Wilco London ON 2-24-10

[tried and true]

I drove 9 hours from Burlington, VT to see this show tonight. People think I'm nuts (maybe I am, just a little bit) but you guys know the lengths a fanatic will go. It was, as usual, an awesome show. These guys are having so much fun. Someday Soon was definitely a highlight. Jeff said that it was the most requested song--57 people or something like that. Then he said they wondered whether it was really that many people making the request or just one very computer savvy individual. He periodically updated the crowd on the hockey score, finally announcing the win toward the end of the show, and of course the place went crazy (congratulations Canada!). There was an interesting moment with Glenn--I can't even remember which song it was, but Jeff pointed out that Glenn's pedal broke early on in the song, so for the rest of the song he was hitting the bass drum with his penis. Yes, he said it. I couldn't make something like that up. Right before Hummingbird, Jeff apologized that they couldn't play longer, but they had a big plate of pouttin waiting for them (no clue how to spell that, or even what it is, actually). He said that this was the rowdiest of all the Canadian crowds thus far, and there were some goofballs up front that were living up to that distinction. I'm exhausted, but this drive was well worth it. Excited for Montreal and Ottawa!

 

Here's the setlist. Unfortunately, they did not play Red Eyed/Got You or Kingpin. And Califone (who are phenomenal) joined them for California Stars.

[LSZ]

This was my 3rd time seeing Wilco (2nd time in London) and it was a great show. I wish the floor was clear and didn't have seat out there like last time but oh well, minor complaint.

 

Highlights were:

 

- Handshake Drugs. Not one of my favourite songs but this performance was amazing.

- A Shot in the Arm. Always one of the best and the light effects added to it.

- The Late Greats. A perfect live Wilco song.

[bböp]

As tried and true noted, the printed setlist -- minus Red-Eyed and Blue/I Got You and Kingpin -- was correct. Apparently there was a strict 10:30 p.m. curfew, so the set definitely felt a little rushed. We thought they might have until 11, but that apparently wasn't the case. I don't think Califone even played for a half hour, unfortunately.

 

I have to say, the crowd sort of gave off a weird vibe toward the front. Jeff poked a little fun at one woman in the front row, who apparently sat more or less stone still throughout the show. On the other side of the spectrum, there were one or two crazy dancing dudes who promenaded back and forth across the aisle between the stage and the front row for much of the night. I didn't witness the whole sordid mess, but one of them might have been the same crazy dancing guy from the Massey Hall show(s) last October. Also in the front, people would seemingly walk back and forth with their cameras out, taking photos. Jeff also mentioned that at one point. Right around us, we had the inevitable "it's my birthday" guy who yelled out a couple times until he was acknowledged. And another guy -- I'm not making this up -- yelled out something like, "Tweedy, you fathered me!" Just an odd crowd, it seemed to me.

 

The broken drum pedal banter happened between You Never Know and Jesus, etc. And poutine, not that I'm an expert by any means, is a delicious concoction of "French fries topped with fresh cheese curd, covered with brown gravy and sometimes additional ingredients," according to Wikipedia. If they had some waiting backstage for them, I'm jealous!

 

A few nerd notes:

 

*Not sure if the time had anything to do with it, but they definitely truncated some of their usual stage shenanigans. For instance, Glenn didn't do the Todd Trainer tribute, Jeff didn't twirl the mike during Hummingbird. They even had a slightly revised version of the band intros during Wilco (the song); last night, it was just each band member's name but not their instrument(s).

 

*Speaking of which, there was a funny moment at the start of Heavy Metal Drummer when Glenn apparently hit the wrong sample on his sample pad. So at the start of the song, instead of the usual, there was the synthesizer voice saying "John Stirratt" again and they had to briefly regroup. Haha.

 

*All of the members of Califone joined in on California Stars on this last night of their tour with Wilco. Usually it had just been Jim Becker on electric guitar and Ben Massarella on maracas and tambourine. In London, Tim Rutili (on acoustic guitar) and Joe Adamik (on shakers and other percussion) also joined in. Becker once again played a strong guitar solo toward the end of the song.

 

*Jeff played his acoustic behind his head, strumming furiously, during the coda to A Shot in the Arm. Don't remember seeing that before.

 

*Jeff dedicated The Late Greats to Anvil.

