Wilco show is tomorrow night. I am stoked. A kid I coach skiing (well, young man now) has been following them starting at Red Rocks, now SLC, and tomorrow night in Boise. He is getting there early and will get the good up front seats and save one for me. That is killer as I was not going to be able to take a whole day off and wait in line.
Steve Thompson
Sun Valley, Idaho
Guitars: Fender 60th Anniversary Std. Strat, Squier CVC Tele Hagstrom Viking Semi-hollow, Joshua beach guitar, Martin SPD-16TR Dreadnought
Amphs: Peavey Classic 30, '61 Fender Concert
Effects and such: Boss: DS-1, CE-5, NS-2 and RC20XL looper, Digitech Bad Monkey, Korg AX1G Multi-effects, Berhinger: TU100 tuner, PB100 Clean Boost, Line 6 Toneport UX2, Electro Harmonix Little Big Muff Pi, DuhVoodooMan's Rabid Rodent Rat Clone, Zonkin Yellow Screamer Mk. II, MXR Carbon Copy Delay
love is the answer, at least for most of the questions in my heart. . .
- j. johnson
^^ Very excited for you Steve. Wish I was seeing them again. Seems like forever ago already that I went to that show.
Great show! We were on the front rail, right in front of Tweedy's mic!
After he warmed up, it was almost like having a conversation with Tweedy, being that close. He joked about the stoned guy next to us, and the freeloaders up on the hill behind the venue. I was very impressed with his playing as well. Seeing him work live was a treat.
Good range of tunes. The only album left off was the "Wilco" album. No tracks from that. I know some don't like that album, but I do. I bet they played the heck out of that last tour and want to give it a rest. But I got to hear a lot of the stuff I don't know as well. I can't think of a song played last night that I did not like musically.
Glenn was very energetic, big smiler, and clearly the sweatiest guy on stage. I loved his Zildjian kit. One note, though I enjoyed being center front, next time, I would pick still front, but a bit off to the side. They had a huge subwoofer directly front that on a couple songs wanted to blast you back off the fence.
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My favorite guitar on the stage. I would like to add a guitar like this to my collection one day.
Nels was certainly a favorite of mine during the night and really drew my attention as I watched what he was doing.
I love John and his work and think he would be a really fun bass player to play with. Pat Sansone was fun to watch, and someone I had overlooked in the band before. As the keyboarder, and a "third" guitarist, I was very impressed with his talent. He was pretty goofy with his Pete Townshend, Keef, and Boss moves onstage.
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Really liked this tele too!
Also, Tweedy got some nice SG tones.
They played quite a long time, and gave strong performances all night. Tweedy kept getting better and better as he warmed to the scene. Nels was just amazing, and the rest of the guys were not only solid, but clearly seeming to enjoy the show.
Blitzentrapper, who opened was also fun to watch. Kind of alt-country rock that rocks hard sometimes.
Clearly worth the $50 some bucks!
Steve Thompson
Sun Valley, Idaho
Guitars: Fender 60th Anniversary Std. Strat, Squier CVC Tele Hagstrom Viking Semi-hollow, Joshua beach guitar, Martin SPD-16TR Dreadnought
Amphs: Peavey Classic 30, '61 Fender Concert
Effects and such: Boss: DS-1, CE-5, NS-2 and RC20XL looper, Digitech Bad Monkey, Korg AX1G Multi-effects, Berhinger: TU100 tuner, PB100 Clean Boost, Line 6 Toneport UX2, Electro Harmonix Little Big Muff Pi, DuhVoodooMan's Rabid Rodent Rat Clone, Zonkin Yellow Screamer Mk. II, MXR Carbon Copy Delay
love is the answer, at least for most of the questions in my heart. . .
- j. johnson
Nice pics Steve. Sounds like you had a great time.
Here's the setlist and poster for that show.
http://wilcoworld.net/#!/tour_date_t...rden-boise-id/
Very cool, Steve. Thanks for sharing the photos and your experience. I am a big Wilco fan. I last saw them in Hartford last year and they were great. Solid 3 hour show.
Seeing Fiona Apple tonight. Very excited.
Fiona Apple show was quite good.
The seats were awesome. Five rows deep, two seats to the right of dead center.
Rather than being subjected to a random opening act, the opener was Fiona's band minus Fiona. The guitar player came out alone at first, did a few songs by himself, then brought out the bass player for a few more, the drummer for a few more, and then the keyboardist for a final tune. I liked the opportunity to hear the backing musicians in this context prior to the main event.
Fiona's set reinforced what I love about her. As small a person as she is, she is one great big ball of energy on stage. Her voice was strong. Her piano playing was (as expected) excellent. She varied the setlist from across the span of her albums and ended the show with a beautiful cover of Conway Twitty's "It's Only Make Believe."
Overall a very positive experience.
