as being a change up from the norm, Spiders (acoustic), has been played a lot in recent years. 

[bböp]

Nice show, pretty standard set list. They really were not a jam band tonight, concise songs and to the point. The shortest Handshake Drugs and Impossible Germany performances in a long time. Spiders was a great change up from the norm and the 2nd encore acoustic set caught most by surprise. Oh, Kingpin was a lot of fun and the reference from the iPad incident of a couple days ago rung true and made the Raleigh audience look better. Side note, I thought by getting there before 6 there would be a good shot at getting good GA seats down front but hard core Wilcoites were out in full force and we wound up in the back lawn section. Did people start lining up at 3 in the afternoon?

Just to address the line and venue questions...I'd say the line started forming in earnest around 5. It really didn't get that long until around maybe 6. That's not really very hard core, relatively speaking, though I guess if you were looking for a spot in the smallish seated section, then you probably should've gotten there earlier.

 

I was wondering about how the view was from the seats or the hill for that matter because the stage is so low and there's that elevated "lip" where people stand right up against the stage. Having gone to Jeff's solo show at NCMA in 2006, I was really curious about his this venue would play for a Wilco show. It's hard to describe to someone who hasn't seen the setup, but because of the low stage and slightly elevated portion, if they let people stand right up against the stage, the front rows are just so close to the performers. You're almost at the same level as the band, if that makes any sense. Jeff even noted, "You're really close," when he checked in with the audience at one point. It definitely made for a very intimate feel for those up front.

 

I think maybe it even caught the band's crew a bit by surprise once people got in and stood right at the stage because it looked like some of the production folks were still debating for a few minutes about whether or not to let people stay there or back them off the lip. Ultimately, though, they let folks stay but just wanted to ensure that people weren't sitting on the stage or putting drinks up there that might spill.

 

Add to that mini-drama the information in the e-mail that all ticketholders got a few days before the show warning about a wedding taking place at the venue right up until the scheduled door time and warning about extra traffic from the nearby State Fair and I thought this could be a fiasco. But credit to the NCMA folks for handling things well. There was an orderly place for the line to form and to grow, and the security staff "walked" the line down from where it had been right to the gate and into the venue. So all in all, it was pretty orderly. I guess thankfully North Carolinians also seem to generally be very chill...for the most part.

[Atticus]

What happened to enjoying music instead of attempting to create your own show at someone else's expense?

 

Like the tooth fairy, for a certain segment of Wilco fans it never existed. Vibes.

[jvphish]

we walked up to the right side of the stage (side stage) at 7:30pm and stood front "row" immediately to the left of the soundboard.  it was incredible.  

[Cold as Gasoline]

What was the beer can incident?  Any other interesting banter notes?

[FilthyRich]

I haven't seen Wilco near as much as many on this forum, but I really think this was the finest show I've seen from them... And certainly the setlist will be impossible to top. Maybe we didn't get as many "deep cuts" as Ryman 2, but honestly... Magazine Called Sunset? Cars Can't Escape? New Madrid? Never expected to see any of these live. And when was the last time Wilco played a set with EIGHT songs predating 1997?

 

Anyway. Security was the most lax I've EVER seen at a big show, but fortunately the venue got a very polite, well-behaved NC crowd, and I don't think the level of intimacy between audience and band can be overstated. (I completely missed the "beer can" incident. Jeff's banter was funny, but I had no idea some idiot actually THREW a can.) The fireworks during "Jesus" were one of those wonderful random touches... Ditto the birds (bats??) circling early on. Maybe not the most jam-intensive show, but any night with "Handshake Drugs" and "Impossible Germany" is a winner for me. (During the latter, I decided that Nels could solo for 45 minutes straight and it would NEVER get boring.)

 

And finally, as someone who first caught Wilco during the Jay Bennett era (Music Farm, Charleston, 1997... Hell of a show...), the all-Being-There first encore brought back some wonderful memories. Hot damn they were rockin' last night.

 

A couple pics below... After we decided to leave our blanket on the hill for a better view and wound up "extreme stage left." So this is what watching a band from the wings feels like...  

[JethroNC]

What was the beer can incident?  Any other interesting banter notes?

 

Someone threw a beer can onstage during IATTBYH. It flew in front of Jeff and landed around John's feet. Jeff looked in the direction of the thrower and shook his head, seeming to say, "No, no, no. What are you thinking?"

After the song ended, Jeff walked over to security and pointed out the thrower. It's pretty remarkable that he was able to identify exactly who did it. I was afraid that it was going to ruin the night for Jeff.

 

And to echo what bbop said, it's amazing that everything worked out as well as it did...the traffic from the state fair was reasonable, the line was long but orderly, and there was room up front for those that wanted to be close. The NCMA staff are fantastic folks!

[badu2fan]

What a wonderful night. So glad they played Cars Can't Escape and the acoustic Spiders was a treat. Tonight was my 30th bday and I couldn't have spent it in a better way. However, standing next to the speaker stack for most of the show wasn't the best idea...

 

I meet your last night and glad you enjoyed your 30th. Standing on front row seats was perfect for sound and view. Jeff was in rare banter form last night IMO. He was even asked if he "was High" and his response was "no I am Low but not that Low or something like that. Band was in great form and set list for me was perfect path through their career and enjoyed the lighter night vs Hard Jam of recent tours. Loved the finale except with them sitting on stage couldnt see Neils etc. The venue with the weird stage frontage makes for unique setting but sight lines were probablly better higher up. I felt the sound was perfect with nice seperation of each member. Had a Virgin Wilco fan with me and he left impressed saying it was one of his better shows.