[Sonny]

I drove 9 hours from Burlington, VT to see this show tonight. People think I'm nuts (maybe I am, just a little bit) but you guys know the lengths a fanatic will go. It was, as usual, an awesome show. These guys are having so much fun. Someday Soon was definitely a highlight. Jeff said that it was the most requested song--57 people or something like that. Then he said they wondered whether it was really that many people making the request or just one very computer savvy individual. He periodically updated the crowd on the hockey score, finally announcing the win toward the end of the show, and of course the place went crazy (congratulations Canada!). There was an interesting moment with Glenn--I can't even remember which song it was, but Jeff pointed out that Glenn's pedal broke early on in the song, so for the rest of the song he was hitting the bass drum with his penis. Yes, he said it. I couldn't make something like that up. Right before Hummingbird, Jeff apologized that they couldn't play longer, but they had a big plate of pouttin waiting for them (no clue how to spell that, or even what it is, actually). He said that this was the rowdiest of all the Canadian crowds thus far, and there were some goofballs up front that were living up to that distinction. I'm exhausted, but this drive was well worth it. Excited for Montreal and Ottawa!

 

Here's the setlist. Unfortunately, they did not play Red Eyed/Got You or Kingpin. And Califone (who are phenomenal) joined them for California Stars.

 

I requested Someday Soon for East Lansing. I have to learn how to "gain the system."

[bobfrombob]

....but they had a big plate of pouttin waiting for them (no clue how to spell that, or even what it is, actually)...

Poutine is french fries covered in gravy and cheese curds. It’s more of a Quebecois/francophone thing - you should have no trouble finding poutine in either Montreal or Ottawa. Unhealthy and delicious.

 

Thanks for the review. Maybe we'll see you Saturday or Monday - safe driving.

[LouieB]

Poutine is french fries covered in gravy and cheese curds. It’s more of a Quebecois/francophone thing - you should have no trouble finding poutine in either Montreal or Ottawa. Unhealthy and delicious.

Weird thing...there is a long article about this in the Trib this morning. Apparently you can get this stuff in Chicago too...

 

LouieB

[keylime]

I requested Someday Soon for East Lansing. I have to learn how to "gain the system."

 

Apparently, "gaining the system" means requesting an embarrassing number of times. I started requesting for Someday Soon for this show when the tickets went on sale on October, just did a few requests every couple of days. I didn't realize how many votes I had accumulated. It was worth it! Definitely a highlight for this show, which bbop accurately described as being weird vibes. I did not understand what was going on in my vicinty re: the crowd. Also, and this is of no fault to these individuals, but I ended up standing behind two rows of the tallest people alive so I struggled to see for much of the show. Kind of frustrating, but I tried to make it work.

 

A few things:

 

Glenn hitting the wrong sample might be my favourite part of the show. Too funny.

 

Nels' Air Jordans are unreal.

 

Califone are amazing. Absolutely amazing. I miss them.

 

Other highlights for me were Misunderstood, and, as always, Handshake Drugs. I would pay any amount of money for Jeff to shred his guitar in my face a la Handshake Drugs. So great.

 

I'm so sad that I can't see any of the remaining Canadian shows, but I'll have to hold out until Durham. I'm already in withdrawal.

[bobfrombob]

There is a place in Ottawa that has taken poutine upscale and makes a lobster poutine. It gets away from the "chip truck" spirit of poutine but is crazy good.

[Dreamin']

lobster poutine

I wonder if someone from the Maritimes dreamed that up? When I was traveling in the Atlantic provinces a few years ago, I noticed that you could find lobster just about anywhere (McDonalds) and in everything (chow mein).

[AJ673]

*Jeff dedicated The Late Greats to Anvil.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!!!

[Ottawateeth]

Weird thing...there is a long article about this in the Trib this morning. Apparently you can get this stuff in Chicago too...

 

LouieB

 

wouldn't be surprised. But watch out for the immitation poutines out there. ie. poutine with shredded cheese instead of cheese curds. For real poutine stick to the patateries of Quebec. Once you start heading west from Ottawa it starts to go down hill.

In Montreal check out La Banquise. In the Ottawa area you gotta go across the river to Hull (Quebec) and either hit up Patate D'Oré or Pataterie Hulloise...or in Ottawa, Elgin Street Diner is ok and it's within walking distance from the NAC (where wilco is playing Monday).

