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It Was 20 Years Ago Today...


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...well, you know the line, although I'm not sure Sgt. Pepper had anything to do with it. :lol

 

Twenty years ago today, Wilco played their very first show. Their live debut was on November 17, 1994 to a capacity crowd at Cicero's Basement Bar in St. Louis, Missouri. That night they called themselves "Black Shampoo", but thankfully this soon was replaced by the name Wilco.

 

This seems like a good day to pause and reflect a little on all the wonderful music and shows and friends and magical moments that have been a part of their long wild ride, and ours as fans. I want to say to Jeff and company, Thank you so much for everything you've brought to my life! Thanks to Wilco, I have so many songs running in my head, not just from Wilco themselves but also from bands I've been introduced to through them. I have so many friends who have  enriched my life, met through Wilco. I have traveled and had experiences in those travels that I would never have had, without being a fan of this band. It's kind of amazing when you stop to consider the way it all spirals out, and out.

 

 

THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING AND CONGRATULATIONS ON 20 YEARS OF GREAT MUSIC, WILCO!!!

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...well, you know the line, although I'm not sure Sgt. Pepper had anything to do with it. :lol

 

Twenty years ago today, Wilco played their very first show. Their live debut was on November 17, 1994 to a capacity crowd at Cicero's Basement Bar in St. Louis, Missouri. That night they called themselves "Black Shampoo", but thankfully this soon was replaced by the name Wilco.

 

This seems like a good day to pause and reflect a little on all the wonderful music and shows and friends and magical moments that have been a part of their long wild ride, and ours as fans. I want to say to Jeff and company, Thank you so much for everything you've brought to my life! Thanks to Wilco, I have so many songs running in my head, not just from Wilco themselves but also from bands I've been introduced to through them. I have so many friends who have  enriched my life, met through Wilco. I have traveled and had experiences in those travels that I would never have had, without being a fan of this band. It's kind of amazing when you stop to consider the way it all spirals out, and out.

 

 

THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING AND CONGRATULATIONS ON 20 YEARS OF GREAT MUSIC, WILCO!!!

Apparently, & ironically, when they played, albeit briefly, under the name Black Shampoo, all the members carried the end name "Black Shampoo" (in tribute to The Ramones...was it the last name was "Black Shampoo", or the middle name "Black" & the last name "Shampoo"? We may never know...) &, in tribute to The Beatles, each member had a first name based on a character from a Beatles song, with Jeff's being, you guessed it, none other than...Sgt Pepper! So it actually WAS 20 years ago today that Sgt. Pepper (albeit technically Sgt. Pepper Black Shampoo) taught the band to play!!! Starting the night with "I Must Be High" & ending with the final encore song "Listen To Her Heart".

 

Although it's well known amongst more hardcore Wilco/Black Shampoo fans that Jeff Tweedy kept his Sgt. Pepper Black Shampoo moniker for a little while to come, there's varying reports about the names the other band members used- Father McKenzie, Bungalow Bill, Mean Mr. Mustard, Rocky Raccoon, Billy Shears, Maxwell Edison, Desmond Jones & even Sexy Sadie and Polythene Pam have all been bandied about as possibilities. While the exact details may be lost to history, it does appear that, thanks to a recent historical 20th Anniversary band hypnosis session, John Stirratt was able to positively identify himself as none other than Dr. Robert Black Shampoo!

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILCO!!!

 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY WILCO!!!

 

VIVA THE KAY-SETTES STARRING BUTCHER'S BLIND!!

 

VIVA BLACK SHAMPOO!!

 

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The above states that Bennett was at the gig - I thought he joined later.

 

He joined shortly after Wilco finished recording A.M., prior to their first tour.

 

 

Thanks, this is great to hear!

 

If you want to hear even better live documents of that lineup in the early, early days of Wilco, I highly recommend checking out two shows:

 

5-23-95, Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO. This is a terrific show with 30+ songs spread over two sets of great rock 'n roll and alt-country (whatever) with a mini Jeff solo acoustic set in the middle: http://sooutoftune.org/concerts/473

 

10-25-95, Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ. Sort of the opposite of the Boulder show. More stripped-down, quiet performance with lot of acoustic instrumentation and several early versions of then-unreleased Being There songs: http://sooutoftune.org/concerts/225

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