White Plains’ 4th Best Personal Blog

All right, given that it’s mid-August, I admit that it’s ridiculous for me to be writing about stuff that happened back in February and March. I’ve been the worst blog slacker ever, and I have no good excuse. In an informal survey of the 10 or so people who read this thing, four offered encouragement, one was mean and five were more or less indifferent. So if you care to read on, I will eventually catch up one way or another. And I’ll start by getting into March!

In many ways, the cross country trek I took after Wilco’s Residency shows in Chicago proved to be my most arduous and memorable trip of the year. It was probably not a trip that any sane person would put themselves through and, by the end, I think I might have been more tired than I’ve ever been, mostly owing to getting about an hour and a half of sleep on average for four straight nights.

Let me give you the overview: two days after returning home to New York from Chicago, I found myself on a train to Philadelphia, then a 5 a.m. train to New Haven, Conn.; from there, I caught a ride back home, only to get on another train the next day bound for Washington, D.C.; after a couple of days there, I flew to San Francisco and took a side trip to Visalia, Calif., before returning to San Francisco for a couple more days; then I flew from Oakland to New Orleans, spent a couple days there, then flew to Houston; after a couple more days in Houston, I caught another flight to Tulsa, Okla., and, after that, a flight to Omaha, Neb., where we rented a car and drove to Des Moines, Iowa; finally, I flew from Des Moines back to Houston and, after one more night on the road, caught a flight back to New York.

Most of that travel, of course, was done in the course of following that group that “rose from the ashes of Uncle Tupelo” (my favorite new stock phrase). While nothing could match the Residency shows in terms of sheer ambition and impact, I think the immediate post-Residency gigs might have been my favorite run of shows this year. First, many of venues were old favorites — the 9:30 Club, Tipitina’s, Cain’s Ballroom — which provided a reminder that, no matter how big Wilco might get, the best place to experience the band (in my opinion) is a standing-room only, small-to-mid-sized rock club. Add the fact that, in the wake of the Residency, virtually any song in the Wilco canon seemed to be a possibility to be included on the setlist, and you have a recipe for a pretty exciting show.

It didn’t hurt that the supporting act — John Doe backed by a terrific band that included vocalist Cindy Wasserman — was so strong as well. A smile comes to my face when I think of their performance of X’s “The New World” that flowed into The Beatles’ “Revolution”; their version of Joni Mitchell’s classic love song “A Case Of You”; and especially their cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” on which Nels would come out and shred with his fellow Los Angeles resident. I also really liked many of the songs from John’s most recent album, A Year in the Wilderness, particularly “The Golden State.” This was a band I looked forward to hearing night after night.

And I haven’t even mentioned the presence of the Total Pros three-piece horn section for some of the shows on this run, which was a treat. I’ll never forget them having to play from the balcony at Tipitina’s because the stage was too small to fit them all. The guys from Brendan Canty’s Burn To Shine film crew were along for ride at several of these post-Residency shows as well, shooting footage for a potential DVD release. Even toward the end of the run, when Jeff’s voice started to give out (I can’t remember him sounding as ragged as he did in Houston), the band somehow continued to deliver.

All in all, this was a wonderful run of shows spent with some of my best concert buddies at some of my favorite venues with a band that was really clicking on all cylinders. How could you ask for anything more?

Contrary to popular belief, though, I don’t just see Wilco shows. And fortunately on this trip, I also had the good fortune to see a few other gigs. I made a point of it, in fact, by trekking out to the Bay Area during that annual week of musical craziness known as Noise Pop.

Before that, Uyen proposed we drive out to a town called Visalia nearly four hours southeast of San Francisco to see British Sea Power. Random town? Five-dollar show? Count me in! Although we subsequently saw several more shows on their epic U.S. tour supporting the excellent Do You Like Rock Music? , this Visalia gig — at a wine bar called The Cellar Door — might have been the most memorable. First of all, there wasn’t even really a stage; rather, the band played on flat ground at the same level as the audience. Not only that, but due to technical problems, British Sea Power wound up playing first (before intended openers Colourmusic). How often do you see that? It had been too long since I had seen BSP, and this show helped remind me why I liked them so much when their debut record, The Decline of British Sea Power, came out a few years back. Though the foliage they used to tape to their monitors was no longer there, their deadpan antics remained. And we loved it.

After seeing another fun BSP performance in their official Noise Pop showcase the following evening at the venerable San Francisco club Bottom of the Hill, I took Uyen to see Tilly and the Wall the next night. Full disclosure: I love the Tillys. They’re just a super fun live act, and even though I don’t always love the young (read: teenage) crowd that comprises much of their audience, I always leave their shows with a smile on my face. They almost will you to have a good time. For me, this was my first time hearing a lot of the songs on the new album O, so it was maybe less of an outright fun show than others I’ve seen. But I appreciate how they’ve continued to progress as a band and so I enjoyed myself quite a bit that way as I took in the newer material.

