Wilco — 1/29/16, Boston, MA (Orpheum Theatre) [Night 1 of 2]

[bböp]

I wasn't at the show tonight, but it must have been a real barnburner given the lack of reportage thus far!

 

Sources told me the printed setlist looked something like this (can anyone confirm/provide details?):

 

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

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Art Of Almost

Heavy Metal Drummer

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Hummingbird

Handshake Drugs

Camera

Via Chicago

Jesus, etc.

Born Alone

Impossible Germany

The Late Greats

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

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

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

Misunderstood

War On War

Give Back The Key To My Heart

California Stars

A Shot in the Arm

[parisisstale]

Crickets. Odd.

[Caty]

Oddly, they skipped the first encore and went straight to the hootenanny. They also cut Give Back the Key to My Heart. Shorter show than Portland - exactly 2 hours.

 

Though it was a seated show, the floor stood throughout SW and the remainder of the set.

 

Jeff was not particularly talkative. Made some comments to people in the front that were eating pizza that "it was hard not to notice when they were eating on stage".

[worldrecordplayer]

Hey bbop, had I known you weren't there I would have chimed in last night! Set list is accurate minus electric Spiders and Give Back the Key. I think Something else was played in place of Key, but I am drawing a blank right now. Weird that the show was a solid 20 minutes shorter than Portland, and from what I can tell, the first 2 shows as well. It's not like the Orpheum has ever had a 10:30 curfew.

 

Set length aside, we thought it was an excellent show. We were down in the front orchestra, and pretty much everyone were on their feet the entire night.

 

Very little from banter corner, except for the aforementioned pizza eating comment. I guess a person in the front row had some pizza on the front of the stage. "Do they sell pizza in here?" Preceded the "hard not to notice" comment.

 

thought Jeff was in a good mood throughout. At least he didn't have to scold the crowd for talking all night. At least I didn't have a bunch of talkers in front of me all night! There was one song, I can't remember which (maybe Camera) (EDIT it was Hummingbird) where Jeff finished without a guitar on and he walked over to Glenn, who was pounding the drums, and started jogging in place to the beat. Never saw that before. He seemed pleased all night.

 

As for the music, really well played with lots of energy. Star Wars shone again. I didn't think I would want to hear it every show, but I was wrong, a great way to kick off the show, the songs are all so good. You Satellite certainly stands out. Loved hearing Company as the first song post SW. Pretty much a standard "greatest hits" set list. I'm hoping they give us a bunch of different tunes tonight after SW.

 

Nice to see Mr. Tinnitus and his big camera. Hope to see some shots, even though he had to shoot from his seat.

 

That's all I got right now.

[godsh8pedhole]

hmmm. He's been known to jog during Hummingbird & he has no guitar. Was it hummingbird?

 

 There was one song, I can't remember which (maybe Camera) where Jeff finished without a guitar on and he walked over to Glenn, who was pounding the drums, and started jogging in place to the beat.

[BillLee]

After reading posts of the previous shows I was a little disappointed about not hearing Spiders last night, but overall a solid show. As others have posted, Star Wars really shines live, and Company In My Back was a pleasant surprise of a catalogue opener.

Anyone going tonight - you owe it to yourself to get to the Orpheum right at 7:30 to see William Tyler. He is a truly talented guitarist. BTW, they were selling some of his vinyl for only $10 a pop last night. Currently listening to Behold the Spirit. It is a good pressing.

[worldrecordplayer]

hmmm. He's been known to jog during Hummingbird & he has no guitar. Was it hummingbird?

Yes!

[knotgreen]

I had an awesome time last night. My vantage point from 6th row center aisle meant that I had probably the best view of Glenn that I've ever had. And what a treat that was -- I was mesmerized by his playing, especially on the new songs. 

 

Star Wars was, without question, the highlight for me. I love the record, but those songs really come alive in a live setting. I was noticing things about them that I've missed in my repeated listening of the album. Needless to say, I will not be disappointed if/when the band starts the show tonight with the album in full.

 

Only slight bummer was the omission of Spiders, which is a favorite of mine, and also the very "greatest hits" portion of the show. 

 

As mentioned, no Give Back The Key To My Heart and I believe that there was one other song in the "hootenanny" encore that's not on the printed setlist.

