wilco, Wilco, WILCO!!!

[Mr MidFi]

Freakin' WILCO, man! They were awesome last night. Flat-out, no-holds-barred, unequivocally awesome. Seriously.

Enthusiastic hometown crowd. The 4th night of their 5-night "Winter Residency" at the Riviera Theater in Chicago. Simulcast on WXRT, their biggest supporters since the very beginning. An inspired 30-song set list, bookended by both versions of Outta Mind / Outta Sight from Being There.

And they played 'em all like it was their last night on earth.

I'm still stunned and groggy from the experience, but this one may very well enter my all-time top 5 shows. (And believe me, I've seen some incredible shows over the past 30+ years.)

Wow. Just wow.

[ForeverAutumn]

So you liked the show, eh?

[Davey]

Nice man! They could play that Being There stuff all night and it wouldn't bother me a bit, huh? So I recently broke down and picked up a used copy of Sky Blue Sky, and even knowing what to expect, was still was kind of underwhelmed. Really sounds nice as it's playing, but except for moments in the standouts like "Impossible Germany" with the amazing guitar jam and the poignant lyrics (be a great song for the Obama campaign if it was more popular, though I do love Stevie Wonder ), there didn't seem much to latch onto. Can't remember how well you placed this on your end of year list, but did it start out that way for you too?

[Mr MidFi]

Nice man! They could play that Being There stuff all night and it wouldn't bother me a bit, huh? So I recently broke down and picked up a used copy of Sky Blue Sky, and even knowing what to expect, was still was kind of underwhelmed. Really sounds nice as it's playing, but except for moments in the standouts like "Impossible Germany" with the amazing guitar jam and the poignant lyrics (be a great song for the Obama campaign if it was more popular, though I do love Stevie Wonder ), there didn't seem much to latch onto. Can't remember how well you placed this on your end of year list, but did it start out that way for you too?

Yeah, it started out as a massive yawn and major disappointment for me. As expected, repeated listens made it far more palatable...but I didn't really "get" the appeal to many of those songs until I heard/saw them live. They sounded great last night. Context is everything, I guess.

But still, I would rate it as one of their lesser efforts. Any casual fan trying to decide between SBS and, say, Being There or Summerteeth would be well advised to look to the past first.

Speaking of Obama...when Tweedy announced the Wisconsin results, there was a mighty cheer from the crowd. He then declared that if Sen. Obama wanted to use the next song for his campaign, he could anytime. For the life of me, I can't remember what they played next.

[ForeverAutumn]

Hey did Andrew Bird play with them last night? I'm not sure if he did all five nights, but he accompanied them on the 17th with his violin on nine songs. Go here. You can read the review and if you scroll down, there's a video of Andrew playing Jesus Etc with them.

[Mr MidFi]

Hey did Andrew Bird play with them last night? I'm not sure if he did all five nights, but he accompanied them on the 17th with his violin on nine songs. Go here. You can read the review and if you scroll down, there's a video of Andrew playing Jesus Etc with them.

No, 'fraid not. The guy sitting next to me had been to all 3 previous shows, and he said that AB added a nice touch to several of those songs, and sounded like he could easily be part of the band. But...I have no complaints at all.

They did trot out a horn section for most of the post-intermission songs, and they definitely added some 'soul' to the proceedings.

I really, really hope a quality boot emerges from that show. Since it was simulcast on a major-market station, that's prolly a good bet.

[Mr MidFi]

Here's a link to the set list, plus a mini-review by the Chicago Tribune:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entert...409,full.story

Good times, good times.

[Swish]

The political b.s. bothers me because musicians and actors should just stay out of the political arena. Why should I care if freakin' Oprah Winfrey is backing Obama? Just stay out of it please. Why do they think they can sway anyone's vote and take the chance of ticking off potentially millions of fans who don't happen to agree. I don't care for Oprah anyway, but this just makes it even worse.

Back to music...Sky Blue Sky indeed is better 'live', although I can't really say that except for seeing the special edition DVD. I like Being There and YHF much better, but I still like it.

This will be my second Wilco show, although the first since the new lineup, so it should be a lot of fun. I promise to provide a nice review on Sunday.

Swish

[thereyet]

I feel like Rip Van Winkle coming out of a slumber. Having spent way too many years stuck in the Jam band genre, think Grateful Dead, I have finally awoke to find some really great music thanks to my teen aged son and some posters from another Forum, one of whom steered me here.

Looking forward to learning more of what is going on today, had enough of what was going on then, 30 years ago. It also doesn't hurt that I work with kids, and i know they are not too interested in my era in Rock and Roll.

