Wilco: Stars Wars and tour

[polmico]

Just wondering if anyone's caught them (or is catching them) on the current tour.

I'm not a huge Wilco fan, but my wife is, so we're flying up to Brooklyn to catch them at the King's Theatre (I guess it's her Valentine's gift).

The new one, Star Wars, is pretty good and focuses on my favorite parts of Wilco's music (Kraut-y arrangements, Nels Cline making noise) and less so on why I've never totally been sold on them (alt-country twangin').

Here's the opening cut from the new album if you're curious:

[progholio]

Haven't seen the current tour but have seen them several times, Tweedy and crew are top flight in the studio and on stage. I have a hunch you enter huge fan status after the live show.

[Sean]

Saw them on TV last night. Tune was catchy, thanks to a repeating riff and a guitar flurry at the climax. Still not blown away by them though...

[Facelift]

The lineup since 2004 is one of the best touring rock bands of the last 30 years, IMO. Their live shows are awesome, both for fans and non-fans (I have brought people to their shows over the years who didn't know their music but got converted during the show).

Star Wars only sounds intermittently like previous Wilco albums (they seem to have developed a T Rex fixation here) but I do like it.

[polmico]

Haven't seen the current tour but have seen them several times, Tweedy and crew are top flight in the studio and on stage. I have a hunch you enter huge fan status after the live show.

Nah. I've seen them (and Tweedy solo, actually) before. Too many skip able tracks in their catalogue for me. What's good is good, though.

[nosebone]

I saw them two nights ago at The Capital Theater in port Chester NY.

I fell asleep and left after an hour.

[Gerhard]

I saw them two nights ago at The Capital Theater in port Chester NY.

I fell asleep and left after an hour.

Really? They have great tunes, with plenty of dynamics...

Count me as a Wilco fan, great live band, especially, but I suppose if you don't like their songs at all, hearing them live probably won't convert you.

[nosebone]

Really? They have great tunes, with plenty of dynamics...

Count me as a Wilco fan, great live band, especially, but I suppose if you don't like their songs at all, hearing them live probably won't convert you.

Didn't hear any great tunes. just three guitarists strumming G chords.

Not even Nels Cline could save them.

[chalkpie]

Didn't hear any great tunes. just three guitarists strumming G chords.

Not even Nels Cline could save them.

Ha! I am remotely interested in this band after hearing they ripped off/borrowed "Hallogallo" from a tune on A Ghost is Born. Ill gove them a try, the sound of the recording is cool. What are the best 2 albums to try?

[3LockBox]

Ha! I am remotely interested in this band after hearing they ripped off/borrowed "Hallogallo" from a tune on A Ghost is Born. Ill gove them a try, the sound of the recording is cool. What are the best 2 albums to try?

Yankee Foxtrot Hotel and Sky Blue Sky. I have YFH thru The Whole Love. Albums get samey after Sky Blue Sky, imo. They are mostly alt-country with some experimentation here and there. But I've seen videos of them live and they seemed spotty to me.

[Zappathustra]

Ha! I am remotely interested in this band after hearing they ripped off/borrowed "Hallogallo" from a tune on A Ghost is Born. Ill gove them a try, the sound of the recording is cool. What are the best 2 albums to try?

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
and the krautisch A Ghost Is Born. It's not a ripoff - they used the motorik groove in an original way in my opinion.

Good band

[aith01]

Didn't hear any great tunes. just three guitarists strumming G chords.

Wow. Talk about an over-simplification. Are we talking about the same band? Wilco also has two keyboardists, and a ridiculously good drummer (Glenn Kotche).

Well whatever. I went and saw them last October and I knew almost every song they performed (they did stuff going back to their 1990s catalog). I’d rank them as second favorite American band, just behind Steely Dan. Jeff Tweedy is a national treasure.