[worldrecordplayer]

I had an awesome time last night. My vantage point from 6th row center aisle meant that I had probably the best view of Glenn that I've ever had. And what a treat that was -- I was mesmerized by his playing, especially on the new songs.

 

Star Wars was, without question, the highlight for me. I love the record, but those songs really come alive in a live setting. I was noticing things about them that I've missed in my repeated listening of the album. Needless to say, I will not be disappointed if/when the band starts the show tonight with the album in full.

 

Only slight bummer was the omission of Spiders, which is a favorite of mine, and also the very "greatest hits" portion of the show.

 

As mentioned, no Give Back The Key To My Heart and I believe that there was one other song in the "hootenanny" encore that's not on the printed setlist.

I was 10th row on the center aisle, I shared your view of Glenn. He's the best!

 

We should come up with the missing encore song.

[ewester032687]

I think it was I'm always in love after war on war.

[worldrecordplayer]

I think it was I'm always in love after war on war.

That's it!

[tinnitus photography]

hey all - very, very solid show last night... i dug the slight rearrangement of IATTBYH with an ending a bit like the chaos of Via Chicago. As mentioned, Jeff wasn't too talkative, hopefully that will change a bit tonight. funny to run into Bill last night... he's on the DBT board and not sure if he lurks here or not, but when i was done shooting i grabbed a beer and went to my seat, only to find him right next to me! Also good seeing worldrecordplayer and Oil Can Boyd last night.

here are a couple of shots from last night... hopefully tonight we get a bit more freedom in locations to shoot.

 

 

[Oil Can Boyd]

Not much to add here - really enjoyable show.  Great set list.  

 

I do wonder if there was a curfew (though I don't remember the Orpheum having a 10:30 curfew before).  I saw on some social media before the show that Wilco was playing 8:30 to 10:30 and that's exactly what they did.  Tweedy seemed very business-like, focused on getting in as many songs as they could.  He often switched guitars as one song was ending so they could start right up.  It kept the show moving - which was great - but allowed no room for banter.  

[worldrecordplayer]

hey all - very, very solid show last night... i dug the slight rearrangement of IATTBYH with an ending a bit like the chaos of Via Chicago. As mentioned, Jeff wasn't too talkative, hopefully that will change a bit tonight. funny to run into Bill last night... he's on the DBT board and not sure if he lurks here or not, but when i was done shooting i grabbed a beer and went to my seat, only to find him right next to me! Also good seeing worldrecordplayer and Oil Can Boyd last night.

 

here are a couple of shots from last night... hopefully tonight we get a bit more freedom in locations to shoot.

 

 

Nice shots, once again Tim. 

 

I was sitting in the 10th row center next to my buddy Bob who recorded the show.  He usually gets good recordings, so keep your eyes on bt.etree if you are interested.  I will post a link on VC when it goes up.

Not much to add here - really enjoyable show.  Great set list.  

 

I do wonder if there was a curfew (though I don't remember the Orpheum having a 10:30 curfew before).  I saw on some social media before the show that Wilco was playing 8:30 to 10:30 and that's exactly what they did.  Tweedy seemed very business-like, focused on getting in as many songs as they could.  He often switched guitars as one song was ending so they could start right up.  It kept the show moving - which was great - but allowed no room for banter.  

 

I also saw the posted set times and just assumed they were not calculated for the encore set.  Weird we got a 20 minutes shorter show.  The Orpheum never had a 10:30 curfew. I've been there a zillion time, and most recently in October or November for the Warren Haynes show, nothing I've been to there ended at 10:30.  Maybe something's changed. 

[tinnitus photography]

yeah i don't think the curfew time's changed. for whatever reason, the band kept it a bit shorter. maybe it'll be a bit longer tonight!

WRP, i saw your friend's mics. tell him that I appreciated that he kept them relatively low and not in the way. the Concord NH show a few years back had big, blocky mics that interfered w/ my sight lines to Jeff the entire night.

[worldrecordplayer]

yeah i don't think the curfew time's changed. for whatever reason, the band kept it a bit shorter. maybe it'll be a bit longer tonight!

 

WRP, i saw your friend's mics. tell him that I appreciated that he kept them relatively low and not in the way. the Concord NH show a few years back had big, blocky mics that interfered w/ my sight lines to Jeff the entire night.

