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crholmstrom
He kind of reminds me of Neil Young in some ways. I don't think he'd be unhappy with that comparison!

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Naturalust

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crholmstrom
He kind of reminds me of Neil Young in some ways. I don't think he'd be unhappy with that comparison!

Jeff is a huge Neil Young fan. In the late 90's in San Francisco he and others in the band went out of their way to meet him and were blown away by the experience. I was there and all Jeff could talk about for the next two days was Neil.

Glad people are so thrilled about them these days, they are indeed a great act but I still believe their shows from 1996-1999 were untoppable. It was when they truly developed that genuine alt-country amazing live show thing. Every song in the set just slayed the audiences and they had one of the best "from the heart" guitarist/keyboard/singers ever...Jay Bennett. Nels is a great guitar player, competent to the extreme, but there was a soul that Jay had that I've never been able to feel from Nels.

VERY cool that they played the entire new record in order! Who out there is doing that these days?

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crholmstrom

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Naturalust

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crholmstrom
He kind of reminds me of Neil Young in some ways. I don't think he'd be unhappy with that comparison!

Jeff is a huge Neil Young fan. In the late 90's in San Francisco he and others in the band went out of their way to meet him and were blown away by the experience. I was there and all Jeff could talk about for the next two days was Neil.

Glad people are so thrilled about them these days, they are indeed a great act but I still believe their shows from 1996-1999 were untoppable. It was when they truly developed that genuine alt-country amazing live show thing. Every song in the set just slayed the audiences and they had one of the best "from the heart" guitarist/keyboard/singers ever...Jay Bennett. Nels is a great guitar player, competent to the extreme, but there was a soul that Jay had that I've never been able to feel from Nels.

VERY cool that they played the entire new record in order! Who out there is doing that these days?

They did the whole new record at the show I went to, also. It's a very good record & came off very well live. I saw them with Jay more than once & have hung with Ken, the original drummer. He was playing with some friends. I think Nels has a real Jeff Beck thing going on. During the last show he was having some tuning problems with his guitar during "Impossible Germany" & managed to turn it into maybe the best version of that I've ever heard. The band was just staring at him. I've seen that happen with Jeff Beck, too. The Jay Bennett thing was tragic but I can see both sides. I've witnessed the democratic approach with bands not working out well more than once & I think after Uncle Tupelo, Jeff Tweedy wanted Wilco to be his band. You could see it in the movie. I'll always love the records Jay was on but I really like how Wilco has continued to grow & keep things interesting. There are precious few really good bands like that out there that have managed to keep it going 20 years without a noticeable fall off in quality. I really like how they refuse to be pigeon holed into any one expectation. I expect they will be with us for awhile still & that's a good thing.

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jammingedward
I saw them once with Jay on the Summerteeth tour in LA. My first Wilco show (only a month after my first Stones show in Memphis!) Jay was an unstoppable force at that time who really pushed Tweedy to new heights, the same way Jagger & Richards feed off each other.
They were the greatest bar band on the planet then. Pure, unhinged rock n roll.
What happened to Jay was just so tragic. He was so gifted and deserved better. Wilco would not have the continued success they have had if not for him.

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Tate
I love the old stuff, and there was great energy there, but this band has evolved, and I love the artistic force they have become. I love Nels Cline and Jeff Tweedy in the same band. Bands that try to maintain the same energy over decades often lose their luster. I think Wilco has evolved and matured into a different band than they were. I love Summerteeth a lot... But this new album, Star Wars, it is on a whole different plane, in my opinion. I find it so refreshing. It us a true artistic achievement. This is a band that has been around a long time, and gone through many changes, that's all. I dig the changes.

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crholmstrom
I saw 2 shows with Wilco this weekend. They were incredible. They have stripped down the stage setup & are doing really intimate shows. That doesn't mean they are acoustic. They have also tore down the setlist & are going deep, playing a lot of material that they haven't done in awhile. Nels Cline is worth the price of admission alone. Highly recommended if you have a chance to go. I think they are 1 of the best American bands right now with not many close to them.

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Tate

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crholmstrom
I saw 2 shows with Wilco this weekend. They were incredible. They have stripped down the stage setup & are doing really intimate shows. That doesn't mean they are acoustic. They have also tore down the setlist & are going deep, playing a lot of material that they haven't done in awhile. Nels Cline is worth the price of admission alone. Highly recommended if you have a chance to go. I think they are 1 of the best American bands right now with not many close to them.

I couldn't agree more with that last statement. I have been holding off on all the previews of the new album due out this week so I can hear it in full with headphones. I can't wait to see Wilco again after the last tour. I've become a bigger and bigger fan over the years. It all started when I saw Uncle Tupelo in '94, then years later bought the first Mermaid Ave album (with Billy Bragg and cameos by lots of others), then bought everything else and started making sure I attended every time Wilco came around my neck of the woods. I attended Solid Sound (in Western MA) last summer ('15) and will do everything I can do do that as long as it exists. Beautiful festival. Can't wait until '17!!

I think the whole Wilco experience is what happens when you marry early '70's Stones with The Dead and even a little Beatles, as Tweedy definitely employs a lot of Lennonesque songwriting/ recording techniques.

Seek out the 2013 Solid Sound "covers" show (a Wilco show consisting entirely of covers) for evidence of my above assessment! The highlight for me is a great version of 'And Your Bird Can Sing,' performed twice back to back because it was so damn good.

Cheers.