"I know where I'll be tonight, alright. Outta Mind Outta Site"
Recently I was fortunate enough to attend a concert provided by, currently, America's greatest rock band...the incomparable Wilco. I promised all of you a review of said show. (And by all of you I mean one of you, who may or may not even read this.) So a review you shall receive.
I reside in the bustling city/town/hamlet of Columbia, MO. Our local concert venue is a nice little club called the Blue Note, which incidentally has been sued in the past by Blue Note Records over use of the domain thebluenote.com. The owner of said club has, for the last few years, sponsored a series of outdoor summer shows. A block of downtown is closed to traffic. Stages are erected. Cheap beer is sold at exorbitant prices. It's just like being inside to see a concert only without that silly air-conditioning making everything "comfortable."
Now normally these shows will feature a series of local acts and some nominally famous headlining acts. Earlier this summer I was treated to a very fine show by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. However, any "big" name generally plays inside the club.
So imagine my surprise to see the final 9th Street Summerfest (official name) of the summer was to feature the great Wilco. Jeff Tweedy has a long relationship with both Columbia and the Blue Note, going back to his Uncle Tupelo days (Please remove hat and observe a short moment of silence at the mention of UT.) so I guess this shouldn't have come as a total shock. Unlike the other summer street shows, this one was not free, but unlike the other summer street shows, this one featured the, currently, greatest American band.
It was hotter than two rats fucking in a sock the night of the show, but I cared not, for I am an American Aquarium Drinker, a Heavy Metal Drummer, a Casino Queen...I'm a Wilco fan okay.
Technically, I was pleasantly surprised by the setup. You'd have to see the area a full appreciation for what was going on. The block used is lined by 3-4 story buildings on either side, so the sound was funneled through the crowd quite well. I was fortunately close enough to have a good view, but even those in the back weren't exactly sitting in the lawn. You could also see dozens on the rooftops or in the windows of the surrounding buildings. It was a decent little setup.
Jeff Tweedy was in a jovial mood, instructing the crowd on the proper techniques of call and response as well as singalong. He urged us to cheer him up following his disappointing loss in Rock Star: INXS and mixed in a couple of jokes about his parents.
The setlist was to be as expected for the most part. Principle focus was given to the most recent Wilco release A Ghost is Born, however the band played cuts from every Wilco except, unfortunately their fabulous debut AM. This may, or may not, have to do with the fact that only Tweedy remains from the lineup that recorded that debut 10 years ago. The band did however play Airline to Heaven, a Woody Guthrie tune the band originally recorded for the second Mermaid Avenue album with singer/songwriter Billy Bragg. Fans were also treated to the Uncle Tupelo tune New Madrid which has become a staple of Wilco shows. Tweedy and company also debuted the tune Walken, which Jeff claims is only the second song he's ever written his father actually likes, thereby reducing pressure on the band to play the other song at ever single show. I was particularly pleased to see so much attention give to the band's second release Being There, an album that marked the full departure from the country/rock sound of both Uncle Tupelo and AM and provided the foundation for reputation Tweedy and Wilco currently enjoy.
The real spark of the evening came with the conclusion of the main set and the back to back playing of the riproaring I'm the Man Who Loves You and Spiders (Kidsmoke), two songs that would play as well in arenas as they do in clubs.
The final treat of the evening came with the last song of the evening as Tweedy thanked the crowd with the "lullaby" I Shall Be Released. I was so cooled out by the end, I didn't even mind all the people around that had absolutely no fucking idea it was a Bob Dylan song. Actually, I did mind, I just didn't let it bother me. It was too perfect a night.
Wilco
September 21, 2005
Columbia, MO
9th Street Summerfest
9th Street, between Broadway and Walnut
Set 1:
Kingpin
The Late Greats
Handshake Drugs
At Least That's What You Said
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Muzzle of Bees
Hummingbird
A Shot in the Arm
Via Chicago
War on War
Jesus, Etc.
Walken
I'm the Man Who Loves You
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
Encore 1:
Misunderstood
New Madrid
Airline to Heaven
I'm Always in Love
I'm a Wheel
Encore 2:
Monday
Outtasite (Outta Mind)
I Shall Be Released
setlist provided through the kindness of wilcobase.com, as I lack the memory to remember the songs in order and the non-coolness to bring pad and paper to the show to write them all down
Oh, and incidentally, I noted Wilco is currently the greatest American rock band. The all-time greatest American rock band is of course, the Velvet Underground, followed closely by the Band.
