wilco @ the wellmont theater, montclair, nj - 4.3.10

hi folks.

long time, no write. i really do apologize - i've had a crazy summer with lots of traveling and lots of work. and since i have satellite internet in the barn, i have found that working on my site takes up too much bandwidth. so i can really only work on this when i'm somewhere with a solid internet connection, which isn't very often. i didn't figure this out until after i had already started re-designing my site, so everything is kind of a mess right now and a bunch of stuff is missing. but i'll hopefully get it fixed and good as new soon!

as a result of my major lack of posts in recent months, i have a HUGE backlog of photos i took at a bunch of really great shows. so in honor of the fact that i leave a little later this morning for wilco's solid sound festival in the berkshires (!!!), i thought i'd jump right in with the photos i took at their amazing show at the wellmont theater in montclair, nj last april. they played the night before and i was there for that show, too, but i only took pictures on the second night. if you're a wilco fan, i'm sure you know all about their spring tour and how they played EPIC 3+ hour sets with no opener. and these shows were both epic and AMAZING.

here are the photos i took for night 2:

these aren't my best wilco shots - they implemented the 3 song rule and there was no pit, so i was way off to the side and away from the light. i've shot them twice before where i was positioned much better - you can see the photos from those shows here and here.

the ever-awesome nyctaper recorded both nights and both recordings are excellent. click here for night 1 and here for night 2.

to see the rest of my photos from this show, click here.

more to come soon!

k

wilco @ dutchess stadium - 7.18.09

on saturday, july 18, my friend dan and i took a last minute trip on metro north to wappingers falls, ny, where wilco was once again playing. the show was so good the monday before that once i found out that there were still tickets available, i knew i had to go again. and i’m so glad that i did.

the setlist was similar to the coney island show, but it was different enough to keep it interesting. and to be honest, it really didn’t matter to me anyway – i would sit through the same song 20 times if they were playing it. i didn’t end up in the front row for this one – imagine, there were fans there that were even more rabid than i – but i was only about three people back and i got plenty of good shots. at coney island, i was off to the left of the stage, but for this show i was right in the center. this was better for taking pictures as i could see the whole band the entire time.

the drummer is usually my favorite member of a band. i just love to watch them play. and wilco is no exception – glenn kotche has to be one of the most inventive, talented, and expressive drummers out there. i loved where i was positioned for this show because i got so many great pictures of him banging away.

sadly, we had to leave before the last encore so that we could catch the shuttle back to the beacon station before the last train of the night left. i think it was the first time in my life that i’ve ever left a show before it was completely over. we still heard it from the parking lot, though, so all was not lost.

it was another awesome night and another awesome show.

about halfway through the show, jeff tweedy threw his guitar pick (pictured in his mouth above) into the crowd. it looked like it landed right near me, so i scoured the ground looking for it, but never found it. long after i'd forgotten about it on the shuttle bus back to the train, dan asked me to hold my hand out. and he gave me tweedy's guitar pick. a nice (if a little bit gross) souvenir of another great night.

setlist:

wilco (the song)
i’m always in love
i am trying to break Your heart
shot in the arm
bull black nova
you are my face
one wing
side with the seeds
war on war
deeper down
impossible germany
far far away
too far apart
handshake drugs
can’t stand it
jesus etc.
sonny feeling
theologians
hate it here
walken
i’m the man who loves you
hummingbird
poor places
spiders (kidsmoke)
the late greats
you never know
heavy metal drummer
hoodoo voodoo
i’m a wheel

go here for flac and mp3 recordings of the show.

to see the rest of my photos, click here.

kate

wilco @ keyspan park, coney island - 7.13.09

it isn’t often that you get to see your favorite band from the front row when you have your good camera with you. but that’s exactly what happened to me when wilco played keyspan park in coney island, brooklyn on monday, july 13. ever since their amazing show at mccarren pool in brooklyn last august (where i was also in the front row), i have been so excited for them to come back. and i wasn’t disappointed. they blazed through new material and old sounding tighter than ever and they were all in great moods.

yo la tengo opened (pictures to come soon) and were also great. but when wilco pulled them out for the encore to play on the 12+ minute sonic freakout that is "spiders (kidsmoke)" the whole thing just went to a totally different level. it was one of those moments that probably won’t ever come around again.....and it was INCREDIBLE.

feist also came out to duet with tweedy on “you and i” from the new album which was really sweet and then they brought out ed droste from grizzly bear to join in on the chorus from “california stars”.

what a great show – probably the highlight of my summer.

i firmly feel that wilco is simply the finest band touring today – each musician is at the very top of his game and they consistently get better and more interesting with every album and tour. if you ever get the chance to see them, don’t hesitate.

setlist:

wilco (the song)
i am trying to break your heart
shot in the arm
at least that’s what you said
bull black nova
you are my face
one wing
handshake drugs
deeper down
impossible germany
jesus etc.
sonny feeling
i’m always in love
can’t stand it
hate it here
walken
i’m the man who loves you
hummingbird
heavy metal drummer
you and i [with feist]
california stars [with feist and ed droste]
you never know
misunderstood
spiders (kidsmoke) [with yo la tengo]
the late greats
hoodoo voodoo

go here for flac and mp3 recordings of the show.

to see the rest of my photos, click here.

kate