Wilco

[No spoken words]

Please, elaborate if you can.

I'd love to, but, I lack eloquence at the best of times, and I really am wiped out right now so my ability to communicate is worse than usual, if possible; work was insane, and I'm too old to be standing up for 4 hours straight (show was 3 hours, got there an hour before).

 

[LemonMelon]

I'd love to, but, I lack eloquence at the best of times, and I really am wiped out right now so my ability to communicate is worse than usual, if possible; work was insane, and I'm too old to be standing up for 4 hours straight (show was 3 hours, got there an hour before).

I saw the setlist.

You're a lucky bitch.

 

[LemonMelon]

A.M., Mermaid Avenue I, Mermaid Avenue II

Any of these worth checking out?

So far so good with A.M. The lyrics are terrible, and they sounded like a bar band back then, but it's a total party.

 

[corianderstem]

I like Mermaid Avenue I a lot, but Mermaid Avenue II was pretty mediocre with no stand-out tracks for me.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I like Mermaid Avenue I a lot, but Mermaid Avenue II was pretty mediocre with no stand-out tracks for me.

I agree except for Airline to Heaven which is one of my favorite songs from the Guthrie sessions.

Mermaid Avenue II also has a nice cover.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I'd love to, but, I lack eloquence at the best of times, and I really am wiped out right now so my ability to communicate is worse than usual, if possible; work was insane, and I'm too old to be standing up for 4 hours straight (show was 3 hours, got there an hour before).

When you're rested, please tell us what the highlight was for you.

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

A.M. took a long time to grow on me. I've been listening to it a lot lately, though. I especially love Too Far Apart and would love to hear them play it Saturday.

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

And Saturday = the day after tomorrow

 

[LemonMelon]

And Saturday = the day after tomorrow

I'm relatively new to Wilco compared to some of you, so I just listened to A Ghost Is Born about a month ago, and I'm still wrestling with it a bit. I can hear the brilliance in it, but a bunch of it still rubs me the wrong way. On the good side, At Least That's What You Said is probably Wilco's best opener; passionate and a bit frightening. Muzzle Of Bees is simple and gorgeous, while Handshake Drugs' nonchalance is very attractive, and its tasteful use of noise is refreshing. Wishful Thinking is incredible lyrically and has a superb melody. On the negative side, Spiders is about twice as a long as it needs to be, Theologians feels too goofy to me, and kind of breaks up the album, and The Late Greats was an awful choice for an album closer. Seriously, 12 minutes of white noise and you follow it up with a lame throwaway like that? They can do better. But it's still a good album, and I hope to get more out of it in the future.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I'm relatively new to Wilco compared to some of you, so I just listened to A Ghost Is Born about a month ago, and I'm still wrestling with it a bit. I can hear the brilliance in it, but a bunch of it still rubs me the wrong way. On the good side, At Least That's What You Said is probably Wilco's best opener; passionate and a bit frightening. Muzzle Of Bees is simple and gorgeous, while Handshake Drugs' nonchalance is very attractive, and its tasteful use of noise is refreshing. Wishful Thinking is incredible lyrically and has a superb melody. On the negative side, Spiders is about twice as a long as it needs to be, Theologians feels too goofy to me, and kind of breaks up the album, and The Late Greats was an awful choice for an album closer. Seriously, 12 minutes of white noise and you follow it up with a lame throwaway like that? They can do better. But it's still a good album, and I hope to get more out of it in the future.

I don't think I fully appreciated AGIB until I heard these songs live. They really come alive. Spiders annoyed the hell out of me until it was one of the highlights of a show I saw. I agree about The Late Greats and Theologians (though I like the lyrics). I'm a Wheel also remains a least favorite Wilco song. So I guess though I find it a bit uneven, the songs I like I LOVE.

 

[LemonMelon]

Just judging from the Kicking Television versions, you're right that AGIB comes to life in a live setting. It's so much better this way.

But, of course, nothing can come close to actually being there (no pun intended) in front of Tweedy and co.

I like that I honestly don't have a damn clue what they're going to play this Saturday. I'm hoping for Pot Kettle Black and that's about it.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Just judging from the Kicking Television versions, you're right that AGIB comes to life in a live setting. It's so much better this way.

But, of course, nothing can come close to actually being there (no pun intended) in front of Tweedy and co.

I like that I honestly don't have a damn clue what they're going to play this Saturday. I'm hoping for Pot Kettle Black and that's about it.

I'm telling you, when Spiders kicks in (you know the moment...) it brings the fucking house down.

The thing about Wilco for me is that I am never concerned about setlists because I generally like most of their catalog--especially live. Sure, I'd rather hear Poor Places than I'm a Wheel but, again, everything's great live. I'm excited for you. Every member of the band is a joy to watch, too. But I hope you get a setlist you love.

 

[corianderstem]

AGIB is still very slowly growing on me, but yeah - Spiders is the definite hight point of the album for me, and the live version? Fuhgeddaboutit!

My favorite two Wilco albums remain Summerteeth and YHF.

 

[LemonMelon]

Now I'm hoping they do play Spiders so I can hear this for myself.

I became an obsessed Flaming Lips fan after I saw them live, and I expect the same thing to happen here; a new favorite band to obsess over. But Wilco is more fun to keep an eye on because of the constant touring and strange setlists.

