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Wilco — 9/23/15, Ithaca, NY (State Theatre)


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From Wilco's FB page:

 

Setlist:
Wilco
September 23, 2015
Ithaca, NY | State Theatre of Ithaca

01 - More...
02 - Random Name Generator
03 - The Joke Explained
04 - You Satellite
05 - Taste the Ceiling
06 - Pickled Ginger
07 - Where Do I Begin
08 - Cold Slope
09 - King of You
10 - Magnetized
11 - Handshake Drugs
12 - Camera
13 - Art of Almost
14 - Via Chicago
15 - Box Full of Letters
16 - Hummingbird
17 - Forget the Flowers
18 - Red Eyed and Blue
19 - Heavy Metal Drummer
20 - I'm the Man Who Loves You
21 - Dawned On Me
22 - Jesus, Etc.
23 - Impossible Germany
24 - The Late Greats
Encore:
25 - Spiders (Kidsmoke)
Encore:
26 - Misunderstood
27 - War On War
28 - It's Just That Simple
29 - Casino Queen
30 - California Stars
31 - A Shot in the Arm

 

Is it true Red Eyed and Blue was not followed by I Got You?  Does that happen?

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Exactly what I was thinking, because that would be kinda weird!

No, they missed one. "Red-Eyed & Blue" followed by "I Got You (At The End Of The Century)" yes... they played it, just skipped on the official set list.

 

Without question it was as great as I've ever seen them play & beyond that a real magical night with the crowd. The new album was just stellar live (really didn't feel it got a fair shake for me in Cleveland with the sub-par acoustics, but here it was a perfect situation.) as I'd hoped having seen & heard the previous footage of it.

 

Jeff noted something to the effect of "I think we've got a new favorite place to play!" at one point. Folks on the side aisles were dancing from the start, but then folks in the middle started & encouraging others to as well. More folks started going into the middle aisles (I myself got up during "Handshake Drugs" & then left my 10th row seat for the aisle as "Camera" kicked in) & somewhere later around the middle of "Hummingbird" Jeff gleefully noted to the folks in the front rows something like "you're time of being at the front has now ended"... folks by that time were all over the whole front area dancing & with that line, even more took the go-ahead sign & came down... the whole last half of the show was filled up front & in some of the aisles with most folks standing and/or dancing & the energy was totally infectious.

 

They played just shy of 2 & 1/2 hours, 32 songs & a six song acoustic encore that followed an epic electric "Spiders (Kidsmoke)"  first encore. The State Theater is one of my favorite places to see a show in the world. The sound is just impeccable (though there was a little problem with some feedback during the first acoustic number, after which the whole band spoke up about it & it was fixed). A good friend & I who used to live in NYC together & have seen Yo La Tengo countless times over the years saw YLT at the State Theater there a year or two ago & my friend said to me- "not only is that as great as I've ever seen them play, but I think this is the greatest venue I've ever seen them play at.". It was the polar opposite of the situation in Cleveland last week, where the sound was just abysmal. Shows at The State Theater are something really special. It truly is an ideal place to see your fave artists. One last thing about the gig was that it was sweltering hot. One close friend, who is a huge fan, actually left before the finish because he couldn't take it anymore. Everyone else had an amazing time, but most folks noted how toasty it was. Personally I embraced it & kicked off my shoes & socks & just danced barefoot (it got hotter as you headed to the more crowded front areas)...

 

Tweedy played The State Theater in Ithaca last year & I'm sure the venue is part of the reason they were so eager to come back. Last time he mentioned a few things, including Rumble Seat Music (where he bought an amp last time)- an amazing music store two doors down from The State Theater. I myself found a great deal on a mid-60's Guild 12-String (F-212XL for those of you keeping score at home) a couple of years ago. We stopped in & inquired about the "moth to the flame" inevitable visit & they said at this point they know Jeff fairly well & had nothing but great stuff to say about him. Someone on facebook posted that their "luxury home of wheels" had been parked in front of her play of employment for the last few days. Jeff mentioned enjoying a trip to Buttermilk Falls- the whole Ithaca area is filled with gorges & waterfalls galore. It's the home of Cornell & very progressive (more restaurants per capita than NYC & more acupuncturists per capita than California- noted the acupuncturist. I ate dinner with an Acu colleague before the show myself, at a great Thai place, right across from the venue) & my guess is between the beautiful landscape/nature, general east village/Cambridge feel, the great acoustics & just general wonderful venue that The State Theater is, the lure of Rumble Seat Music & the incredible reception that the band got last night that Wilco will be back there often.

 

FYI Bbop- you can't make 'em all, but put an asterisk next to the *"State Theater, Ithaca, NY" gig next time ;)

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What a fantastic mid-week road trip!  I drove up from VA, ran into Pat on the street near the venue (he was so kind to stop and chat for a minute), Star Wars (!), and spent the evening dancing right in front of the stage with some great people. I'd put this one near the top of all of the 20+ Wilco shows I've seen.  The sound in the venue was just right, and the audience was enthusiastic to say the least.  

