Jump to content

Wilco -- 2/9/16, Norfolk, VA (The NorVa)


Recommended Posts

I wasn't making an effort to keep the setlist tonight, but I got a picture of it afterwards and I think this is right.

 

Star Wars payed in its entirety

Handshake Drugs

Camera

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart >

Art of Almost

Hummingbird

Box Full of Letters

Heavy Metal Drummer

I'm the Man Who Loves You

Dawned on Me

Impossible Germany

Red Eyed and Blue >

I Got You

Outtasite (Outtamind)

____________

Spiders (full on rock version)

_____________

(Acoustic/Hootenanny encore)

Misunderstood

Always in Love

Shot in the Arm

 

[On the printed setlist but not played]

It's Just That Simple

War on War

Jesus etc.

 

I'll have some more thoughts later, but just a couple things for now. The NorVa is a great little rock and roll venue but Norfolk crowds can be so lame. I don't think I've been to a show recently where there seemed like more of a disparity between the people who were REALLY into it and the people who kept up a steady background din.I think Jeff was trying extra hard to connect with the audience tonight--it felt like he was really expressive and outgoing. But somewhere after Hummingbird, I think, and before Box Full of Letters, Jeff very kindly made a remark about how interesting it was to play to such a talkative crowd. (My memory fails me when I try to think of how he phrased it.) He said something like "I don't mean that in a snarky way."

 

There was some woman fairly close to the stage on Nels' side who was apparently shielding her eyes when the lights would flash, and Jeff asked if she was OK. Then at some point he got some sunglasses from someone and handed them down to her.

 

All of this was done in a way that seemed only a little bit edgy. I think he was trying to be especially kind to the crowd because he got that some people were really into the show and he didn't want to get pissed off at the talkers but couldn't help acknowledging it. 

 

It seemed like a particularly beautiful Impossible Germany tonight. 

 

There's a lot more detail3 to fill in but I am literally nodding off as I type, so it'll be later for me. Please, others, jump in anywhere with corrections or amplification 

 

I'm going to have to say goodnight nightfor now.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah, Jeff actually made that comment about people talking right after Magnetized. He said something to the effect of "All the people talking made that song feel lonesome." 

 

Love the poster design from the show!

 

DSC_1575.jpg

 

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Girlpool was annoying. I've seen a lot of shows at The Norva, everytime there's a large percentage of obnoxious talkers. I was really frustrated because this was a band I love. I had two behind me that I finally asked to please be quiet so I could hear the acoustic set. You'd have thought people would shut up after Jeff mentioned it several times. I wonder if they dropped the last three songs off the set because he was over it.

Impossible Germany may have been my favorite song of the night, Nels plays guitar like he must be an alien from another planet. I hope we don't have to wait so long for them to come back to Norfolk. It was nice not to have to go on a road trip to see my favorite band.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Girlpool was annoying. I've seen a lot of shows at The Norva, everytime there's a large percentage of obnoxious talkers. I was really frustrated because this was a band I love. I had two behind me that I finally asked to please be quiet so I could hear the acoustic set. You'd have thought people would shut up after Jeff mentioned it several times. I wonder if they dropped the last three songs off the set because he was over it.

Impossible Germany may have been my favorite song of the night, Nels plays guitar like he must be an alien from another planet. I hope we don't have to wait so long for them to come back to Norfolk. It was nice not to have to go on a road trip to see my favorite band.

Were you in the front row? If so, I think I was a couple persons to your left. Yeah, I couldn't stand the talkers either, but the band seemed like they were in a great mood regardless of the talking. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Arrrgh. I just KNEW that they cut the show short, and to see that we missed out on an acoustic Jesus, Etc. hurts. The death blow, as I saw it, was as Shot in the Arm was starting up, a woman from over by the bar -- the area Jeff had already remarked on -- yelled out "CALIFORNIA STARS!" Jeff looked over that way but didn't say anything, because they had already started playing. I figured he didn't like it all, especially in the acoustic context, and sure enough ...

Link to post
Share on other sites

The poster sold out. I'm hoping some show up on the online store, or if anyone on here has a lead on an extra, please let me know. I definitely want this!

I wondered if you got one. I knew they'd sell out, that's why I got mine before the show. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

I was in the balcony. I tried giving the two woo girls behind me the stink eye several times before I finally asked them to stop.

 

I was so happy to get such a cool poster, the last few shows I've been to have not had posters that I really liked. I'm framing his one and hanging it in our den.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Magnetized this is Trey. Sorry I didnt get there in time to get you off the rail but I ended up making my way pretty close regardless.

​I have a ton of thoughts about the show/crowd etc............but I will say they DEFINITELY cut the show short big time. It was super obvious but the flip side of that is the fact that we got to see them in a bar with less than 1500 people and one thing is for sure. They had the damn sound DIALED IN!!! It was like an old school Wilco show at the 930 or wherever. The talkers cant talk loud enough to overcome the sound so I didnt think it was that bad.