We rounded out our Noise Pop schedule by dashing over to Great American Music Hall following Tilly’s set and made it just in time for the much-anticipated live debut of She & Him, the new project featuring M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel. GAMH was packed, and we were toward the back, but it was a pleasure to get to experience the show at all. Zooey proved to be the star of the show with her singing, while Matt took more of an accompanying role. Or maybe the songs they performed — some covers, some originals — were the real stars. They had a timeless sort of feel that, to me, also sort of characterizes Matt’s own music. It was a nice way to close out a busy evening, and I think everyone left with a little bit of a lighter step.

By the time I got back to Houston to attend My Morning Jacket’s first show featuring songs off their forthcoming Evil Urges album, I was running on fumes. Luckily, Evonne was there to help pick me up. The Verizon Wireless Theater isn’t a particularly great place to see a show, but it didn’t matter too much because of the anticipation in the air. And despite playing a lot of songs that the audience wasn’t yet familiar with, the energy of the band as they worked out these new songs in a live setting made up for it. Of course, I always hope for more At Dawn material, but I really couldn’t complain at getting a sneak peek of the new record. It was an epic way to end an epic trip.

Wilco//2-23-08//Tower Theater, Upper Darby, PA//support: John Doe

Sunken Treasure/Remember the Mountain Bed/Airline to Heaven/Hesitating Beauty/Muzzle of Bees/You Are My Face/Side With The Seeds/A Shot in the Arm/She’s A Jar/Kamera/Handshake Drugs/At Least That’s What You Said/Pot Kettle Black/Nothing’severgonnastandinmyway(again)/Via Chicago/Impossible Germany/Jesus, etc./Walken/I’m The Man Who Loves You/Hummingbird/On and On and On//e: Hate It Here/Red-Eyed and Blue>/I Got You (At The End of the Century)/Hoodoo Voodoo

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Wilco//2-24-08//Schubert Theater, New Haven, CT//support: John Doe

Remember The Mountain Bed/California Stars/Company In My Back/Pot Kettle Black/A Shot in the Arm/Radio Cure/You Are My Face/Side With The Seeds/Pick Up The Change/Hotel Arizona/I’m Always In Love/Impossible Germany/Jesus, etc./Misunderstood/Airline To Heaven/Theologians/Walken/I’m The Man Who Loves You/On and On and On//e: Hate It Here/Heavy Metal Drummer/Red-Eyed and Blue>/I Got You (At The End of the Century)/Monday>/Outtasite (Outta Mind)

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Wilco//2-26-08//9:30 Club, Washington, D.C.//support: John Doe

(Was I) In Your Dreams [w/Total Pros horns]/Blood of the Lamb [w/TPs (clarinet only)]/You Are My Face/Pot Kettle Black/A Shot in the Arm/Side With The Seeds/Pieholden Suite [w/TPs]/Impossible Germany/Sky Blue Sky/Handshake Drugs/Too Far Apart/Summer Teeth/Jesus, etc./Walken [w/TPs]/I’m The Man Who Loves You [w/TPs]/Hummingbird/A Magazine Called Sunset/Red-Eyed and Blue>/I Got You (At The End of the Century)/Monday [w/TPs]/Outtasite (Outta Mind)//e1: Hate It Here (w/TPs)/Can’t Stand It [w/TPs]/The Thanks I Get [w/TPs]/Just A Kid//e2: Shouldn’t Be Ashamed/War on War/Heavy Metal Drummer/The Late Greats [w/TPs]

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Wilco//2-27-08//9:30 Club, Washington, D.C.//support: John Doe

Sunken Treasure/Remember The Mountain Bed/Company In My Back/You Are My Face/Side With The Seeds/She’s A Jar/A Shot in the Arm/Nothing’severgonnastandinmyway(again)/Handshake Drugs/Pot Kettle Black/When The Roses Bloom Again/Impossible Germany/It’s Just That Simple/Someday Soon/Box Full of Letters/I’m Always In Love/Pieholden Suite [w/Total Pros horns]/Jesus, etc./Hate It Here [w/TPs]/Walken [w/TPs]/I’m The Man Who Loves You [w/TPs]/Hummingbird/On and On and On//e1: Via Chicago/California Stars//e2: Casino Queen/I’m A Wheel/Monday [w/TPs]

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British Sea Power//2-29-08//The Cellar Door, Visalia, CA//support: Colourmusic [due to technical issues, BSP actually played first]

Atom/Remember Me/The Scottish Wildlife Experience/Lights Out For Darker Skies/Trip Out/Down On The Ground/Waving Flags/Great Skua/Favours In The Beetroot Fields/The Spirit Of St. Louis/Canvey Island/No Lucifer/True Adventures/Rock In A

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British Sea Power//3-1-08//Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA//(Noise Pop show with 20 Minute Loop, Colourmusic and Off Campus)

No Lucifer/Remember Me/Oh Larsen B/Favours In The Beetroot Fields/Atom/Down On The Ground/Blackout/Waving Flags/Great Skua/Lights Out For Darker Skies/Carrion/Canvey Island/True Adventures/Trip Out/The Spirit Of St. Louis>/The Scottish Wildlife Experience>/Rock In A