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What a fantastic mid-week road trip!  I drove up from VA, ran into Pat on the street near the venue (he was so kind to stop and chat for a minute), Star Wars (!), and spent the evening dancing right in front of the stage with some great people. I'd put this one near the top of all of the 20+ Wilco shows I've seen.  The sound in the venue was just right, and the audience was enthusiastic to say the least.  

Sorry we weren't able to hook up... hopefully at some east coast gig in the future... I was dancing up left myself!! As great as I've ever seen them (probably close to the same number of times you have too), maybe THE best even, & probably the most fun too. I REALLY hope they do a Roadcase show from this one!!!!!!!!!!

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Despite my best efforts, I have not managed to make it to a Wilco show since 2010.  Wow, what a "Welcome back!" this show was. 

 

State Theater is an amazing venue;  beautiful in that way that only 20s movie palaces can be, great acoustics, awesome staff.  (Though, yeah...hot as b@lls towards the end.  Dress appropriately)

 

The crowd felt like everybody was on the same blissful vibe as I was right from the start.

 

The band blew me away with this show.  I would have been completely fulfilled if they ended on Spiders (kidsmoke).  The acoustic 2nd encore was a perfect dessert.

 

Pure, distilled goodness all around.

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my first show and they say "you never forget your first" ;-)  I could not have asked for a better first experience. I had posted the thread about possibly being killed if i danced during the show and blocking others views.  well, turns out that from the start of the show, the right orchestra back had some dancers, and i was nearby so I felt safe. The woman behind me was cool with it too. I then saw some people doing some majorly bizarre dancing in the side aisle right of the stage. And so I knew Id be welcome down there. they must have been interpretative dance students. I just sway from side to side. That corner by the stage got more and more dancers, all of us a little freaky in our own way, in that "weve got some grateful dead vibe in us, even if we dont know it or never even liked the Dead" - because strangers danced together and twirled each other like they were swing dancing, and the joy and glee was infectious. Like the post above it was "Pure, distilled goodness all around."

 

We were all close to the stage but off to the side, not blocking the view of the front row sitters (lame people, lame).  The one bouncer was so cool, he just let us do our thing.  Then a few people decided to sort of run/dance past the stage from one aisle to the other, like scoot in front of the band. And that was the beginning of the festivities in the quite large floor space between where the front row seats were and the stage. It pays off to be one of the brave who need to dance as the post above said, the dancers ended up with the best spots in the theater and Jeff loved it!  you could tell he was super into it. He did say to the folks who had simply sat in the front row "He you missed your chance" or something like that.  The band was feeding off of us and vice versa.

 

The set list was very satisfying for me, as far as it being my first show. Sure there are another 20 songs Id have loved to hear, but I definitely got what I wanted. The set the next night would not have been as good for me. 

 

The acoustic encore was magical. A group sing along. then became a group whisper-along. As Jeff sang the end of Misunderstood, the "nothing" got quieter and quieter, til we were an audience whispering the word "nothing...nothing...nothing" you could have heard a pin drop. 

 

And then..the best moment of all - closing with 'A Shot in the Arm' a song you would never think of as delicate, but played acoustically, wow. I got chills. Someone posted a short clip on Instagram. Hope you can see it.   https://instagram.com/p/8CDWiPCK2O/

 

Im pretty sure that September 23rd maybe have been the best night of my (very shitty) year.  I could not have been happier.  Im so thankful I was able to be there. Man, did I need that concert like a shot in the arm.

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Lurker for a while, but first post here. I think this was my eleventh show. 

 

I live near Hartford and have gone to Solid Sounds 2011, 2013, and 2015. I really enjoyed Solid Sound this year, but was blown away by Star Wars. The first listen was the beauty of Taste the Ceiling that got me. Then it was Random Name Generator that got me. Now it's Cold Slope and King of You. There are songs I may like more, but this is probably my favorite Wilco album as a whole. When I saw they were playing the whole album at Pitchfork and beyond, I was wondering why this started after Solid Sound. Then I decided to buy tickets to the closest show, which was Ithaca at about 5 hours away.

 

I've never been to State Theater or Ithaca before and I loved this venue. I was in the second to last row of the orchestra and it was one of the best seats I've ever had. The theater was much smaller than the Bushnell in Hartford or the Wang in Boston. Plus it had popcorn and concessions like a movie theater.

 

Star Wars was the reason for my attendance, and it was well worth it. The whole performance was amazing, so I'll say my highlights were my favorites mentioned above. You Satellite seemed a little slower than the album version. Most of the crowd sat down around You Satellite and the staff seemed to try to enforce everyone sitting. I don't recall if it was immediately during Handshake Drugs, but after Star Wars, the crowd and staff changed their approach; everyone stood and several people flooded into the aisles. I stayed back near our seats since it was really warm and I enjoyed having my personal space. The crowd was great and seemed to be predominantly huge fans.

 

The acoustic encore was fantastic. I enjoyed Solid Sound 1 this year, but these arrangements play much better to small rooms than outside in my opinion. Previously my furthest concerts have been Albany and the Meadowlands. So this is the new record holder. And my final thought to anyone considering traveling farther than usual to catch this tour: do it; they are on fire and it is well worth it.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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