Geeky Via Chicago question

[Magnetized]

I was just listening to Summerteeth today all the way through for the first time in a while and it made me wonder when Wilco started performing Via Chicago with the really dramatic noise part. It's such a stunner in concert, especially for people not that familiar with the songs. The audience goes nuts when they hear that cacophony of noise, then when it stops on a dime and you just hear Jeff's calm, resolute vocals, and then boom, the noise starts again. It's so powerful and it always gives me the chills. But I'm assuming they didn't always perform it this way. It's certainly not that dramatic on the album. So my question is does anyone know how the live performances have evolved over time? I figured if anybody would know it might be someone here. Thanks! (edited for clarity)

[lost highway]

Yeah, someone with a deep vault of all the live shows might be able to find a show in maybe 98 or 99 and see how they played it way back when.

[Analogman]

You can still go to Wilcobase and see if there is a show listed under the set list for a particular show. The links don't work anymore - but you can just go to The Wilco Live Show Archive and look up the show.

[Magnetized]

Yeah, I can research this on my own by going on good old So Out of Tune. I just wondered if anyone who's been following closely for a long time might happen to know. I'm guessing there may have been a turning point at some momentous show and they probably have kept it up from that point on. I'll do a little homework and will report back if I figure it out.

[theashtraysays]

I remember reading something when KT came out where Jeff was saying that the live version on KT was much more of a "performance" of the song as compared to the studio version which had a lot of overdubbing and piecing together of the final version.  I got the feeling that the KT version (AGIB tour) was the first time they did the version we all know today.

[lost highway]

I remember reading something when KT came out where Jeff was saying that the live version on KT was much more of a "performance" of the song as compared to the studio version which had a lot of overdubbing and piecing together of the final version.  I got the feeling that the KT version (AGIB tour) was the first time they did the version we all know today.

 

That era was the first time I saw it, but then again it was the first time I saw them so I figure I missed some things.

[lost highway]

I farted around in the Wilco Archive for a bit and found they opened with it in this show back in Nov of 99.

 

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B5xZV5X8KwRCTzFDdkhraklaXzA

 

Much more Jay Bennett guitar forward doing the loud electric tremolo stuff. Ken Coomer mostly stays out of the way and does a couple loud crashes during the noise part. Not nearly as developed.

 

Now to find an '01 version with Jay Bennett and Glenn Kotche... I'm curious.

[kidsmoke]

Wilco archaeology! I love it.

[GormanBechard]

I farted around in the Wilco Archive for a bit and found they opened with it in this show back in Nov of 99.

 

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B5xZV5X8KwRCTzFDdkhraklaXzA

 

Much more Jay Bennett guitar forward doing the loud electric tremolo stuff. Ken Coomer mostly stays out of the way and does a couple loud crashes during the noise part. Not nearly as developed.

 

Now to find an '01 version with Jay Bennett and Glenn Kotche... I'm curious.

 

That is an amazing version.  

[choo-choo-charlie]

I farted around in the Wilco Archive for a bit and found they opened with it in this show back in Nov of 99.

 

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B5xZV5X8KwRCTzFDdkhraklaXzA

 

Much more Jay Bennett guitar forward doing the loud electric tremolo stuff. Ken Coomer mostly stays out of the way and does a couple loud crashes during the noise part. Not nearly as developed.

 

Now to find an '01 version with Jay Bennett and Glenn Kotche... I'm curious.

 

According to Wilcobase, Jeff Tweedy performed it a handful of times at solo shows, but the band only performed it once in 2001, at First Avenue in Minneapolis on 6/30/2001. Now, I believe Glenn had replaced Ken by that point (Jay's last show was the Grant Park gig in Chicago on 7/4/2001, immortalized in the IATTBYH film) but this show isn't on So Out of Tune, my go to site for streaming Wilco. Looks like there may be a few etree users out there who have it, if someone REALLY wants to dig for this.

