The Dead Part of You

Look - an album released in 2007 that I actually listened to!

Pretty much everyone I know wrote off Sky Blue Sky as shitty Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, and the fact that they licensed half the record to Volkswagen for commercials didn't really help that argument. I assure you there's something more there. I'm certainly a fan of noise, and love a good old fashioned "Wilco Freakout"[tm], and there was none of that to be found on this record - and that's OK.

I have to give props to the Wilco summer tour to helping me out with this one too. I don't think I would have given this record the chance I did if I hadn't seen the material live. I saw them twice [Northampton, Boston] in one week back in June, and spent a good chunk of that week listening to the record over and over again.

What makes me mad about Wilco? I sold my copy of SBS after burning it, and you need the disc to get bonus tracks they keep releasing online. Plus, they are playing five nights in Chicago with the intent of playing every song they ever recorded, and they should be doing that in Boston instead.

The Thanks I Get is one of those bonus tracks - this is the solo version from Jeff Tweedy's Sunken Treasure DVD.

So last night was part 2 of the whole Low/Wilco experience. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, just different.

First though - Low's set? Fucking brilliant amazing. Doesn't matter that no one was there to hear it.

Why am I so hopped up about this? Motherfucking "Do You Know How To Waltz" with Nels Cline. They haven't played it in Boston since maybe 1996 - before The Curtain Hits The Cast came out, they played it at TT the Bears, announcing it's title as "We Hate South By Southwest And Are Never Going Back Again". After their Northampton sat last Sunday, I thought that maybe they should just play DYKHTW for 45 minutes as their opening set, and that's just about what happened last night. The world's quietest band playing loud - taking full advantage of the PA system at the venue.

I went to the show by myself but ran into my friend Bob who's going to Lollapalooza with me. He was blown away by Low having never heard of them, while I tried to explain that their performance that night was really unique, and that they've never played like that before.

Wilco. You know, after seeing them in a venue the size of a backyard, I really didn't know if I'd like their pavilion show. It was an extremely similar set list - that was hugely disappointing to me, as I had them pegged as a band that would change it up from night to night. What was intimate Sunday was big old rock show last night - lighting in full effect, the intensity that was hinted at Sunday hitting full force last night.



Still, it wasn't enough to keep me there through the whole show. Since "Spiders [Kidsmoke]" had closed the main set, I decided to leave before the encores. Wasn't in the mood for crowds anymore, and it was a seriously fucked up crowd too. The joke's on me - I wound up walking in the rain to the silver line, only to be stuck on a bus with a screaming drunk from the show, that a couple of commuters looked like they were ready to take out.

And as I check out Via Chicago, it looks like I missed quite an encore. I thought their curfew was 10:30, so figured it was just going to be one encore [I heard "Heavy Metal Drummer" and "California Stars" on my way to the subway anyway]. I might have considered hanging out if I'd known how much longer they were going to play.

The show was different but equally good. The crowd last night sucked - too many hippies smoking dope and doing their hippie dance. Would I go see Wilco again? THE ANSWER IS I THINK I GOT IT OUT OF MY SYSTEM THIS WEEK.

PS - The Bank of America Pavilion actually isn't as bad a venue as I had thought, as long as you have a seat in section 2.

So last Sunday was the big alternative pop/rock show out in Northampton. Wilco and Low played at the Pines Theater, which is about the size of my backyard growing up in New Hampshire. So it was pretty sweet.

Low's never really done well as an opening act, and tonight was no exception. When I saw them open for Swans in 1997, people actually yelled out "You suck", and while no one at Wilco yelled it, I heard it murmured pretty loudly. They certainly don't take the easy road of playing their 45 minutes worth of their pop - opener "Canada" held the crowd's attention, but the rest of the set was just too quiet for the crowd. Nice close ["Pissing" into "When I Go Deaf" into "Murderer"], and the only real disappointment for me was the lack of "Breaker".



Wilco were great. I had never seen them and I certainly couldn't have asked for a better setting to break that particular cherry. Jeff looked a little rough around the edges at the start, but about 3 or 4 songs in he warmed up real nice.



