Record Store Day, Wilco, Free Tickets

Record Store Day

Hope everyone got their tickets last week for Wilco’s upcoming fall tour. If you haven’t already purchased said tickets, chances are you’re S.O.L… or areyou?

...and Wilco. The best combo since pretzels filled with cheese?

Wilco has partnered up with Record Store Day to bring us the “I Love My Record Store” contest. Before everybody gets all up in arms trying to decode this mysterious title for a contest, let me explain:

Wilco’s latest single from their forthcoming album The Whole Love is entitled “I Might.” The B-side to that single is a cover of Nick Lowe’s “I Love My Label,” a wink to the fact that Wilco recently dropped Nonesuch, their previous label, and created their own: dBpm. Henceforth, the Record Store Day contest is called “I Love My Record Store,” which is in and of itself a wink to the Wilco cover of “I Love My Label.” Everybody on board? Good. I’m not explaining that again.

Anyway, here’s how to enter:

1. Go to the Record Store Day site here
2. Enter your information on the form
3. Write down the name of your favorite record store and why it’s your favorite
4. Pray to Uncle Tupelo, The Wilco (and Son Volt) God of tunes, that your name is selected to go see Wilco Live At Central Park on September 22! (Contest ends 7/31, so hurry up! And don’t forget to include the name of the store, as well as the city and state so we can share the love!).

The contest ends 7/31, so mosey on over!

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Weekly Poll: What’s Your Favorite Live Performance of a Wilco Song?

Is it possible that the sheer awesomeness of Jeff Tweedy's jacket caused Chicago to brown-out? I'm gonna say definitely.

Here’s what happened. I came up with (what I thought was) a good idea for this week’s poll: “Best Use of a Wilco Song in a Movie or TV Show.” I thought it had a pretty cool, Academy Awards ring to it. There were also some excellent scenes and original songs I found that Wilco did for a surprisingly large number of films and TV shows.

I picked the 7 best from IMDb, and was about to find clips for all of them when suddenly my power shut off. I gave it a few minutes, then realized that it was not coming on anytime soon; the power to my entire neighborhood browned (crapped) out on a 100 degree day in July. The power came back after a few hours, but even after it did there was no internet for six hours. The internet eventually came back on, and I went back to looking up clips for the poll of the week, and I found that none of the clips existed anywhere on the internet.

So here we are. Instead of the original poll idea, I decided to make this week’s poll “Favorite Live Performance of a Wilco Song.” I know this may have been done to death, but hear me out. Each one of these clips is pretty great; if you haven’t seen any of them yet, prepare to have your mind blown. There’s even one from way back in 2005 at Farm Aid, where then State Senator Barack Obama introduces the band before going into a damn good version of “Airline to Heaven.” This is the perfect example of hipsters being able to claim they like Obama before he “sold out and got all commercial.”

I realize that there are other great live clips out there; probably many I didn’t even look at yet, so you can also write in a performance you think is worthy of this week’s highly coveted “most votes” prize. This week’s prize, like last week’s and the week before, is nothing, because you can’t give prizes to inanimate videos on the internet. Yet.

Sorry for rambling, here’s the videos:

Radio Cure

Impossible Germany

Jesus, Etc.

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Hummingbird

Monday (Balls-out version)

Airline to Heaven (Featuring Obama’s first big break!)

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Reminder: Follow Wilco News on Twitter!

 

Sometimes you can find deep hidden meanings in things. This is not one of those.

Sorry. This is funny to me.

First off, big ups (is that still a thing?)  to any of you who are reading this or visiting this site at all. You’re all intelligent, well-adjusted, very, very good-looking people.

Second, if you’re not already following @WilcoNews on Twitter, you’re missing out on some great Wilco-related happenings.

Don’t believe me? Here’s what some people from around Twitter are saying:

@WilcoNews has retweeted me over 5 times! That’s 5 More times than anyone else!

                 -@LesRocco

I don’t know what I would do without @WilcoNews. Probably sleep for a while, make a sandwich and go to back to bed.

                  -@LesRocco

Who is @WilcoNews? Man or machine?

                  -@JuddApatow

Now, granted the first two were from the same person, a person who may or may not be me (it totally is, don’t buy into my lies), and the third one really isn’t relevant (though is awesome because it really is from Judd Apatow), you definitely should follow @WilcoNews on Twitter. Why? Why are you asking so many questions? Anyway, because you asked, here are some reasons:

• Read all the latest up-to-the-minute news on Wilco that doesn’t make it to the site.
• Watch sweet Wilco and Wilco-related videos I find
• Listen to free Wilco and Wilco-related tracks
• Download some of the aforementioned tracks for free
• Be retweeted if you’re cool enough.
• Follow the same Wilco News site that director Judd Apatow, singer/songwriter Jason Isbell, actor Kevin Weisman and teenage idol Les Rocco do.

