August 14 in Moorehead

[Alone in the Zone]

Anyone going? I am visiting family and taking my brother to his first Wilco show. Will post set list / review. If you are a VCer and see a guy in an orange Kaysettes t shirt, please introduce yourself.

 

Patrick

[Alone in the Zone]

First of all, Happy 5th Anniversary to Jay Welsh and Darby. And Happy Brithday, Dave! William Tyler was great. Wilco was very relaxed and fun. Jeff barely spoke (for Jeff). Solid show. Great, great venue. Set list:

 

More

Random Name Generator

Joke Explained

IATTBYH

Art of almost

Pickled Ginger

Hummingbird

Handshake Drugs

Cold Slope

King of You

Via Chicago

Spiders

Jesus

If I Ever Was a Child

Locator

Box Full of Letters

Heavy Metal Drummer

I'm the Man Who Loves You

Impossible Germany

The Late Greats

(Acoustics Encore)

Misunderstood

We've Been Had

War on War

I'm Always in Love

California Stars

Shot in the Arm

[sam224]

Almost exact set list as dublin and rest of europe...hope they mix it up some for St Louis. Taking my 8 yo boy to his first concert Wednesday night. I don't think he'll complain about the setlist:)

[nalafej]

Almost exact set list as dublin and rest of europe...hope they mix it up some for St Louis. Taking my 8 yo boy to his first concert Wednesday night. I don't think he'll complain about the setlist:)

 

Except for the Schmilco twofer in there.

[bböp]

Except for the Schmilco twofer in there.

And We've Been Had.

[unifiedtheory]

Thanks for the set list, Patrick. I'm sorry for the late report, but here are a few notes from Sunday night:

 

My wife and I made a mini road trip to Moorhead, 180 miles there and back again, a longer version of our drive to Dekalb to see the lineup’s first show at Otto’s in 2004. (Their first date, our first date.)

 

The Bluestem Center for the Performing Arts is a lovely venue, surrounded by miles of farmland with no city in sight. The arch of the amphitheater has a line of trees and sky for a backdrop, perfect for the pristine summer evening we got. It was a very different kind of grandeur from the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, where we last caught the band.

 

We sat twelfth row center. The show wasn’t sold out -- there were pockets of empty seats in the reserved section -- but there was a warm, raucous, constant energy from the crowd, many of whom were on their feet from beginning to end. Jeff told us, "you're not acting like it's a Sunday night." And the band responded in kind, rocking the place like it was Saturday.

 

As Patrick said, the banter was fairly limited, as seems to be typical of recent Wilco shows. Early on Jeff remarked on the beauty of the night. Later he asked how many people were from Moorhead, how many from Fargo, how many from Minnesota, from Minneapolis. When people started shouting out other places of origin, he waved his hand and said “Okay, it was an unscientific survey” before turning to Glenn to start the next song. The venue had small sections of fenced-in lawn flanking both sides of the reserved section, prompting Jeff to ask the lawngoers what they'd done to land themselves there. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it was bad," he joked.

 

Thirteen songs in, Jeff asked if we wanted to hear some new songs and got an enthusiastic response before launching into the one-two punch of If I Ever Was a Child and Locator. After Locator he noted that it was the North American debut of that song. "We played it once in Japan," he said almost sheepishly. He announced the new record, calling it Wilco Schmilco, and said “it’s been called that for a year.” Locator featured both John and Pat on bass, which I don’t ever remember seeing. Anyone know if that’s something they’ve done before? If I Ever Was a Child was a particular treat to hear live, with its quality of bright mournfulness, its gentle twang lilting over Glenn’s stutter-step beat.

 

Someone shouted "Turn it up!" before Handshake Drugs. "Turn it up? Okay…" Jeff replied in a pleasantly sarcastic way, before making a very minor tweak to his volume knob. “There. It’s up.”