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Tilly and the Wall//3-2-08//Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco, CA//(Noise Pop show with Capgun Coup, Tally Hall and Little Teeth

Chandelier Lake/Pot Kettle Black/Fell Down The Stairs/The Freest Man/Urgency/Dust Me Off/Nights Of The Living Dead/Tall Tall Grass/Bad Education/Beat Control/Blood Flower/Sing Songs Along//e: Lost Girls/Cacophony/Rainbows In The Dark

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Wilco//3-4-08//Tipitina’s, New Orleans, LA//support: John Doe

(Was I) In Your Dreams [w/Total Pros horns]/The Late Greats [w/TPs]/I’m Always In Love/A Shot in the Arm/At Least That’s What You Said/You Are My Face/Side With The Seeds/Box Full of Letters/Airline to Heaven/California Stars [w/TPs]/Impossible Germany/Via Chicago/Blood of the Lamb [w/TPs (clarinet only)]/Forget the Flowers/Someday Soon/Summer Teeth/Jesus, etc./Walken [w/TPs]/I’m The Man Who Loves You [w/TPs]//e: It’s Just That Simple/Hate It Here [w/TPs]/Can’t Stand It [w/TPs]/Kingpin/Red-Eyed and Blue>/I Got You (At The End of the Century)/Monday [w/TPs]

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Wilco//3-5-08//Tipitina’s, New Orleans, LA//support: John Doe

(Was I) In Your Dreams [w/Total Pros horns]/Pieholden Suite [w/TPs]/You Are My Face/Company In My Back/Impossible Germany/Handshake Drugs/A Shot in the Arm/Pot Kettle Black/Side With The Seeds/Pick Up The Change/Hesitating Beauty/Jesus, etc./Heavy Metal Drummer/Nothing’severgonnastandinmyway(again)/A Magazine Called Sunset/Too Far Apart/Theologians/Walken [w/TPs]/I’m The Man Who Loves You [w/TPs]//e: What Light [w/TPs]/Hate It Here [w/TPs]/The Thanks I Get [w/TPs]/Just A Kid/Monday [w/TPs]/Outtasite (Outta Mind)/Casino Queen/I’m A Wheel/The Late Greats [w/TPs]

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Wilco//3-7-08//Verizon Wireless Theater, Houston, TX//support: John Doe

You Are My Face/Muzzle of Bees/Remember The Mountain Bed/Company In My Back/California Stars/Impossible Germany/Shouldn’t Be Ashamed/Pot Kettle Black/Handshake Drugs/A Shot in the Arm/Side With The Seeds/Via Chicago/When You Wake Up Feeling Old/Forget the Flowers/Airline to Heaven/Box Full of Letters/Jesus, etc./Walken/I’m The Man Who Loves You//e: Heavy Metal Drummer/Hate It Here/Kingpin/Red-Eyed and Blue>/I Got You (At The End of the Century)/Monday

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Wilco//3-8-08//Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa, OK//support: John Doe

You Are My Face/Muzzle of Bees/One By One/California Stars/Impossible Germany/Handshake Drugs/I’m Always In Love/A Shot in the Arm/Side With The Seeds/She’s A Jar/Jesus, etc./Pick Up The Change/Airline To Heaven/Forget the Flowers/At My Window Sad and Lonely/Hotel Arizona/War on War/Via Chicago/The Late Greats//e1: Hate It Here/Heavy Metal Drummer/Walken/I’m The Man Who Loves You/Red-Eyed and Blue>/I Got You (At The End of the Century)/Kingpin/Hoodoo Voodoo//e2: Monday/I’m A Wheel

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Wilco//3-9-08//Val-Air Ballroom, Des Moines, IA//support: John Doe

Ashes of American Flags/Remember the Mountain Bed/You Are My Face/Muzzle of Bees/Handshake Drugs/Cars Can’t Escape/Pot Kettle Black/A Shot in the Arm/Side With The Seeds/She’s A Jar/Impossible Germany/California Stars/Summer Teeth/A Magazine Called Sunset/Via Chicago/Jesus, etc./Walken/I’m The Man Who Loves You//e1: Hate It Here/Kingpin/Passenger Side/Heavy Metal Drummer/Red-Eyed and Blue>/I Got You (At The End of the Century)/Monday/Outtasite (Outta Mind)//e2: I’m A Wheel

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My Morning Jacket//3-10-08//Verizon Wireless Theater, Houston, TX//support: Yo La Tengo

Evil Urges/Off The Record/Gideon/I’m Amazed/What A Wonderful Man/Highly Suspicious/Thank You Too!/Golden/Sec Walkin/The Way That He Sings/Wordless Chorus/Aluminum Park/One Big Holiday/Run Thru/Smokin’ From Shootin’/Touch Me I’m Going To Scream Pt. 2//e: Dondante/Lay Low/Mahgeetah/Anytime