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Wilco — 8/8/15, Bend, OR (Les Schwab Amphitheater)


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Tonight marked the fifth full performance of Star Wars in its full electric glory, and I have to say that this was by far the best-sounding and most enjoyable of the four I've experienced. It's perhaps understandable why since four of the five performances this far have taken place at festivals and the other was at a venue (the Greek in LA) where I'm pretty sure there are limitations on sound due to its proximity to residential areas. Anyway, for me, this show in Bend was the first time I felt like I heard the record with really crisp sound and a perfect mix.

 

Of course the band continues to be more confident with the material as well, but it's hard to understate the importance of a good PA system in terms of being able to appreciate some of the details of SW live, whether it's John and Pat's backing vocals on More... and Pickled Ginger or Glenn's ring(?) percussion on Magnetized, to cite just a couple of examples. Not to mention just the electric guitar flourishes that so characterize the album.

 

Overall, this was a fun, loose performance by the band. The sound quality seemed to take a minor hit early in the post-SW set when Jeff had a pedal problem that wrecked the transition between the end of IATTBYH and One Wing and the crew (well, Matrix) sort of had to improvise a fix. And when Nels apparently hit the wrong pedal during The Late Greats that caused an unexpected sound, the rest of the band couldn't keep from briefly cracking up.

 

Banter Corner was a good place to be tonight; Jeff had some real gems. Though he didn't say anything for the duration of Star Wars, once that was finished, the chat gates opened a bit. First, he noticed that the entire front row was standing a couple feet back from the barricade — because the venue's security staff had issued strict instructions before the show that no one was allowed to stand on any part of the actual barricade itself, which was completely insane and stupid — and asked if the fence was electric. The audience took the hint pretty quickly and moved up, leaving the security guards temporarily scurrying back and forth at the foot of the stage. Jeff went on, saying something to the effect that wasn't the point of a fence to designate a boundary and if the venue had wanted the crowd to stand back from the fence, they should have set up another fence. It was funny, and helped improve the energy of the crowd almost immediately.

 

Later he spotted a guy in the front wearing a Goober & The Peas T-shirt and asked him about it. The guy said his brother's band had toured with the Goobers and Jeff asked him if he knew who was in that band. The guy posited a guess, but Jeff quickly answered his own question: "Jack White; he was the drummer in that band. He stayed at our house," presumably after a gig at Lounge Ax. "He was nice enough."

 

And finally, toward the end of the show, Jeff told the crowd, "You guys are excellent. I told a bunch of people waiting around to see Mumford and Sons yesterday they were excellent, but I was lying. They were mediocre. Not Mumford; I didn't see them, but I hope they had a great show. Their fans were mediocre, though." As usual, Jeff tried to backtrack and said he was just kidding (but, as usual, I really don't think he was).

 

The only slight disappointment, maybe, was that the hootenanny felt a bit short tonight. Not sure how tight the curfew was, but even if it was at 10, the band walked off at 9:51. Of course what we did get was excellent, but I guess given that we had heard them soundchecking Give Back The Key To My Heart and I'm Always In Love, there was some hope — at least by me — for a little variety in the hootenanny portion. (And I won't even get into the fact that they ran through electric Spiders in soundcheck; here's hoping they decide to do that for real, er, someday soon.)

 

For now this was the complete setlist, as played (Dawned On Me and It's Just That Simple were on the printed list in the main set and encore, respectively, but both got cut):

 

More...

Random Name Generator

The Joke Explained

You Satellite

Taste The Ceiling

Pickled Ginger

Where Do I Begin

Cold Slope>

King Of You

Magnetized

Company In My Back

Handshake Drugs

Camera

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

One Wing

Art Of Almost

Sunken Treasure

Heavy Metal Drummer>

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Hummingbird

Jesus, etc.

Born Alone

Via Chicago

Impossible Germany

The Late Greats

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

Misunderstood*

War On War*

California Stars*

 

* — performed hootenanny style with Jeff and John on acoustic guitars, Nels on dobro, Glenn on percussion, Mikael on melodica/acoustic guitar and Pat on banjo

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Thanks for the setlist and the expanded report. It definitely sounded like a freewheeling show. Company in My Back is always welcome.

 

I'm curious if there are any specific moments you can point to where the band seems better than before in the Star Wars material?

The report above has been revised, btw, so maybe there's an answer to your question somewhere in there. But to sort of reiterate what I wrote above, I can't really point to anything specifically except that they just sound more confident with each passing performance. Which is perfectly natural.

 

It looks to me like they're putting out a lyric sheet at Jeff's feet every night for something, but he's definitely gaining confidence in getting through what can be a deceptively tricky record lyrically.

 

And just as SW is very much a record that holds together as such, likewise the band performing has to work as a unified whole and that aspect has gotten better and better each night IMHO.

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The report above has been revised, btw, so maybe there's an answer to your question somewhere in there. But to sort of reiterate what I wrote above, I can't really point to anything specifically except that they just sound more confident with each passing performance. Which is perfectly natural.

 

It looks to me like they're putting out a lyric sheet at Jeff's feet every night for something, but he's definitely gaining confidence in getting through what can be a deceptively tricky record lyrically.

 

And just as SW is very much a record that holds together as such, likewise the band performing has to work as a unified whole and that aspect has gotten better and better each night IMHO.

Thanks, Paul. I noticed you'd filled out the original report with more detail about the sonic experience, so I edited my original post since you addressed that issue. But the further clarification helps.

 

I thought I had noticed Jeff having trouble picking a key for his vocals and sticking with it during Random Name Generator at Outside Lands. You're right, those are some tough songs to sing and play.

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Thanks, Paul. I noticed you'd filled out the original report with more detail about the sonic experience, so I edited my original post since you addressed that issue. But the further clarification helps.

 

I thought I had noticed Jeff having trouble picking a key for his vocals and sticking with it during Random Name Generator at Outside Lands. You're right, those are some tough songs to sing and play.

I think the issue/issues with Outside Land were... the sound mix was odd- the vocals were up way too high & to the front- which caused an odd sound & feel throughout (especially compared to the amazing sound mix & performance at Pitchfork) that really more pronounced during certain songs...and... I think that was a show where there were a couple of lyrical stumbles- nothing terrible, just brief & with good recovery & all (as usual)...

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Some of the more electric songs on SW are tricky vocally - not even considering the clever links between different lyrics that are brilliant but make them harder to remember  - on the record he's singing pretty low, but and the vocal mix is low, but it fits in well with everything. I was sort of disappointed n the SW portion of the show from Outside Lands - though the rest was good (and as JT mentioned at this show, the crowd was pretty meh - Wilco feed off the crowd, I mean, worst case they shit out a great concert, but when the fans are into it too they really step up their game, as we all have witnessed I am sure) - and it's clear that Jeff's still feeling out the vocals for live versions of the songs.

 

They'll only improve, though I am a bit disappointed at the lack of variety in the non-SW portion of setlists in this August tour. Maybe I am being too demanding though.

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