 

But, I've listened to a lot of Wilco shows from the late 1990s and the noise section was tame compared to today. As previously mentioned, there might be some shimmering tremolo guitar work from Jay and some cymbal crashes from Ken, but overall it's pretty close to the record, which only has a touch of noise other than the squealing guitar feedback that fades in and out, though rather unobtrusively. 

 

I've also listened to several key shows from the Leroy-Mikael era, 2002-2003, where Via Chicago was performed. By "key" I mean shows for which there are high-quality recordings available, either SBDs or really good AUDs. Shows for which good SBDs or AUDs exist during which Via Chicago was performed include 6/21/03 (Three Rivers Arts Festival) and 6/28/03 (Penn's Landing, Philly), neither of which have a huge explosion of sound. It might be slightly more pronounced than the late 1990s versions, and they're definitely more keyboard heavy (with the emphasis on keyboards during that era), but again, absolutely nothing like the fireworks display (see what I did there?) that we're treated to at modern day Wilco shows. 

 

FWIW, you can view a list on Wilcobase of every time any Wilco song has been played, well, from its debut through 2012, when the site quit keeping stats.

 

http://wilcobase.com/every_time_played.php

[Analogman]

The 6/30/2001 show is up at the Wilco Live Show Archive. 

 

 

Wilco   2001-06-30

First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota

 

disc 1

Via Chicago

Shot In The Arm

I'm Always In Love

War On War

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Hesitating Beauty

Remember the Mountain Bed

Airline to Heaven

Feed of Man

She's A Jar

Ashes Of An American Flag

Kamera

How to Fight the Lonliness

California Stars

Red Eyed and Blue>

I Got You

 

disc 2

enc.: Misunderstood

Jesus, Etc.

Sunken Treasure

enc. 2: Reservations

Passenger Side

Outta Site (Outta Mind)

enc. 3: Forget the Flowers

Monday

Casino Queen

 

Source: aud> ? > CD> EAC> Trader's Little Helper

[lost highway]

The 6/30/2001 show is up at the Wilco Live Show Archive. 

 

Thanks! That's maybe the only Bennett and Kotche version (maybe same the next night of that tour). I wish it was as good a capture as some of the others. I never realized how few shows feature both members.

[kidsmoke]

Am I the only one confused here? (Well then, business as usual!) In your opening post you said Summerteeth, so I thought we were talking about that song. But it appears we are actually talking about Via Chicago, right? And you meant Summerteeth the album.

 

I do love the current take on it!

[Magnetized]

Am I the only one confused here? (Well then, business as usual!) In your opening post you said Summerteeth, so I thought we were talking about that song. But it appears we are actually talking about Via Chicago, right? And you meant Summerteeth the album.

 

I do love the current take on it!

I was talking about the song Via Chicago on the album Summerteeth. But now that I reread my original post I sure didn't make that clear, did I? Except of course I have never heard the song Summerteeth performed with a cacophonous noise break in it!

[kidsmoke]

I was talking about the song Via Chicago on the album Summerteeth. But now that I reread my original post I sure didn't make that clear, did I? Except of course I have never heard the song Summerteeth performed with a cacophonous noise break in it!

 

Well who knows, maybe we've given Jeff an idea!  Wouldn't that be weird to hear Summer Teeth done up that way!

[Robby]

Am I the only one confused here? (Well then, business as usual!) In your opening post you said Summerteeth, so I thought we were talking about that song. But it appears we are actually talking about Via Chicago, right? And you meant Summerteeth the album.

 

I do love the current take on it!

Don't feel bad - I thought the same thing too! I kept thinking, well Summerteeth has a loud keyboard bridge in the middle, is that what everyone is talking about?

[kidsmoke]

Thanks Robby, I feel better.

[choo-choo-charlie]

The title of the thread says Via Chicago, as does the first sentence of the post...plus the whole "audience going nuts during the cacophony" part made it clear we're talking about the murder ballad. Such a brilliant album juxtaposing sunny pop songs, dark lyrics and layered production.

[kidsmoke]

Well, the text has been adjusted and I took the thread title as "a question posed to the Via Chicago community". But yeah, the cacophony pretty much gives it away.