So howdy all!

ty

[thereyet]

Being new to this forum, not sure what happened to the first message I attempted to post but...While flipping through CDs at Rasputan's in SF, it was recommended check out Golden Smog; another fine day, and what do i find but Jeff Tweedy all over it. I especially liked the two dollar used price tag on it! Imagine what you learn by reading the jacket on occasion, which is getting harder to do these days as my eyes are not what they used to be.

Looking forward to reading more of your posts Mr. Midfi.

ty

[ForeverAutumn]

I feel like Rip Van Winkle coming out of a slumber. Having spent way too many years stuck in the Jam band genre, think Grateful Dead, I have finally awoke to find some really great music thanks to my teen aged son and some posters from another Forum, one of whom steered me here.

Looking forward to learning more of what is going on today, had enough of what was going on then, 30 years ago. It also doesn't hurt that I work with kids, and i know they are not too interested in my era in Rock and Roll.

So howdy all!

ty

Hey ty, Welcome to AR. There's a lot of musical knowledge 'round these parts about all kinds of different styles of music. If you're looking for recommendations of new (or old) bands to check out then you've come to the right place...just as long as you're not looking for top 40 type stuff. You won't find much tolerance for that here.

What kind of really great music have you found recently? Once we know what you like, it'll be easier to steer you in new directions. Be prepared for a hit to your wallet!

Cheers!

[thereyet]

On the most recent trip to the shop I bought...

matt pond pa

Golden Smog

Ohkerville River

Iron and Wine

Spoon

Recent shows i have seen...

Spoon

Modest Mouse

Built to Spill ( that was a term I used to use for myself, who knew there was a band)
w/ Meat Puppet

Jimmy Eat World

Clap your Hands and Say Yeah!

Have loved to listen to...

Wilco

Umphries McGee

RADIOHEAD!

Band of Horses

And many more I can't recall right now. Many of my new favs are recommendations by Mr. Midfi from another Forum. Thanks, Mr.!

I am not a "top 40" listener by choice but have to admit I am made to suffer for hours a day by my co-workers. Friggin uhhhhg! Come late afternoon, I have to take over. That or get stuck listening to finger hammering 80s hair bands. Oh well, you get the gist.

Thanks for the welcome,

ty

[Swish]

On the most recent trip to the shop I bought...

matt pond pa

Golden Smog

Ohkerville River

Iron and Wine

Spoon

Recent shows i have seen...

Spoon

Modest Mouse

Built to Spill ( that was a term I used to use for myself, who knew there was a band)
w/ Meat Puppet

Jimmy Eat World

Clap your Hands and Say Yeah!

Have loved to listen to...

Wilco

Umphries McGee

RADIOHEAD!

Band of Horses

And many more I can't recall right now. Many of my new favs are recommendations by Mr. Midfi from another Forum. Thanks, Mr.!

I am not a "top 40" listener by choice but have to admit I am made to suffer for hours a day by my co-workers. Friggin uhhhhg! Come late afternoon, I have to take over. That or get stuck listening to finger hammering 80s hair bands. Oh well, you get the gist.

Thanks for the welcome,

ty

I'm especially glad you woke up (What does a Deadhead say when he runs out of weed? Man, this music really sucks!). Sorry, but I couldn't resist.

If you read the other threads, you'll know I'm going to see Spoon next month in Philly, and that I called them one of my top 5 favorite bands so far in the 21st Century. Also nice to see you mention Iron and Wine, The Meat Puppets, Built to Spill and Okkervill River, but I can't tolerate Band of Horses. When that song with the line "I can sleep..." comes on the radio, I cringe and change the station! Friggin' HATE IT.

Anyway, welcome to the board and post often, even if it's trivial, like most of the crap I put on here.

G Swish Daddy

[Mr MidFi]

Thereyet, my Fodorite brutha!!! Good to see you here, man.

I'm swamped at work right now, and will likely remain so until my Greece trip in a week from now. So I must be off. But these folks will take good care of you. They're good people, and they have...er...interesting musical tastes.

Everybody, be nice to thereyet...a musical refugee from my favorite travel community. Offer him a drink or something.

[thereyet]

Thanks for the welcome. I was a little worried about your anonymity being "broken".

I haven't gotten to look around much yet but you were easy to find.

Thanks also Forever Autumn and Swish for the welcome. I will try and get back on LATE tonight and wade my way around to get a better feel for the site.

Now playing...Boston, More then a feeling. I wasn't lying when I said I was stuck listening to everyone elses "stuff". Insert smilley with fingers in his ears.

thereyet