unifiedtheory Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Another stellar night at the Beacon! Apologies if there are errors in the song order, or if I've left anything out, but here's what I have for tonight's setlist. Recap to come tomorrow. On And On And OnNormal American Kids*If I Ever Was A ChildCry All DayIATTBYHArt Of AlmostShe’s A JarMisunderstood (Hootenanny arrangement – Jeff on acoustic, Nels on lap steel, Pat on banjitar, John on 12-string acoustic)Someone To LoseReservationsImpossible GermanyJesus, Etc.We Aren't The World (Safety Girl)Laminated CatVia ChicagoLocatorHeavy Metal DrummerI'm The Man Who Loves YouHummingbirdThe Late Greats---------------------------------I’m Always In LoveRandom Name GeneratorBox Full Of LettersMondayOuttasite (Outta Mind)---------------------------------California StarsForget The Flowers * Jeff Tweedy and Nels Cline only The boys were in fine form again tonight, the third show of their four-night run and the first after a day off. In addition to feeling spoiled by the long run in NYC, I like to think that these mini-residencies are a welcome variation to the touring grind for the band and crew. They get to settle into the city a bit, take a day off, take in some of the local art and architecture. We were in the back row of the loge for this show, experiencing a different vantage point and energy from Saturday’s spot in the orchestra. The sound was still quite clear, but slightly muted, not quite as pristine or expansive as the front of the orchestra. When you’re not under the balcony overhang, you really do feel the music and the crowd noise fill the grand old room. Being in the back row, we were happily able to stand and dance for the entire show and not worry about blocking anyone’s view. For most of the main set we were two of only four standees in the loge. This isn’t a knock -- the energy and crowd noise was decent, it’s just a bit more low key. Or loge key? A few more standees joined the ranks later on, then most of the loge was on their feet for the rip roaring first encore. From what I could see, the orchestra looked like a party throughout, intensifying as the show went on. While the show had a slightly different vibe up above, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment, and I appreciated the bird’s eye view of the band, being able to see each of the guys and their interactions more clearly (especially Mikael and Pat’s performances), and catching details like the mini parade route of Pat’s back and forth marching during Monday. On And On And On was a welcome opener, and not a big surprise considering its recent Winterlude appearance. It’s less of a Nels showcase than Ashes, which perhaps set the tone for the rest of the show, differentiating it a bit from Saturday. While Nels stood tall on his mountaintop and threw down his usual thunderbolts, the show and setlist as a whole seemed like less of a grand parade of his solos, with a few obvious exceptions. (Again, this could be the Loge Effect.) In particular, he again put the impossible in Impossible Germany with one of the most blazing solos I’ve seen him deliver on that song. I was a lot farther away this time, but it seemed the equal of Saturday’s night’s solo. And maybe it’s just me, but it seemed like a longer solo, too. (Or maybe that’s the extra couple milliseconds it took for the sound to travel back to us.) The applause that followed was intense – a true standing ovation that got almost everyone in our section out of their seats, even the people who’d been sitting for the solo itself. After the solo, Jeff motioned to Nels to give him his due. And Glenn gave him a salutatory drum beat. Jeff didn’t really address the crowd until after She’s A Jar, when he quipped that “I can’t help but feel like the applause I got for the harmonica was a little charitable. Every one of you could do that by the end of the show if I gave you a harmonica.” He paused a moment, then added: “Maybe some of you couldn’t.” The banter picked up a bit from there. As the rapturous reception of Impossible Germany subsided, Jeff spotted someone in the crowd and asked “Is that a Make Wilco Great Again hat?” There was a bit of a back and forth I couldn’t hear, and Jeff replied “That’s brave,” which made me wonder whether it was the other kind of Great Again hat. Or maybe it was something in the audience exchange that I missed. I wasn’t alone in my confusion. “I don’t know what just happened,” Jeff admitted, before emphasizing that he was having fun anyway and getting back to business. “I think you should all sing along, if you want to. That would truly make Wilco great again.” The band then launched into Jesus, Etc., Wilco’s accidental anthem for New York City. As he did on Saturday night, Jeff stepped back from the mic and let the audience take the lead for the “Our Love” portion, and the singing filled the hall to rousing effect. Before the next song, Jeff made mention of Schmilco, "the album we released back in September.” He repeated the title a few times in a kind of instructive tone, advising us to “say it like you don’t mean it.” Then the band launched into We Aren’t The World (Safety Girl). It’s been a lot fun seeing that song live, and in a theater setting, which as others have noted seems a natural home for the Schmilco songs. We got a nice surprise with Laminated Cat, which I’m always thrilled to hear. The evocative lyrics and their musings of passing time, Mikael’s spacey effects, Jeff’s riff, Glenn’s shake-shake percussion, the band’s propulsive blasts between verses. All beautiful stuff. Those brash, interspersed bursts continued with Via, Chicago, followed by a particularly amped-up Locator. Afterward Jeff announced that the song “was an ode to paranoia. That’s what that was,” then joked that he didn’t really need