I will pass that on to Bob tonight!

[last cigarettes]

great show- what it lacked in length it certainly made up for in impact. the lack of banter was noticeable but it did make for an all-killer, no-filler sort of feel to the night. i thought the crowd energy was pretty good- a bit talky but i'll take talking and standing over quiet and glaring at you for standing at a rock show any day. my highlights were you satellite, company, art of almost (seems to be in pretty heavy rotation at this point, but i never get tired of it for some reason), via chicago and the hoot-style misunderstood and shot in the arm. curious to see as the first two-night stand on this tour whether they play star wars in full again tonight or give us a deep-cut geek-out show. my preference is clearly the latter, but it will be a great evening of music no matter what. also just talked my cousin into sharing my friend's spare pair for new haven, so i'll be pulling my first back-to-back-to-back...

[The Inside of Outside]

Bummer about the Spiders cut. Given what other acts play, 2 hours and 28 songs is a pretty solid show. My daughter got 20 songs at a Brad Paisley show in Bangor last night.

 

I'd be surprised if they did not play Star Wars in full tonight. I'd bet that is here to stay for a while. My guess is that the greatest hits section and the hootenanny get a makeover tonight, with 7 or 8 repeats there as well. My picks for repeats from the hits section - Art of Almost, ITMWLY, HMD, and Impossible Germany (and maybe Camera and Hummingbird, too). I also would expect some repeats in the hootenanny, maybe Misunderstood, California Stars, and Shot in the Arm.

[rjhesq]

yeah i don't think the curfew time's changed. for whatever reason, the band kept it a bit shorter. maybe it'll be a bit longer tonight!

 

WRP, i saw your friend's mics. tell him that I appreciated that he kept them relatively low and not in the way. the Concord NH show a few years back had big, blocky mics that interfered w/ my sight lines to Jeff the entire night.

 

I was all set to hang my big blocky mics off the balcony last night, until WRP came through with a 10th row center seat, so I went with the low pro mics and kept them slightly above head height for the most part.  They were a little higher at first, until someone three rows behind me asked me to lower them, so I did.    Actually, we were 9th row.  The Orpheum starts at Row DD, we were in MM, and somehow there is no Row II.

 

Personally, I don't get why people are so bugged by mic stands (unless they're totally out of control and/or the taper is discourteous, thinks his "right" to record is more important than everyone else's good time). But then, I don't get a lot of things.  I've been behind people with silly hats that were more obstructing, yet no-one asks them to take them off, and you can't listen to the hat after the show.

 

BTW Tinnitus - do you mind if I use one of your photos (with watermark) as "album art" in the FLAC tags of the recording? Hopefully, it will be posted shortly on bt.etree.org.  WRP takes great cellphone shots, but he's no match for you.......

 

PS - I'll be hanging my big blocky mics off the balcony tonight, out of everyone's line of sight - unless WRP comes up with more seats down front, in which case I'll go low-pro again.

 

Cheers!

[ewester032687]

I'm curious what others in the balcony thought of the Star Wars reception. It was polite, but it didn't seem like many knew it. There was no movement to stand (if random name generator isn't a song to stand for, I don't know what is), and you satellite seemed to lose the attention of some.

[Bobofthemtns]

Could you get a ticket on the street before the show? I've got a 3 hr drive in and don't want to get shut out, or sit in the back row.

[worldrecordplayer]

Boston Herald review

 

http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/guestlisted/2016/01/last_best_show_wilco_at_the_orpheum

 

 

[SarahC]

Boston Herald review

 

http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/guestlisted/2016/01/last_best_show_wilco_at_the_orpheum

 

 

I laughed at "unexpected Jesus Etc."

[tinnitus photography]

 

BTW Tinnitus - do you mind if I use one of your photos (with watermark) as "album art" in the FLAC tags of the recording? Hopefully, it will be posted shortly on bt.etree.org.  WRP takes great cellphone shots, but he's no match for you.......

not a problem. email me at tinnitus.photography@gmail.com if you need anything.

[worldrecordplayer]

 

 

BTW Tinnitus - do you mind if I use one of your photos (with watermark) as "album art" in the FLAC tags of the recording? Hopefully, it will be posted shortly on bt.etree.org. WRP takes great cellphone shots, but he's no match for you.......

 

Cheers!

So true!