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Wilco — 16 June 2019, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Paradiso) [Night 2 of 2]


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Since pretty much anybody who would care to read a recap of this show probably already watched it themselves via the livestream (or could on demand, I assume) and since I’ve already slacked with said recap for nearly two days, I’m not really sure how much I can add at this point. Yet for duty’s sake, if nothing else, I suppose I will try to piece together a few thoughts on the subject of Night 2 at the Paradiso in Amsterdam.

 

Paradiso is obviously an iconic venue, but it can leave a little something to be desired from an audience perspective. For one, the stage is about 6 feet high and there’s no barricade so there’s actually a disadvantage to being right up front because, also factoring in monitors, most people would have a tough time seeing the entirety of the stage. Then there’s the acoustics, which can be less than ideal depending on where one is standing. And being a converted church, the air circulation is kind of what you would expect, which is to say that when there’s a sold-out show, it gets pretty warm in there. The best view in the place is probably from the stage left and right seats in the first balcony, which is probably why a majority of the people who queue early for the show head straight up there.

 

But especially since the Dutch are pretty stoic sorts, generally speaking, someone has to bring the rock — both from a fan perspective (wink, wink) to the band itself. And despite Jeff’s comment about a third of the way through the show that “we have a lot of ballads for you tonight because we decided you weren’t gonna make yourselves sad,” Wilco actually played the role of “American Rock Band” more than sufficiently before the night was done. :rock

 

From a setlist perspective, as in Brussels, we got an almost entirely different one from the first night to the second. If I’m not mistaken, only Impossible Germany, Reservations and I’m The Man Who Loves You were played at both Amsterdam shows. There were a couple of surprises on Night 2 as well, including The Joke Explained and Sky Blue Sky (which Jeff said was a request…from whom, I wonder? Perhaps it was just the most-requested song via Wilcoworld, but if so, I feel like Jeff would have just said that.) Anyway, it was also interesting to note that Hell Is Chrome was initially listed on the printed setlist as the show opener but for some reason was scrapped in favor of Ashes Of American Flags. Again, I wonder if there was any particular reason for that between the time Jeff wrote the setlist to show time. More things we’ll never know, I suppose... :peace

 

There wasn’t much in the way of banter early on, and Jeff actually seemed a little ornery for the first half of the show. When someone yelled out “More guitars!” — it wasn’t clear whether he wanted the volume of the guitars to be turned up or whether he was just cheering the numerous guitar changes — Jeff simply looked out blankly, shrugged and said, “OK.” He also kind of dismissively pooh-poohed a request for Art Of Almost. Later in the show, though, Jeff warmed up a bit, expressing his fondness for Paradiso just before starting Box Full Of Letters, when he said, “This is the best place, you know. That’s not just, like, a showbiz thing. I don’t say that to every audience. In fact, I tell most audiences how much their place is kind of OK. But this is a great place, so thanks for having us. We’re going to reward you with another song off of our first album.”

 

Right around that time, things seemed to loosen up in general. After Box when a guy yelled in slightly accented English that he was sad the song was over, Jeff replied, “I didn’t understand that, I’m sorry. Showbiz is something that you don’t do lightly? I don’t know. That was my translation. I’m still learning the language.” Then another guy yelled out loudly as Jeff began quietly strumming the opening chords to Reservations, which brought another quip from Jeff: “I like him. He’s an aggressively sensitive guy. ‘Yeah! Everybody be quiet!’ Just that’s gonna be on the Internet. Just that.”

 

Overall, I’d say that this show was probably the best of the four on this European run so far. Whether it was due to the fact the band was a little more focused knowing it was being broadcast to all different corners of the globe or just because they had a few shows under their collective belts, Jeff and Co. just seemed to be in good form. Glenn, especially, was really a standout, I thought, on Laminated Cat and some of the other rockers toward the back half of the set. As others have noted, the band has tinkered with some of the arrangements of old staples like Bull Black Nova, I’m The Man Who Loves You and Misunderstood, so having a drummer like Glenn hold things together on some songs and propelling others forward is all the more beneficial. :thumbup

 

So that’s about all from Amsterdam this time around, I guess. If I missed anything, well, you can just crank it up and watch it for yourself. Someday we’ll just all have virtual concerts that we each attend from our living room couches via a virtual reality headset while the band plays to holograms of their fans from their studio or something. Until we get to that surreal point, though, I have to say this was a show I was personally more than happy (and grateful) to be able to attend in person. Couldn’t you tell? :wave

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played, on Night 2 at Paradiso (as mentioned, Hell Is Chrome was listed as the first song on the printed setlist, but was swapped out in favor of Ashes Of American Flags):

 

Ashes Of American Flags

Whole Love

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart>

Kamera

I'll Fight

The Joke Explained

Handshake Drugs

How To Fight Loneliness

Shouldn't Be Ashamed

Either Way

Company In My Back

Sky Blue Sky

Bull Black Nova

Laminated Cat (aka Not For The Season)

Forget The Flowers

Box Full Of Letters

Reservations

Impossible Germany

I'm Always In Love

Random Name Generator

At Least That's What You Said

Theologians

Heavy Metal Drummer

I'm The Man Who Loves You

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

Misunderstood>

Outtasite (Outta Mind)

I'm A Wheel

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Outside of the 6 members of Wilco, I think the most prominent person I noticed was bbop himself, boping his head along to the songs in the crowd! I tried to see theashtraysays but didn't see him, though I did see his sign during the beginning of Nova. 

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Outside of the 6 members of Wilco, I think the most prominent person I noticed was bbop himself, boping his head along to the songs in the crowd! I tried to see theashtraysays but didn't see him, though I did see his sign during the beginning of Nova.

I was just chatting with a friend about this today. We agreed that it’s reassuring and inspiring to see our very own bbop grooving out in the audience. It would be understandable for him to be a little blasé by this time, but he’s clearly still feeling it!
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Outside of the 6 members of Wilco, I think the most prominent person I noticed was bbop himself, boping his head along to the songs in the crowd! I tried to see theashtraysays but didn't see him, though I did see his sign during the beginning of Nova. 

 

:ninja :ninja :ninja

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Outside of the 6 members of Wilco, I think the most prominent person I noticed was bbop himself, boping his head along to the songs in the crowd! I tried to see theashtraysays but didn't see him, though I did see his sign during the beginning of Nova. 

I was just to bbop's right, directly in front of Glenn, but I was behind a rather large Dutch Elm Tree so you'd probably not see me from the front. 

Glad the sign made it through... it did bring quite a few smiles from the crowd around me.

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I returned from a Father's Day celebration on Sunday and tuned in to get about 40 seconds of I'm A Wheel, and I haven't had time to watch any online videos so I for one appreciate the review!  Thank you!

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