Anyone else miss "Art of Almost" in the live show?

[DiamondClaw]

After playing it at pretty much every single show from 2011 to 2017, Wilco has not played "Art of Almost" once since they came back from the hiatus this summer.

 

I'm sure there are good reasons for this — for one thing, I've heard them mention it's the one song they have to play along to a tape to perform, so that may present challenges or be a hassle they didn't want to deal with on this tour. Aside from that, Jeff may feel like it doesn't fit the vibe he is going for with the new Ode to Joy material. Or maybe he was just burned out on it.

 

But I for one miss that song!

 

Obviously there's not enough room in the setlist for every song, even the big ones. But I I thought "Art of Almost" had reached that "classic" status among the Impossible Germanys and I Am Trying to Break Your Hearts that would keep it in relatively constant rotation as a setlist stalwart.

 

Anyone else miss this one in the live shows so far this year?

[Madcap]

An unfortunate casualty of the homogenization of the setlists.  You'd think it would fit in quite nicely with the OTJ-noise material, just like BBN and Laminated Cat, it's kind of surprising that it hasn't been inserted in that slot at all.  

[jff]

I wouldn't say I missed it, but it's absence was noticed.

 

This tour sort of strikes me as a minimalistic production, and Art of Almost seems like a pretty maximalist, hi-tech piece of music.  Maybe that doesn't make any sense to anyone but me.  But, for example, there's no stage decoration at all this tour except for a screen.  There seems to be less equipment on stage than they typically have.  Most of the new music is very sparse and low-tech (maybe deceptively so).  I can see how they might feel Art of Almost doesn't fit in with what they're trying to present on this tour.  Rhythmically, at least, it is the exact opposite of what they were going for with Ode to Joy.

[lost highway]

 Rhythmically, at least, it is the exact opposite of what they were going for with Ode to Joy.

 

 

That's an astute, musical observation.

[Albert Tatlock]

Which bit was taped? JT certainly had me fooled lip-syncing to Milli Vanilli standard.

[DiamondClaw]

I wouldn't say I missed it, but it's absence was noticed.

 

This tour sort of strikes me as a minimalistic production, and Art of Almost seems like a pretty maximalist, hi-tech piece of music.  Maybe that doesn't make any sense to anyone but me.  But, for example, there's no stage decoration at all this tour except for a screen.  There seems to be less equipment on stage than they typically have.  Most of the new music is very sparse and low-tech (maybe deceptively so).  I can see how they might feel Art of Almost doesn't fit in with what they're trying to present on this tour.  Rhythmically, at least, it is the exact opposite of what they were going for with Ode to Joy.

Yeah, I can see how they might be avoiding the big production of the song on this tour.

 

Still though, that moment when the dissonance of the end of the previous song transitions into the intro to "Art of Almost" was usually my favorite moment of a Wilco concert.

[summerdai]

Needs a long rest. I found it awesome in 2011 when it was new to me, but after hearing it multiple times I came to the conclusion that it's not really much of a song, and the initial enthusiasm the band had for playing it had dissipated somewhat.

[chriscolbert]

If they had to play to tape with it then they should never play it. Completely inexcusable for a band of Wilco's skill to admit that. Surely the SIX of them can pull off that song to a decent enough degree without going Memorex on us.

[jff]

If they had to play to tape with it then they should never play it. Completely inexcusable for a band of Wilco's skill to admit that. Surely the SIX of them can pull off that song to a decent enough degree without going Memorex on us.

 

I don't know what the "tape" is, but it could be a loop of some sort that Glen or Mikael trigger.  It's really common for drummers to do that these days with electronic drums, and isn't really the same as playing to a tape.  It's more similar to some of the things guitarists do with some of their pedals, or what a lot of synths do.  But that's just a guess, and I'd be curious to know exactly what that means. 

 

Here it is from Letterman:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpe_AYaIDSc

 

I don't see or hear anything in this performance that suggests they're playing to a tape, but I hear a number of loops and/or repeating synth passages (I don't know the correct synth terminology), particularly during the first couple of minutes.