Saw Ben Harper last Thursday. I've seen him a few times before in full rock star mode....fantastic. Saw him once with The Blind Boys of Alabama in support of there joint Gospel/Roots album. Last night was solo acoustic. His early earliest success was in this vein....Burn One Down, Walk Away....but more recently he's been doing larger group projects.
The stage was prepared with, from left to right, an upright piano, +/- a dozen stringed instruments, and on the extreme right, a large xylophone. in the center, a tapestry covered chair and a mic.
the stringed instruments included, 6 string acoustic, 12 string acoustic, ukulele, Strat with a twin, National lap steel, resonator, Weissenborn, another custom build, similar front profile to a Weissenborn, but larger, and bowl backed, and a couple other random instruments.
He played for 3 hours solid, with one 3 minute break for applause. No other performer ever set foot on stage. And he played everything on stage at least once. No set list. He perused his collection of instruments in between each song, considering his mood and the requests being hurled at him. Wonderful evening. The guy is an honest artist, with a catalog, a love of his influences and a desire to connect with his fans. Really wonderful show.
obligatory lousy phone pics, self explanatory.
"It's never too late to be what you might have been" - Eliot
Guilars: '02 Heritage H-535 ASB; '04 Larrivée LV-03 w/Fishman Blend; '95 Washburn/Bourgeios D-55SW Cherokee
Amphs: Boogie DC-2; DVM/BYOC Tweed Champlifier; Marshall AS50D
Currently on Board: Ditto Looper; Boss TU-2; EB VP Jr; crybaby; DVM Spring Fever; DVM Mini Klone, Brena Effects Cali-Tremor tremolo; Strymon El Capistan
Missed your report on Wilco Steve, that's great you caught them. sounds like a fantastic setting! Looking at the setlist it was a great night. They never disappoint.
"It's never too late to be what you might have been" - Eliot
Guilars: '02 Heritage H-535 ASB; '04 Larrivée LV-03 w/Fishman Blend; '95 Washburn/Bourgeios D-55SW Cherokee
Amphs: Boogie DC-2; DVM/BYOC Tweed Champlifier; Marshall AS50D
Currently on Board: Ditto Looper; Boss TU-2; EB VP Jr; crybaby; DVM Spring Fever; DVM Mini Klone, Brena Effects Cali-Tremor tremolo; Strymon El Capistan
Thanks TK! It was a great show. R, glad Fiona delivered.
Well, I am very tired after driving north through the mountains of Idaho to Montana on Sat. night, with deer all over the place trying to jump out and dent the front of my car, getting waylaid on some dirt back roads (rallying the subby Impressza!) then the Pearl Jam concert last night, then a long drive home (sans excess adventures) today.
Suffice it to say that it was THE best rock show I have can ever remember attending. Wilco's show was great in its own right, but for a rock show, this was tops. They were tight, energized, and on it! Played a good, long time! I plan on doing a full report and review tomorrow sometime. Meanwhile, here are a couple cell vids (not mine) to give you an idea.
Corduroy:
Better Man:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9toSAGCUHWM
Alive McCready solo: (new goal, develop McCready rock shredding skills).
Setlist:
http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/pearl-...-13ddd18d.html
Steve Thompson
Sun Valley, Idaho
Guitars: Fender 60th Anniversary Std. Strat, Squier CVC Tele Hagstrom Viking Semi-hollow, Joshua beach guitar, Martin SPD-16TR Dreadnought
Amphs: Peavey Classic 30, '61 Fender Concert
Effects and such: Boss: DS-1, CE-5, NS-2 and RC20XL looper, Digitech Bad Monkey, Korg AX1G Multi-effects, Berhinger: TU100 tuner, PB100 Clean Boost, Line 6 Toneport UX2, Electro Harmonix Little Big Muff Pi, DuhVoodooMan's Rabid Rodent Rat Clone, Zonkin Yellow Screamer Mk. II, MXR Carbon Copy Delay
love is the answer, at least for most of the questions in my heart. . .
- j. johnson
@SVL - Very jealous you got to see Pearl Jam. Looking forward to hearing your full review once you've gotten some rest.
OK, this isn't for 2012, but I just got a pair of tickets to see BB King in early January at the local House of Blues.
Mrs. T is ecstatic!
While BB has lost some of his vocal power, he's still BB and this might be our last chance to see him in person. (I hope not!)
To still be touring at 87 means he loves it. Music has probably kept him healthy and motivated. There are not too many diabetics in their 80's.
My parents saw BB a few years ago and my dad said "it's sad that he can't sing like he used to but he sure can still play his guitar."
We saw BB 3-4 years ago. He sat the entire show but his vocals and git playing were spot on. At 87, he takes breaks during the show where he isn't active or he launches into a story/monologue. Still, it was good fun and he delivered some sterling blues.