​I loved every single second of the music and they played as beautiful as Ive ever seen them play so OH WELL!! I guess i look at it like we had to take out lumps but they did us a favor and played a bar in Virginia to much less people than they could pull in if they wanted to so all I can say is THANK YOU WILCO!!!

​Hope this stupid post made some sense.

Link to post
Share on other sites

P.S. ANY show with Red Eyed and Blue>I Got You is worth the price of admission alone and also anyone who cares anything about listening to great versions of songs this Art of Almost was something super special or at least it seemed that way to me. Like better than any version ive ever seen or heard. Absolute top notch and again part of it had to be how loud they can make it in The Norva. I mean it really is worth downloading and listening to!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Magnetized this is Trey. Sorry I didnt get there in time to get you off the rail but I ended up making my way pretty close regardless.

 

​I have a ton of thoughts about the show/crowd etc............but I will say they DEFINITELY cut the show short big time. It was super obvious but the flip side of that is the fact that we got to see them in a bar with less than 1500 people and one thing is for sure. They had the damn sound DIALED IN!!! It was like an old school Wilco show at the 930 or wherever. The talkers cant talk loud enough to overcome the sound so I didnt think it was that bad.

 

​I loved every single second of the music and they played as beautiful as Ive ever seen them play so OH WELL!! I guess i look at it like we had to take out lumps but they did us a favor and played a bar in Virginia to much less people than they could pull in if they wanted to so all I can say is THANK YOU WILCO!!!

 

​Hope this stupid post made some sense.

Oh, so that was you, Trey! Sorry we didn't connect on the ticket, but I assume you had no problems. Also, I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to meet personally. We did the early entry thing at FM restaurant, which turned out to not be a good idea for all kinds of reasons. 

 

Anyway. . . yes, the more I think back on this show, the more the positives seem to outweigh the negatives. I was truly pissed off at the crowd and what felt like disrespect for the band, but on the other hand, it gave Jeff an opportunity to show off his sweet side as well as his righteous integrity. Several times he asked the crowd nicely to, in effect, shut up and pay attention, he very sweetly got that girl who was having trouble with her eyes some sunglasses, he smiled down at a little girl on the rail a couple of people over from me. . . but in the end, when people clearly were not shutting up during the acoustic encore, he cut it off short. And good for him, I say. The acoustic portion of the show is most effective when you have a responsive crowd that will sing along or at least pay attention, and he correctly assessed that there was just too much chatter to make that portion of the show effective. So instead, we got a totally rocking Spiders encore and a little taste of an acoustic encore.

 

Just goes to show that Jeff can judge a crowd and make a last minute decision about what's going to work at any given show. I've always admired his integrity, and even though I would personally like to have seen a longer acoustic portion, I think he made the right call. The band gave it 100% as always, but they shouldn't have to struggle through a planned 6-song acoustic encore when the chatterers made it impossible for that to make the impact it should have. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

The intimacy of the venue really blew me away! Smallest place I've ever seen Wilco play, and 30 mins before the show was able to walk right up and enjoy an excellent view from about the 5th row.

I really enjoyed Girlpool. Their voices are terrific and I loved that the way they present themselves -- no adornments of makeup, casually dressed (albeit, a little strangely for the redhead)-- really put the focus on their music. They were doing what they love without also trying to be sexy or glamorous-- at all. I found it refreshing and think their mothers must be proud. Also, I like their songs. Their vocals reminded me of Built to Spill.

Anyway, great show, and another great Wilco experience. I noticed that the electric version of Spiders has been re-worked. That song just keeps evolving! Would have LOVED to hear Space Oddity, though. Also fantastic to see Diane/Magnetized and meet the dozen or so nice folks she brought for the hometown show!

Link to post
Share on other sites

The intimacy of the venue really blew me away! Smallest place I've ever seen Wilco play, and 30 mins before the show was able to walk right up and enjoy an excellent view from about the 5th row.

I really enjoyed Girlpool. Their voices are terrific and I loved that the way they present themselves -- no adornments of makeup, casually dressed (albeit, a little strangely for the redhead)-- really put the focus on their music. They were doing what they love without also trying to be sexy or glamorous-- at all. I found it refreshing and think their mothers must be proud. Also, I like their songs. Their vocals reminded me of Built to Spill.

Anyway, great show, and another great Wilco experience. I noticed that the electric version of Spiders has been re-worked. That song just keeps evolving! Would have LOVED to hear Space Oddity, though. Also fantastic to see Diane/Magnetized and meet the dozen or so nice folks she brought for the hometown show!

I enjoyed Girlpool as well. I said at the time that they reminded me of some kind of mash-up of Liz Phair and Indigo Girls, but that's not a very apt comparison. I didn't have high expectations for them, but I liked their set more than I thought I would.

 

I loved getting to spend some time with you guys too, and also I'm happy to report that the numerous people I dragged along to the show (co-workers, friends and family, mostly all Wilco virgins) were universally impressed with the band and absolutely loved the show. They still think I'm crazy, but at least they can see what it is I'm so enthusiastic about!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...