I reside in the bustling city/town/hamlet of Columbia, MO. Our local concert venue is a nice little club called the Blue Note, which incidentally has been sued in the past by Blue Note Records over use of the domain thebluenote.com. The owner of said club has, for the last few years, sponsored a series of outdoor summer shows. A block of downtown is closed to traffic. Stages are erected. Cheap beer is sold at exorbitant prices. It's just like being inside to see a concert only without that silly air-conditioning making everything "comfortable."
Now normally these shows will feature a series of local acts and some nominally famous headlining acts. Earlier this summer I was treated to a very fine show by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. However, any "big" name generally plays inside the club.
So imagine my surprise to see the final 9th Street Summerfest (official name) of the summer was to feature the great Wilco. Jeff Tweedy has a long relationship with both Columbia and the Blue Note, going back to his Uncle Tupelo days (Please remove hat and observe a short moment of silence at the mention of UT.) so I guess this shouldn't have come as a total shock. Unlike the other summer street shows, this one was not free, but unlike the other summer street shows, this one featured the, currently, greatest American band.
It was hotter than two rats fucking in a sock the night of the show, but I cared not, for I am an American Aquarium Drinker, a Heavy Metal Drummer, a Casino Queen...I'm a Wilco fan okay.
Technically, I was pleasantly surprised by the setup. You'd have to see the area a full appreciation for what was going on. The block used is lined by 3-4 story buildings on either side, so the sound was funneled through the crowd quite well. I was fortunately close enough to have a good view, but even those in the back weren't exactly sitting in the lawn. You could also see dozens on the rooftops or in the windows of the surrounding buildings. It was a decent little setup.
Jeff Tweedy was in a jovial mood, instructing the crowd on the proper techniques of call and response as well as singalong. He urged us to cheer him up following his disappointing loss in Rock Star: INXS and mixed in a couple of jokes about his parents.
The setlist was to be as expected for the most part. Principle focus was given to the most recent Wilco release A Ghost is Born, however the band played cuts from every Wilco except, unfortunately their fabulous debut AM. This may, or may not, have to do with the fact that only Tweedy remains from the lineup that recorded that debut 10 years ago. The band did however play Airline to Heaven, a Woody Guthrie tune the band originally recorded for the second Mermaid Avenue album with singer/songwriter Billy Bragg. Fans were also treated to the Uncle Tupelo tune New Madrid which has become a staple of Wilco shows. Tweedy and company also debuted the tune Walken, which Jeff claims is only the second song he's ever written his father actually likes, thereby reducing pressure on the band to play the other song at ever single show. I was particularly pleased to see so much attention give to the band's second release Being There, an album that marked the full departure from the country/rock sound of both Uncle Tupelo and AM and provided the foundation for reputation Tweedy and Wilco currently enjoy.
The real spark of the evening came with the conclusion of the main set and the back to back playing of the riproaring I'm the Man Who Loves You and Spiders (Kidsmoke), two songs that would play as well in arenas as they do in clubs.
The final treat of the evening came with the last song of the evening as Tweedy thanked the crowd with the "lullaby" I Shall Be Released. I was so cooled out by the end, I didn't even mind all the people around that had absolutely no fucking idea it was a Bob Dylan song. Actually, I did mind, I just didn't let it bother me. It was too perfect a night.
Wilco
September 21, 2005
Columbia, MO
9th Street Summerfest
9th Street, between Broadway and Walnut
Set 1:
Kingpin
The Late Greats
Handshake Drugs
At Least That's What You Said
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Muzzle of Bees
Hummingbird
A Shot in the Arm
Via Chicago
War on War
Jesus, Etc.
Walken
I'm the Man Who Loves You
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
Encore 1:
Misunderstood
New Madrid
Airline to Heaven
I'm Always in Love
I'm a Wheel
Encore 2:
Monday
Outtasite (Outta Mind)
I Shall Be Released
setlist provided through the kindness of wilcobase.com, as I lack the memory to remember the songs in order and the non-coolness to bring pad and paper to the show to write them all down
Oh, and incidentally, I noted Wilco is currently the greatest American rock band. The all-time greatest American rock band is of course, the Velvet Underground, followed closely by the Band.
posted by The Crazy Leftist at 3:26 PM
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