Anybody seen Wilco live?

Norm Apter

Wilco will be playing here in L.A. in late June. They're one of my favorite (current) bands, but I've never seen them before and am not sure how they would be live. Some bands that produce great studio recordings are mediocre live, and for some the reverse is true. If you've seen them in concert, let me know what you think.

Tix are 35 bucks a pop, that is pre-surcharge & extra fees calculated. Still trying to decide if it would be worth it.

tryrrthg

I haven't seen them but a friend of mine says they are fantastic live. Of course he is a HUGE Wilco fan, so take it for what it's worth.

I am seeing them in Cincinnati on June 12th. I can't wait. They are one of my favorite bands. And I get to see them in this place, which appears that it will have amazing acoustics:

MillerLiteScott

Every live performance I have seen on TV has been excellent. You should be in for quite a treat.

Scott

Norm Apter

I decided to spring for the tickets for the Wilco show on June 25. They really get you with the service charges these days...$35 as the base price seemed reasonable, but then they tack $12.20 per ticket on top of that. I guess this will be my one concert this year (last year we caught MGMT, Spoon and Beck at the Hollywood Bowl). But Wilco will be playing at a much smaller venue in town called the Wiltern. I think it has a capacity of only 2000 folks or so. We'll be in the mezzanine section, but I've heard that even the nosebleed seats there offer a really good view of the stage (I've never been to the Wiltern before but the images I've seen kind of resemble the image of the venue posted above).

I remember back in the mid 90s when you could go to a festival (i.e. H.O.R.D.E.) and see like 7 really good bands for $30. My friend tells that a rise in ticket prices across the board is due not only to inflation but also that bands have been making much less money off of studio albums over the past decade (due to copying and file-sharing technology) so they have to make it back with their shows. Makes sense.

All in all, I'm pretty excited. This is one of the very few bands that I'm really interested in seeing so I think it will be worth it.

Norm

Norm Apter

Amazing show. Worth every penny and more. Easily one of the best 5 I've ever been to.

I realize that Wilco does not have a huge following, but if anybody has a budding interest in these guys they put together an amazing performance. Moreover, they played a solid 2 hrs and 15 minutes.

Well worth it and highly recommended.

wizzy

Yeah, saw them at the Warfield in SF in like 2000

Definitely go to the show.

kevhed72

Norm, Wilco is way underrated, like you said, and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is in my Top 100 , probably Top 50 albums of all time. How much older vs. newer music did you get to hear...

Bass_Pedal

Wondering what the brand new material was like? I'm glad you liked the show; Jeff Tweedy is a very talented song writer, one of my favorites working today. I would see them in a heartbeat if I had the chance.

Norm Apter

kevhed72 wrote: »

Norm, Wilco is way underrated, like you said, and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is in my Top 100 , probably Top 50 albums of all time. How much older vs. newer music did you get to hear...

There was a very even representation of their tunes: they played about half of the tunes on the new release -- Wilco (The Album) -- but these were interspersed with old songs throughout the show: about 4 from Summerteeth (my favorite), 5 or 6 from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, 3 or 4 from A Ghost is Born, 5 or 6 from Sky Blue Sky. There were also about 4 or 5 songs that I did not recognize (presumably from Being There or Uncle Tupelo days).

I've been listening to the new album for about a month now and am glad I did so beforehand because it always takes me several listens to get into any Wilco record. But yeah the new stuff sounded great and blended seamlessly into their larger body of work.

Aside from the sound, I just plain old enjoyed the performance. Jeff Tweedy, as Bass Pedal mentioned, is not only a gifted songwriter, but also a very talented peformer.

Though their were many highlights, two in particular stick in my mind. One was when you had 3 guitarists and the bass player jamming during that last bit of Impossible Germany. Another was during the peformance of You are My Face (second song on Sky Blue Sky). There's a major transition in that song at about a minute and half in. Up until that point Tweedy is playing guitar, but then he slings it behind his back, begins marching in place and belting out the next (hard) segment of the song. You have to see it (my description can't capture it) but it was totally mezmorizing. I doubt I'll ever forget it.

I'm also glad that the show was at The Wiltern which looks very similar to the venue captured in the photo provided by tryrrthg above...it has a capacity of about 2200 and great acoustics.

Still on a cloud...

POIDOG

My .02, also check out Uncle Tupelo, Tweedy's band before Wilco. I've not seen Wilco yet but I will, Having said that Tweedy & friends came thru town a few years back as Golden Smog, excellent to say the least. Wilco, to me, a most unusual and talented band.
Just remember "I am trying to break your heart"