 

We’ve Been Had was an unexpected treat during the acoustic encore. I’ve only heard it played live once before, at last year’s Solid Sound. During the encore Jeff addressed someone near the foot of the stage, saying “I’m so glad you came back.” When the show ended he made a point of grabbing a pick to give to this person, who turned out to be a young kid. (I wonder if he and his family had moved farther back during the louder portion of the concert.) It was a sweet, heartfelt moment and brought to mind the days when Jeff’s own young kids would sit in the wings to hear their dad play.

 

Jeff seemed to be basking in the enthusiasm of the crowd, often smiling in a way that seemed appreciative and almost surprised. The sun didn’t set until halfway through the show, and the venue was particularly intimate for an outdoor space, which made for a sweet sense of connection. The show rocked hard. Highlights that are “normal” for a Wilco show were there in abundance: the three-guitar onslaught of Star Wars, Nels melting faces with his solo on Impossible Germany, the fraternity of John and Jeff’s harmonies on a shared mic during the encore, the brilliance of six musicians in total sync and on the verge of releasing a new record to eager fans. These constant truths of Wilco never cease to amaze me, and I felt especially grateful to experience them in such an inviting place far from home.

 

We’ll be catching Saturday’s show in Minneapolis -- and bringing a bunch of local family with us for their first live Wilco experiences -- before heading back to New York. Hope to see some of you there!

[bböp]

Thanks for the set list, Patrick. I'm sorry for the late report, but here are a few notes from Sunday night:

 

My wife and I made a mini road trip to Moorhead, 180 miles there and back again, a longer version of our drive to Dekalb to see the lineup’s first show at Otto’s in 2004. (Their first date, our first date.)

 

The Bluestem Center for the Performing Arts is a lovely venue, surrounded by miles of farmland with no city in sight. The arch of the amphitheater has a line of trees and sky for a backdrop, perfect for the pristine summer evening we got. It was a very different kind of grandeur from the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, where we last caught the band.

 

We sat twelfth row center. The show wasn’t sold out -- there were pockets of empty seats in the reserved section -- but there was a warm, raucous, constant energy from the crowd, many of whom were on their feet from beginning to end. Jeff told us, "you're not acting like it's a Sunday night." And the band responded in kind, rocking the place like it was Saturday.

 

Very nicely written and summed up, I must say. Not always easy to convey Jeff's banter, but good job with that. Anyway I didn't want to quote the whole thing again, but kudos to you. We need more of this around these parts!

[unifiedtheory]

Thanks so much, bböp. As a longtime admirer of your gold standard reviews, your kind words mean a lot!

[Alone in the Zone]

Great stuff, unifiedtheory! My goal was to get a set list up as quickly as possible, so with some further reflection, please allow me to add some notes in support/addition to yours:

 

-- This was one of the most respectful audiences I have experienced in my 25+ Wilco shows. I live on the East Coast, and shows up and down I-95 have tended to have way too much chatter in recent years. The Moorehead crowd was better. Having been raised in a town about an hour north of the venue, I suspect this was a combination of reverence and good manners. In any event, it enhanced my enjoyment very much.

 

-- I also had heard We've Been Had only one other time, also at SSF. While I think the set list was perfect for this venue and crowd, I selfishly wanted to hear a wider variety. (I am fortunate enough to see Wilco 1-2 times per year, so I am spoiled.). For example, they played only one song from The Whole Love, none from Wilco (The Album), one from Sky Blue Sky, one from Being There, and one from AM. I suspect that the rest of the tour will resemble this set, with the new album being featured heavily once it is released.

 

-- Again, the venue was a breathtaking surprise. My friends and family from the area were not well aware of it. It seems that it is only a few years old and was constructed for the local summer musical theater juggernaut known as Trollwood. The venue has been used for rock shows only recently. If the Bluestem folks are reading this: You have a real treasure on your hands! I would see almost any decent band there! It is my opinion that this venue could be very interesting for some other great bands and a real boon to the arts scene in Fargo-Moorehead.