[markwoll]

The first time I saw them live, I had low expectations.
My primary knowledge of their music was Yankee Hotel Foxtrot ( which I like ) and a Ghost Is Born ( which I did not ).
I was totally surprised that I loved the show. It was my first exposure to Nels Cline, which was a revelatory experience.
I have seen them 3 times over the last 4 years and every time it has been a rocking good show with plenty of randomness thrown in.
The Tweedy-ness has been moderated by Cline crazy and associated other stuff.
They use regular 'gimmicks' like many bands, nothing I can't get over.
Since then I have bought Schmilco and Ode to Joy, both are just fine.

[The Dark Elf]

Haven't been a big follower of Wilco, but I liked Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and I really enjoyed the Wilco/Billy Bragg collaboration on Mermaid Avenue, which is a series of songs based on previously unpublished lyrics written by Woody Guthrie and finally put to music.

[aith01]

Ha! I am remotely interested in this band after hearing they ripped off/borrowed "Hallogallo" from a tune on A Ghost is Born. Ill gove them a try, the sound of the recording is cool. What are the best 2 albums to try?

Their two best to start with are Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born, IMO. Those were the first two I got, and it's what made me into a fan -- all the way back in 2004.

In my opinion, with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco did to Americana what Radiohead did to britpop. Ghost is a bit more sparse and experimental, but has some really beautiful songs on it too. "Spiders (Kidsmoke)", the Krautrock homage track, is one of my faves.

They're a good band with some very talented musicians. The fact that Nels Cline has stuck around with them for around 15 years speaks for itself. I was lucky enough to see them in concert in my hometown in 2006, and he had already been playing with them for a little while at that point.

Yankee Foxtrot Hotel and Sky Blue Sky. I have YFH thru The Whole Love. Albums get samey after Sky Blue Sky, imo. They are mostly alt-country with some experimentation here and there. But I've seen videos of them live and they seemed spotty to me.

I hope no one judges their quality as a live band based on YouTube clips. I've been to two of their concerts (one in 2006, the other in 2019), and both times they put on a very good show.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
and the krautisch A Ghost Is Born. It's not a ripoff - they used the motorik groove in an original way in my opinion.

Good band

Nicely put. I'm with ya, Zap.

[polmico]

My wife and I attended the Sky Blue Sky festival in Mexico back in January, so I’ve seen Wilco three more times (and solo Tweedy once more).

And I saw Nels Cline participating in a mezcal sampling but we were too late to sign up to join him. Oh well.

[aith01]

My wife and I attended the Sky Blue Sky festival in Mexico back in January, so I’ve seen Wilco three more times (and solo Tweedy once more).

Man, I'm jealous. I've wanted to go to one of the Sky Blue Sky festivals for ages, but never got around to it... Hope you had a good time!

And I saw Nels Cline participating in a mezcal sampling but we were too late to sign up to join him. Oh well.

Dang dude... That would have been interesting.

[Jerjo]

I saw Tweedy with Golden Smog at a political event in the Twin Cities. They were quite good. Never saw Wilco live but the live album, Kicking Television, is quite good. Cline kicks ass all over the place.

[aith01]

I saw Tweedy with Golden Smog at a political event in the Twin Cities. They were quite good. Never saw Wilco live but the live album, Kicking Television, is quite good. Cline kicks ass all over the place.

Agreed, Kicking Television is very good. I much prefer that rendition of "Handshake Drugs" to the studio version. Glenn Kotche's drumming really breathes some life into it.

Love the way they draw out the ending of "Misunderstood" too; they did that as final song (before encores) when I saw them last October.

[polmico]

Man, I'm jealous. I've wanted to go to one of the Sky Blue Sky festivals for ages, but never got around to it... Hope you had a good time!

It was certainly different. I really enjoyed Kamasai Washington (we saw him again in February) and Yo La Tengo.

It's amazing to look back at that and think how so many normal vacation activities--buffet tables, sitting at a bar, sharing a smoke with a stranger--are now completely impossible.