 

[gump]

I have been away for a while, but wow. This whole thing is pretty amazing. Can't wait to hear the recordings.

 

[joyfulgirl]

My favorite two Wilco albums remain Summerteeth and YHF.

They're basically flawless.

 

[LemonMelon]

YHF is certainly the closest to flawless I've heard from them. It's an amazing combination of pop/folk and sonic dissonance.

But I love A.M. and Being There too. They're just so fun and unassuming...there's something really wonderful about a song as simple and fun as Casino Queen, I Must Be High, or Monday. Some days, I just really love that stuff.

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

I hated Spiders until the second time I heard it live, which was last summer. It's a song that really showcases Nels's natural playing style, and it was cool to see him and Jeff feed off of each other's energy. A lot of people in the crowd suddenly had glow sticks, too (the crew might've been tossing them out into the crowd), and every time the song rose to one of those really high explosive parts, everyone threw their glowsticks. It was so damned pretty in the dark park, and by the end of the song, the glowsticks were around the whole crowd, even in the back where we were.

I requested Ashes of American Flags for Saturday over on that request form on Wilcoworld. I'd also love to hear Too Far Apart and Red-Eyed and Blue. Honestly, though, I'll be thrilled no matter what they play. They had so much fun breaking out the obscure songs this week that it wouldn't surprise me if at least a few of them stay in the setlists.

LM, do you think you're going to stick around after the show to see if they come out to sign autographs and such? And do you know if the Tower people will hassle me about my camera?

 

[joyfulgirl]

Box Full of Letters

And I love Being There, my first.

 

[LemonMelon]

I Got You (At The End Of The Century) is perfect pop.

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

My current Wilco album ranking goes something like this:

1. YHF (my second favorite album of all-time, barely behind Achtung Baby)
2. Being There
3. Sky Blue Sky
4. Kicking Television
5. A.M.
6. A Ghost Is Born
7. Summerteeth

It's not that I don't like AGIB and ST; I just think the others work better on the whole. I love the first Mermaid Avenue album, too, but it's hard to rank that with the rest. I still haven't gotten around to picking up the second Mermaid Avenue album yet.

If anyone is interested in improvisational jazz, I really encourage you to check out Nels's other group, the Nels Cline Singers. Their three albums are all mind-blowing. corianderstem can attest to how much I gush about Nels in my Livejournal, but I promise he deserves every word of it

 

[LemonMelon]

LM, do you think you're going to stick around after the show to see if they come out to sign autographs and such? And do you know if the Tower people will hassle me about my camera?

Do they do signings after shows? I had no idea. I try to make a habit of sticking around anyway, so you can expect to see me hanging around. Besides, the main lobby is SO CROWDED after a gig that you won't be going anywhere fast. Probably best just to stay in the theatre for a few minutes at least.

When it comes to cameras, just don't bring anything large. I got caught last time I was there for taping during an Arcade Fire gig, but that camera was huge. Just bing a smallish digital camera and you'll be fine.

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

They don't always, but do more often than not. I figure it's at least worth a shot. They haven't played Philly in awhile, so I think there's a pretty good chance they'll come out. I'm planning to get down there between 4 and 5, so I might take a look around and see if maybe I can catch them before or after sound check, too.

The tickets don't say "no camera," so I'm going to stick mine in the bottom of my purse and turn the flash off when I use it, and hopefully I won't get caught. I'll be close enough that I should be able to get some awesome pictures.

 

[LemonMelon]

I figured you were the punctual type. I won't show up till probably 7:15 or thereabouts, but early enough to spy things out, check out the t-shirts, and all that good stuff.

As far as I know, we're the only board members going, so we have to snap a ton of photos for everyone missing out.

 

[joyfulgirl]

This would be a good moment for inmpy to repost his photo with Tweedy.

Can't believe they're not coming near me on this tour.

 

[No spoken words]

When you're rested, please tell us what the highlight was for you.

Via Chicago.

It's not my favorite song of theirs, not by a longshot, but they really kicked the shit out of it last night. The guy I was with is crazy for Wilco like I am for U2, so he's seen them tons of time in concert and he said that was the best version he'd ever heard.

 

[corianderstem]

If anyone is interested in improvisational jazz, I really encourage you to check out Nels's other group, the Nels Cline Singers. Their three albums are all mind-blowing. corianderstem can attest to how much I gush about Nels in my Livejournal, but I promise he deserves every word of it

Yeah, uh ... she reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally likes Nels.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Via Chicago.

It's not my favorite song of theirs, not by a longshot, but they really kicked the shit out of it last night. The guy I was with is crazy for Wilco like I am for U2, so he's seen them tons of time in concert and he said that was the best version he'd ever heard.

That's what was playing when I first tuned in last night and I posted earlier that it was "scorching."

 

[joyfulgirl]

If anyone is interested in improvisational jazz, I really encourage you to check out Nels's other group, the Nels Cline Singers. Their three albums are all mind-blowing. corianderstem can attest to how much I gush about Nels in my Livejournal, but I promise he deserves every word of it

Nels is one of the best things that ever happened to Wilco.

 

[Dalton]

Can anyone point me to last nights setlist?

Summerteeth is your LEAST favorite? Wow.

Nels is BADASS live. He's so bad, that bad ass becomes one word. Its fusion.