to explain it. There were some shouts from the audience, after which Jeff said “I feel like we’re having trouble communicating tonight. I feel like it’s my fault.” It seemed more bemused than edgy, though I’d say certain members of the crowd took more shouty liberties than on Saturday night. This turned into an extended banter session where Jeff then noticed someone in the front row with crutches. In a callback to Saturday, he said “I did say the other night a show is only good if there's a crutch in the air. But I didn't mean you should bring a crutch if you don't need it. Is that a legit crutch?” Another person in the orchestra then raised his or her crutch, too, which seemed to satisfy Jeff that there was at least one audience member with a pair of medically necessary, non-vanity crutches. Moving on to introduce Heavy Metal Drummer, Jeff noted that “this is a song about the good old days.” When the applause didn’t quite seem up to snuff, Jeff asked, in mock indignation, “Is that all you got for the good old days? You can’t even remember the good old days. That was seventy days ago.” So politics was again a recurring theme, but I’d say less so than on Saturday night, even give the Make Wilco Great Again hat call out. Jeff was again wearing a black We’re All In This Together shirt under his jacket, and he did preface one song by simply saying that phrase, leaving out any references to the fine print. I know the Sunday crowd got a Glenn stand-up to kick off I'm The Man Who Loves You, and I’m happy to report that we got one last night, too. Jeff whispered something to Glenn beforehand, and Nels turned expectantly to him as the band played the opening strains. The rest of the guys followed suit and, after a pause, Glenn climbed up on his stool. He did the extended arms move twice, which seemed like an extra flourish, and the lights dropped to make him a silhouette against the twilight blue screen-sky behind him. The crowd went wild for it, as well they should, and Glenn leaped down onto his stool and tore into the song, and all was right with the rock ‘n’ roll world. Despite his stand-up effort, Glenn was not thanked with a shimmy or a coat flash during Hummingbird, which followed. Or maybe the lack of a shimmy flash WAS the thank you? Jeff then took a moment to note that Val, the artist who painted the fauxliage backdrop, was in the crowd, and to thank her for her beautiful work. He confessed that he couldn’t remember her last name at the moment, then joked that “she’s done all the Broadway shows, you’ve seen them.” The crowd cheered for her, and the house lights came up. I couldn’t see from my perch in the loge, but hopefully she took a bow. Jeff added that she’d “based the design on a 106-year-old Scottish Rite temple in New Mexico. I don’t know why I chose to share that tidbit with you tonight,” he said. He followed it up with a jokey yell of “Scottish Rite Temple!” like he was trying to make a rock mantra out of it, then added: “She painted it with kitten whiskers. It took her seventeen years. But we’ve been around a long time, so we planned ahead.” These Beacon shows have been my first chance to see the fauxliage in effect. I enjoyed getting to see it from both near and semi-far. Up close you can see the netting that supports the painted fabric trees. The changing effects over the course of the show – the screen sky with its passing of days and seasons, the turning colors of the painted leaves, the white veins that come out in the blacklight, combine to create a mesmerizing effect. It reminded me a bit of an artist’s rendering of the treeline-at-sunset backdrop from last year’s Moorhead show. The Late Greats brought the main set to a close. After a short break, the band launched into one of the most fun and high-energy encores I’ve seen in a while. They kicked it off with a chugging, hard–charging version of I’m Always In Love (hard chugging?). The arrangement seemed different than I’ve ever heard it before, and it rocked hard, a show highlight for sure. So it was a surprise when, as lkapon noted, Jeff waved the song off about 2/3 of the way through. “Are we in B?” he asked the band. He pointed to his earpiece and said “I’m sorry, I have no idea what’s going on. This is absolutely the wrong thing to do, stopping a song in the middle, I can’t remember when I’ve ever done that.” He played a riff, the band sorted things out, then they launched back into the song and brought it to an equally energetic conclusion. I admit I didn’t pick up on anything being amiss before Jeff hit pause, but it didn’t mess with the momentum of the encore, which barreled on into the good and good-for-you crunchy fun of Random Name Generator. (A couple songs later, Jeff jokingly announced “This one’s in E.”) Jut as the band was about to start Box Full Of Letters, some folks down below shouted out a request. I couldn’t make out what it was, but Jeff looked incredulous and said “Okay. We’ll take that into consideration. Next time please submit your request in writing.” To the rest of us he said “Sorry, I know we have a show to play but these guys have a request.” The band really was on the verge of starting the next song when the insistent shouting interrupted them, so it was bad timing and bad form. But it didn’t mess with the flow, and Box Full Of Letters was rollicking as usual. It’s always a treat to see Pat take a turn on lead guitar, and he seemed in great spirits and great form again last night. We even got some windmill action. Monday (on a Tuesday!) was another show highlight, and the crowd went nuts for it. There was lots of clapping in the lead up, even more when Jeff coaxed it up to "rock show" level. Nels did this sweet little gesture where he pointed both fingers in the air, alternating hands, before the band launched into the song. Pat went full windmill (if not quite at I’m A Wheel speed), and also did that move where he kind of swings the guitar back and forth on its strap. Monday led into a joyful Outtasite to close the first encore. It was hard to see how they could top an encore like that, and it was pretty clear from a guitar switcheroo and some last minute instructions from Jeff that they were calling an audible, as confirmed by Sandy’s report of the printed setlist. California Stars was typically lovely, with solos from Nels, Mikael and Pat (banjo). And Forget the Flowers was indeed a surprising finale, with an energetic, spicy twang that had people up and dancing to close out the night. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sandy in SFCA Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 The printed set list had Spiders and I'm A Wheel in place of California Stars and Forget the Flowers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bböp Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 You guys are cute... Thanks for the speedy post! I knew there'd be a Monday! And dang, that first encore must've been super fun. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
worldrecordplayer Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 I knew there'd be a Monday!. And damn, I missed it by one show! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 ^ I know the feeling too..I knew On and On and On would be played and I missed it by a day too grr! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nalafej Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Forget the Flowers as a closer is super unique. Right? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 ^yeah I think so! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LoveisHello64 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Great show, awesome atmosphere, and they sounded fantastic, lots of people standing up and dancing in the crowd Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lkapon Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 You guys are cute... Thanks for the speedy post! I knew there'd be a Monday! And dang, that first encore must've been super fun. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lkapon Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Best part Paul was Jeff stopping I'm always in love in the middle and telling the crowd" you guy's have no idea what's wrong here" or something to that effect. He asked the boys if they were playing it in d. They quipped about it for a moment and broke back into it. I do believe it was a step down but sounded awesome! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
worldrecordplayer Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Love the selection of the "alternate" tunes: On and On and On, She's A Jar, Always in Love, Cat, Monday (!) Did they get Glenn to stand on his drums? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LoveisHello64 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Love the selection of the "alternate" tunes: On and On and On, She's A Jar, Always in Love, Cat, Monday (!) Did they get Glenn to stand on his drums? you bet they did Quote Link to post Share on other sites
unifiedtheory Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 Just edited my original post with a full recap. Also, a question: How long has Jeff been rocking his braids? I don't recall seeing them last summer or early fall, but I do seem to remember a reference to one of the crew braiding his hair during their European tour last fall. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dagwave Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Now THAT is a great review. Well done, unified. Full disclosure: I was in second row and FALSELY ACCUSED of having a vanity crutch on my person. A wonderful night, a wonderful crowd, a wonderful theater, and a wonderful Wilco. A great night with my son! Excited for tonight- in Row J ORCH. Crutch intact. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SL500 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Excellent review. Impressive. Thank you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyC Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Wow unifiedtheory STELLAR recap!!Thank you! Can't wait for tonight! Orch row N - Pat side Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Inside of Outside Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 That was a great read, unifiedtheory. Love seeing these in the set list: On And On And OnShe’s A JarLaminated CatI’m Always In LoveMondayForget The Flowers I'm Always In Love is a real treat. I'll bet it was even with the stop/start in the middle of it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Albert Tatlock Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 I echo the chorus of approval for UnifiedTheory's report. Ta. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bböp Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 I echo the chorus of approval for UnifiedTheory's report. Ta. Yes, definitely an admirable post. Kudos! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tongue-tied lightning Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 I was looking for ya Paul ! it was weird ! I felt like something was a little out of tune on Always in Love.Jeff was in great spirits ! I was lucky to see Saturdays show also, Tuesdaywas just a tiny bit more fun. I think when you see Jeff having fun it carries over to everyone. sorry to see it end, but it was awesome having them in NYC for 4 nights ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
choo-choo-charlie Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 What the hell is a vanity crutch? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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