[SarahC]

It’s the string sounding synth loop stuff that’s taped.

[jff]

It’s the string sounding synth loop stuff that’s taped.

 

Here's another performance.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6du9Lg5Mjk

 

If your'e referring to the string section that comes it at around :45, and then again around 3:25, that seems more like a sound sample that someone in the band pushes a button or key to generate, so while it is a pre-recorded sound, it is being "played" by a band member.  Which is exactly how mellotrons work.

 

I don't see any kind of Ashley Simpson-esque sins being committed here.  It's not like there's a tape running throughout that they're using as a crutch.  The strings could go away entirely and the song would be fine.

[DiamondClaw]

Quote from Jeff a few years ago about the tape:

 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/redeye/redeye-jeff-tweedy-wilco-stories-behind-songs-personal-playlist-20160902-story.html

 

"It's the only song that's the same tempo exactly every night because it's the only one we actually play along to some backing tracks with—just because that's one of the only songs we don't have enough hands to really present it the way we want it to be."

 

IMO, that doesn't factor into the merit or authenticity of it being performed. But it could be a reason it doesn't just randomly pop up into a setlist one night.

[jff]

I guess I'm of two minds on this one.  I still feel that this is an innocent use of technology.  The nature of prerecorded parts is that they are locked into a tempo, so Glenn has to use a click track on that one song, which is harmless.   

 

On the other hand, it seems the only backing track is some strings and string-like sounds during the first half of the song. IMO, the song would come across just as well in concert without those. Alternatively, I'm sure they could figure out a way to compensate for the loss of those sounds...for example, as far as I can tell, Jeff has two free hands during the part of the song with the tapes...he could maybe create something like those sounds using a guitar and effects, or trigger those exact recordings using MIDI.  So, while I generally prefer a band not to rely on backing tapes, I think this is perhaps the most minor offense of backing tape use possible.   

[nalafej]

Wilco fans in the early 2000's used to love the brief stint of Wilco as a four piece and Jeff had a laptop on stage doing this kind of thing.

[SarahC]

Wilco fans in the early 2000's used to love the brief stint of Wilco as a four piece and Jeff had a laptop on stage doing this kind of thing.

I never saw that incarnation (I wish!!), but I do remember it well from back then. The late YHF early AGIB era.

[lost highway]

Yeah the footage from the end of IATTBYH with Leroy and a laptop is interesting. They were using in-ear monitors and using lower stage volume. It was the most mini-ensemble they've ever been.

[remphish1]

I never saw that incarnation (I wish!!), but I do remember it well from back then. The late YHF early AGIB era.

I caught them in this incarnation after Yankee case out in Philly. It was interesting because Jeff had to do a lot of the heavy lifting back then.

[SarahC]

Yeah the footage from the end of IATTBYH with Leroy and a laptop is interesting. They were using in-ear monitors and using lower stage volume. It was the most mini-ensemble they've ever been.

It’s interesting that they use the wedge monitors now instead of in-ears, but I think it helps them sound even better.

[lost highway]

It’s interesting that they use the wedge monitors now instead of in-ears, but I think it helps them sound even better.

 

Yeah, I think it was a short-lived experiment. A lot of people have a hard time getting used to those little ear monitors- doesn't feel as rockin.

[sinko25]

If they had to play to tape with it then they should never play it. Completely inexcusable for a band of Wilco's skill to admit that. Surely the SIX of them can pull off that song to a decent enough degree without going Memorex on us.

 

I think it's totally fine for Wilco to use a backing track on one damn song because they felt it needed all the sounds to make it work live. The sonic palate of that song is pretty unique and they probably felt they couldn't do it justice with what they had readily available. There's the bass synth thing throughout the tune, the rhythmic effect, the crackling, explosions, etc. 

 

And I do miss it, but I didn't see the band much between 2012 and 2017. I was hoping it would make an appearance at Solid Sound this year. 

[DiamondClaw]

Bumping this to say I am really hoping "Art of Almost" makes an appearance at the Chicago Theatre residency this week!