I felt the set list was perfect from start to finish with nice flow.

THe girl singing with Jeff was classic and believe I have been to 3 of her shows. Raleigh Charleston and Dpac possibly House of Blues.

Jeff's comment to fan confusing him for girl was classic and his one that I have been mistaken for girl and then saying being in front of Neils Amp had transormed him was great. And the gentleman Jeff is he goes over and personally apoligizes before starting next song. So nice to see Jeff able to enjoy the show and fans even with folks video taping etc which he doesn't like.

I rate it #2 after Raleigh 2004 at Memorial Hall.

I hope there are some recordings from last night that surface. I didn't check to see if tapers were on the Hill.

[JethroNC]

The highlight for me was "Either Way." I requested it for a friend who survived/beat cancer this year. She's a Wilco fan, and told me that she listened to that song to help her get through the treatments. 

[JethroNC]

 

THe girl singing with Jeff was classic and believe I have been to 3 of her shows. Raleigh Charleston and Dpac possibly House of Blues.

 

 

What was the beer can incident?  Any other interesting banter notes?

 

Another note about the banter: After Lilac Rain finished singing Hummingbird with Jeff, he commented on how little she was the first time. "You were just a little zygote!" Then he cupped his hand, held it up to the mic, and started singing the chorus to Hummingbird in a 'little' voice. "Just a little zygote! An amoeba! Wait, an amoeba? That doesn't make sense."

[lkapon]

Nice set list! A little bummed that I went to wilcoworld to check for it first and decided to request Pot Kettle Black for Tuesday night and Bam! here it is! Highly doubt 2 nights in a row on that. Hopefully though Jeff and Nels will have me dabbing tears from a beautiful muzzle. A night filled with AGIB songs would be heavenly for sure. See y'all during the week ahead. Everyone be safe and have a wonderful time!

[HungryHippo]

I meet your last night and glad you enjoyed your 30th. Standing on front row seats was perfect for sound and view. Jeff was in rare banter form last night IMO. He was even asked if he "was High" and his response was "no I am Low but not that Low or something like that. Band was in great form and set list for me was perfect path through their career and enjoyed the lighter night vs Hard Jam of recent tours. Loved the finale except with them sitting on stage couldnt see Neils etc. The venue with the weird stage frontage makes for unique setting but sight lines were probablly better higher up. I felt the sound was perfect with nice seperation of each member. Had a Virgin Wilco fan with me and he left impressed saying it was one of his better shows.

I felt the set list was perfect from start to finish with nice flow.

THe girl singing with Jeff was classic and believe I have been to 3 of her shows. Raleigh Charleston and Dpac possibly House of Blues.

Jeff's comment to fan confusing him for girl was classic and his one that I have been mistaken for girl and then saying being in front of Neils Amp had transormed him was great. And the gentleman Jeff is he goes over and personally apoligizes before starting next song. So nice to see Jeff able to enjoy the show and fans even with folks video taping etc which he doesn't like.

I rate it #2 after Raleigh 2004 at Memorial Hall.

I hope there are some recordings from last night that surface. I didn't check to see if tapers were on the Hill.

It was nice meeting you as well. I just finished uploading my recording of the show but am not pleased with it. I accidentally left the "auto level" button on which causes the sound to reduce during louder moments of the show. Are there any tech savvy folks here who could assist me with equalizing this recording?

[merline]

Curious where this recording might be uploaded.  Actually, I've looked and haven't seen any from this new tour yet - but it's only been a few days.

 

One other thing last night in Raleigh, we learned (from Glen) how to stop a gong from ringing.  ;-)

 

Great show in my hometown!

[smells like flowers]

Fun show, beautiful night, great setlist. Lots of love for AGIB and BT! The raised platform "lip" that bböp mentioned caused obstructed view for anyone in the GA section up front that wasn't squeezed onto the platform. It was the first Wilco show I've been to where I actaually chose to move farther away from the band, up to the front section of the lawn where you could see everyone and hear great.

 

The folks in charge of the beer offerings made some interesting choices-- everything but the watermelon-flavored wheat beer was gone 30 mins into the show. I'm not against craft beer per se, but this was one of those times when a good old Budweiser would've hit the spot! For those of us who don't want crazy-hoppy or cinnamon flavored super high-alcohol viscous ale, can we just get a nice cold one from St. Louis?

[Heart full of holes]

To me, this will always be the one with the areola.

 

Side with the Seeds was my request (first time that happened!).

 

The view from the reserved seats was perfect, but it felt a little disconnected.  The usual sit/stand bickering was going on especially toward the center section, and it sort of felt, looking down at the pit, like watching some other people have a really great time at a Wilco show.  That said, the banter, fireworks, and setlist made for a fantastic evening.  Also, wine by the bottle.

 

Never seen such lax security.  We circled around the parking lot so far around the back of the building that it seemed the sensible thing to walk in the same direction -- right past the tour buses (no sightings, unfortunately) and right into the venue.  No security, no bag checkers, nothing.  Eventually, we did go out and get our tickets at will call, but holy cow...

 

Thanks to whoever recommended Chubby's tacos.  We brought along a bagful for a pre-show picnic.  Due to the incredibly dark lawn area, I could not see them, but they were delicious!