Wilco — 18 November 2016, Manchester, UK (Albert Hall)

[bböp]

No great surprises, setlist-wise, for anyone who's been closely following these last few full-band shows of 2016, but I will say that the crowd was a relatively lively one. English (and Scottish — I see you Queenies) fans have been waiting for a good long while for the band to return to this area. Could it be possible that this was Wilco's first non-festival headlining show in the UK since two London gigs on the Whole Love tour in October of 2011?

 

I could be missing an appearance somewhere in that time, but the point is it has been a good long while. So there was definitely a palpable level of excitement from many of the audience members around me to hear both newer material and old favorites. The only thing missing from a production standpoint was the autumnal "faux-liage" set that has been a staple of most of the shows since Wilco Schmilco's release. Usually when they don't have the faux-liage, they do have their "beaded light curtain" as a backdrop, but that wasn't present last night either. So the stage seemed somewhat spare from a presentation standpoint.

 

The biggest issue, though, was the cranky PA system in the Albert Hall — which kind of reminded me of the Paradiso in Amsterdam with its rather high, rounded stage and church-like feel; there was a large pipe organ towering behind the stage and pretty vintage-looking windows — that threatened to derail the show early on. More than once, there would be a crackle of static and then Jeff's vocals or Nels' guitar or both would cut out to varying degrees. Jeff and the band largely seemed unaware of what was happening and continued with the show as usual, leading to some misunderstanding between the performers and audience:

 

"Turn it up," one man yelled. "Turn it up?" Jeff replied. "Hey, we're in charge here. If this room was meant to be loud, it would be loud. ... We're just glad to have you sacks of blood in here to warm it up a bit." The audio issues continued, however, and eventually the band's tour manager had to come to the side of the stage and let the band know what was going on and that the crew was working on it.

 

At one point, Jeff stepped out to the lip of the stage and I thought he might try playing a song unamplified to give the crew some time to figure out the problem, which he has done a few times before. But after one audience antagonist — who Jeff seemed to remember from previous shows — tried to convey once again that the PA system was cutting in and out, Jeff snapped at him, yelling, "That's not what you said (earlier), fucker! ... You didn't say it was coming and going."

 

But Jeff soon regained his composure, even cracking a couple of jokes about the technical problems. "We've played all over the world...Croatia? No problem. Thanks, Brexit!" he said. "This is what it's going to be like under Trump." And then, almost as an afterthought, he added, "It was never meant to be perfect." Eventually, the PA issues were solved at least enough for the show to be finished without incident. The audience seemed to get livelier as the set reached the " greatest hits" portion as well, and Jeff even remarked at one point that he thought this was "the best show we've had in Manchester. We've had some bad ones."

 

All's well that ends well, as an English playwright once memorably opined. Despite what was supposed to be a hard curfew at 11 p.m., the band returned quickly just before the witching hour and performed a brief second encore. Instead of California Stars, though, as might have been expected, this time we got a rousing rendition of A Shot in the Arm (in the hootennany arrangement with Nels on lap steel, Mike on melodica and Pat on xylophone) that sent many of the audience members back into the rainy Manchester night with smiles on their faces.

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played (there didn't appear to be any changes from the printed list):

 

Normal American Kids

If I Ever Was A Child

Cry All Day

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart>

Art Of Almost

Pickled Ginger

Misunderstood (hootenanny arrangement)

Someone To Lose

Pot Kettle Black

Via Chicago

Bull Black Nova (acoustic arrangement)

Reservations

Impossible Germany

We Aren't The World (Safety Girl)

Box Full Of Letters

Heavy Metal Drummer>

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Hummingbird

The Late Greats

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

Random Name Generator

Jesus, etc.

Locator

Spiders (Kidsmoke) (electric arrangement)

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

A Shot in the Arm (hootenanny arrangement)

[LittleDrummerBoy]

Thanks for the recap!

[uncool2pillow]

Watching Arsenal v. Man U and wondering if anyone in Wilco is a soccer fan. 

[Albert Tatlock]

Ta. Yup, a drought since the Roundhouse. Watching Wales v Japan.

[keeprighton2]

Watching Arsenal v. Man U and wondering if anyone in Wilco is a soccer fan.

John is to a certain extent I remember from a past conversation with him. Knew who Steven Gerrard was.

 

Nice review above. Nicely observed. Albert Hall is an old Wesleyan Chapel I think, delightful space right opposite the old Free Trade Hall (now a posh hotel) possibly the most famous of the old venues in north of England. Didn't the Pistols play their seminal gig there in '76?

 

Update: (from Wiki)

Bob Dylan played here in 1965, and again in 1966,[9] the occasion of the "Judas!" shout.[10] In the late 60s Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, The Moody Blues, Tyrannosaurus Rex, (Marc Bolan) and The Dubliners played there amongst others. Pink Floyd played on five occasions as did Genesis in February 1973.[9] On 4 June 1976, the Lesser Free Trade Hall was the venue for a concert by the Sex Pistols at the start of the punk rock movement.[9][11]

[Magnetized]

Nice review here

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/review-wilco-manchesters-albert-hall-12200243