[Hippycat]

Just wanted to add that we thought it was a great show in London! We had main floor, row N pretty much center of the floor. There were a few tall guys in front of us, but still we usually had good sight lines. And surprisingly the sound there was good too! There was definitely a weird vibe coming off the crowd, but it wound up being all good. After the show, all the guys (except Jeff, or at least we didn't see him) worked their way outside to graciously sign a few autographs and pose for some pics. Very nice of them to do that - especially in the cold! So thanks again for that guys.

 

Yeah I'm a little spoiled after last year's Royal Oak show, but damn glad we made it to this one!

 

[bböp]

I started requesting for Someday Soon for this show when the tickets went on sale on October, just did a few requests every couple of days. I didn't realize how many votes I had accumulated. It was worth it!

 

You vote riggger.

 

At least you didn't stuff the ballot box for Monster Mash!

[tried and true]

Poutine is french fries covered in gravy and cheese curds. It’s more of a Quebecois/francophone thing - you should have no trouble finding poutine in either Montreal or Ottawa. Unhealthy and delicious.

 

Thanks for the review. Maybe we'll see you Saturday or Monday - safe driving.

 

 

It's hard to believe such a concoction was invented in Canada and not Wisconsin. I might just have to get to Montreal a little early. And bring some rolaids.

[Guest sterno]

I drove 9 hours from Burlington, VT to see this show tonight. People think I'm nuts (maybe I am, just a little bit) but you guys know the lengths a fanatic will go. It was, as usual, an awesome show. These guys are having so much fun. Someday Soon was definitely a highlight. Jeff said that it was the most requested song--57 people or something like that. Then he said they wondered whether it was really that many people making the request or just one very computer savvy individual. He periodically updated the crowd on the hockey score, finally announcing the win toward the end of the show, and of course the place went crazy (congratulations Canada!). There was an interesting moment with Glenn--I can't even remember which song it was, but Jeff pointed out that Glenn's pedal broke early on in the song, so for the rest of the song he was hitting the bass drum with his penis. Yes, he said it. I couldn't make something like that up. Right before Hummingbird, Jeff apologized that they couldn't play longer, but they had a big plate of pouttin waiting for them (no clue how to spell that, or even what it is, actually). He said that this was the rowdiest of all the Canadian crowds thus far, and there were some goofballs up front that were living up to that distinction. I'm exhausted, but this drive was well worth it. Excited for Montreal and Ottawa!

 

Here's the setlist. Unfortunately, they did not play Red Eyed/Got You or Kingpin. And Califone (who are phenomenal) joined them for California Stars.

 

 

I have seen Wilco in Denver, Memphis, Portland Maine, Brooklyn NY and going to Miami, NJ, and in my home state of Connecticut in April. Seen Jeff in Northampton Mass, and Beacon NY two straight nights. There is noting to nuts about seeing this band. They Rock and they Roll.

[Ottawateeth]

It's hard to believe such a concoction was invented in Canada and not Wisconsin. I might just have to get to Montreal a little early. And bring some rolaids.

 

try to make it to La Banquise. Don't worry. They're open 24hrs so you can go after the show. Just type la banquise Montreal into google maps to find it. It's not far from downtown.

[Barbarino]

Mello's on the Byward Market does a great Smoked Meat Poutine.

[Preferred B]

I'm way late on this, and I enjoy a good poutine, but lobster poutine? What the hell kind of gravy goes with lobster?

[wodka]

Poutine clogs the arteries and makes you fat. haha

It is tasty though.

My first post on this forum and my 2nd Wilco show.

Here are a couple of pics from London.

 

..oops well maybe just 1 pic. Files are to big

[wodka]

I got a lot more. I will add them to Flickr this weekend and add a link here.

Cheers!

Have a great weekend..

Wilco loves you baby!

[lizish]

sounds like a fun time and the poutine craze is certainly weird. There are places almost all across the province serving gourmet poutine. again just weird.

 

 

Hope the next time wilco is in town, centennial hall will have been torn down. Disgrace of a place and I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but the floor slopes backwards making it miserable in the cheap seats.

 

 

Paul - getting Califone for the Aeolian is now a priority. Thanks for the suggestion. Woodpigeon and Basia basically blew the place apart a couple weeks ago and I'm hoping the next bookings will be Dan Mangan and One Hundred Dollars.

[radiatortunes]

Well, in honour of the Quebec City and Montreal shows, the husband and I just shared a plate of poutine at Place de la Francophonie, the French Cdn Olympic site. Real cheese curds! Tonight, it's back to LiveCity Yaletown, this time to see Blue Rodeo featuring former Wilco member Bob Egan!