Can I tell you a secret? Jeff Tweedy's got a great ass.



So by the time he got to the good songs I was in the palm of his hand. "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" kicked in, and it was just so beautiful. "Kamera", then the drugged out pair "Handshake Drugs" and "A Shot in the Arm" - all amazing.



Something I learned at Coachella last year was just how watching a band play as the sun sets can just etch a memory into your brain. Sigur Ros did it for me with Untitled 8, and now Wilco with Impossible Germany. Also, that dude Nels Cline? Freaking amazing. For reals - I'm totally not one to worship guitarists, focusing in on the singers, but Nels is God.



The show closed with "Hummingbird", including a dancing into the crowd Jeff Tweedy [I was too busy dancing with him to get a picture]. The first encore opened with a beautiful "On and On and On" - my favorite track on the new record that I totally didn't expect live [I hadn't seen it in any of the setlists][just checked the message boards and apparently it is a rarity on this tour]. "Poor Places" noise right into "Spiders [Kidsmoke]" for 12 minutes. I should have blown off the second encore and left then to beat the traffic, but just couldn't. Luckily, it only took about half an hour to get out.

Last Friday I broke down and bought a ticket for the Bank of America Pavillion show this Thursday [they've been slowly releasing seats, and I lucked into a center row P]. I really wish I hadn't. There's no way either act will top last Sunday's show. Impossible. The only thing I'll gain by going is access to the merchandise tables that I somehow missed.

Yo, did you know I was on vacation next week? Word, I got mad plans.

Saturday, I'm going out to Northampton to spend the night with a knitting lesbian. It sounds random, but I assure you it's not. Sunday I'm going to the big Low/Wilco show out there. I think it will be a long day, what with the general admission venue, and me pushing and fighting all the mellow folks out of the way to get to the front.

Tuesday, I'm getting at least one, and possibly a second addition to the tattoo family [gallery needs updating, too. I'm like 3 or 4 behind].

Thursday there's another Wilco show. I don't have tickets for it, but I'm planning on hanging out at the venue's box office, hoping they release some good seats last minute. Really, I'm not a fan of that Bank of America pavilion, what with it's 0% rake and non-existent sight lines.

In between there should be lots of sleeping late and eating poorly. No sunshine after last week's sunburn disaster. And a whole freaking week of no asinine questions.

Do you live in the Boston area? Then let me be your guest. It takes 2 seconds to enter this Wilco contest and if you win, I can go with you. I know I'm already seeing them in Northampton, but I wouldn't turn down checking out the soundcheck for Boston. I guess I'm just greedy.

In other music news, did you see The 4400 last night? Not only did TV on the Radio get soundtrack placement, they got a shout out in the script ["TV on the Radio is your new favorite band. You worship them"]. However, we hate USA for running their programming off by a minute to screw with recorders. So juvenile.

In other music news - the new Shellac long player = STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR. That's 5 stars. Out of five. I didn't even know I liked Shellac! I do like that Fugazi/Helmet post-hardcore sound, so it only makes sense.

Dear Live Nation,

You ought to be ashamed of yourself for a 50% mark-up on a ticket. Lord knows I'm all for capitalism and don't mind paying for the luxury of picking up a ticket at will call, but not when that's almost as expensive as the ticket. For reals - I sometimes don't even notice service charges, but in a case like this [I like Skinny Puppy and all, but don't need to see them], you got too greedy, because now I'll just pick up my ticket this weekend in person, netting you $0.00.

In other news, I spent the afternoon researching how early I was going to have to show up to the big GA Wilco show next month, and the answer is inconclusive! Last year folks apparently waited either hours or showed up 20 minutes before the show and were right up front. If anyone has any advice on the Pines Theater, I'd appreciate it...

In other news, the new Wilco record? My God, it's full of stars. I listened to it twice in a row Sunday night and could barely hold back the tears [I was not in a good space to begin with, and I'm not getting into it].