Also, it’s free.

Follow @WilcoNews here!

 

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Cline Time (Featuring Free Songs!)

You can play the guitar with your teeth you say? Good for you. But can you be Nels Cline and play the guitar with your teeth? Didn't think so.

In the same vein as The Tweedy Feed, I decided to create Cline Time, a source for the latest dirt on our favorite Cline: Nels. It’s kind of like the Frasier to The Tweedy Feed’s Cheers; kind of a spinoff, but very much it’s own thing (though I did try to get that delightful dog to appear in here. He said no.). Actually, it’s a lot more like The Colbert Report to The Daily Show. That’s a much better analogy; I don’t know why I said that other thing. Forget that I did, all right?

In any case, forgetting all sitcom spinoffs, many of us Wilco fans have gotten so caught up in the frenzy of anticipation and anxiety (what, you don’t have anxiety?) for The Whole Love and Wilco’s upcoming tour, we overlooked another major album release earlier this summer: BB&C (Tim Berne, Jim Black and Nels Cline)’s live album, The Veil. To many of us Wilco fans, Nels Cline is the underrated, under-appreciated, incredibly talented guitar god from Wilco; however, what many of us don’t realize is that he is one hell of an experimental free Jazz-rock musician. And he’s out there. Like Sun Ra On Jupiter out there.

Don’t believe me? Take a pull on this: It’s called “Caved-In Heart Blues” from Cline’s 2007 album, Draw Breath. It has come close to replacing Neil Young’s For The Turnstiles as the song I will hear in my head just before I go insane. Which is pretty high praise coming from me.

Did you listen to it? Pretty out there, right? Yet it’s somehow very soothing. It might be the molasses-drippingly slow tempo. Which is kind of a good thing.

Here’s a pretty sweet video of Cline performing with the Les Paul Trio in New York at Iridium last Monday:

Awesome distractions aside, The Veil, the latest from Cline, Black, and Berne (or BB&C, as they’re also known, which I like because you can hold the Shift bar the entire time you type it in) has been getting some pretty great reviews so far, and judging from Railroaded, the free MP3 download from last month, (which you can download here), they all seem justified in their praise. Here are some reviews for the record so far:

The Veil is a rapturous performance from three of New York City’s most electrifying talents at the last vestige for improvisational music left standing in Manhattan following the Blue Condo-ization of the Lower East Side.

-Jambands.com

Cover from The Veil. Anybody else getting a Tom Waits-y vibe?

From the opening passages you can tell that these are masters at work. Behind the doors of their industrial space, they are wrapping Waterford crystals in sheet-metal and playing catch. They are sprinkling machine nuts in the gears watching it sputter and spit out twisted scraps and unanticipated treasures.

-Allaboutjazz.com

… [The Veil performances were]  mostly two continuous improvised performances from musicians who have no fear of going into simultaneous improvisation that might scare other musicians back to law school. The kind of meeting of minds that both jazz and bands like Wilco need.

-BuffaloNews.com

The combination of the three, which for a time went under the name Sons of Champignon, makes for an alchemical fusing of explosive out-jazz and apocalyptic rock punctuated by moments of delicate beauty.

-JazzTimes.com

This is Tinariwen. They are going to make beautiful music with Nels Cline. I'm going to buy it. Probably.

As if all this wasn’t enough for Nels, he’s also recorded an all-acoustic album called Tassili with a band called Tinariwen (here’s a little taste), who are, I kid you not, a group of nomadic Tuareg tribesmen who fought in Mali’s civil war. Also featured on the album are Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio and the horn players of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Is it cool if I speak for everyone on this one? Well I’m going to: “If I don’t get to hear this soon, I’m going to do something drastic. Like cancel my Spotify subscription. Which I don’t have.”

You’ve got time for one more awesome video before you go to bed, or work, or some other website, right? Good. Because this one’s pretty wild. I will end this edition of Cline Time with a video of Nels Cline playing the (kickass) solo to “Impossible Germany,” which so far is the frontrunner for this week’s poll. Please enjoy:

Nels Cline with Wilco – Impossible Germany

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Latest Tour News UPDATED 8/1

I Might need to start making tour update posts every week

Woah. That was fast. With Wednesday and Thursday’s presales behind us, many of us scrambled to get tickets for Wilco’s upcoming The Whole Love tour yesterday when they went on sale to the general public. Since then, a few shows have sold out, a show has been added, and cries of “Whyyy?” from Chicago were audible throughout the country due to the loss of alternative rock radio station Q101, and there still not being a Wilco show scheduled for the fall.

There may be hope, though, for those of us without a fall Wilco show to look forward to. Some shows have sold out too damn fast (the St. Louis show at the Peabody Opera house sold out in 25 minutes!). As a result, Wilco has added a second show in New York at Summerstage on 9/23, and I’m hoping more dates will be added soon.

*Update: Both New York City shows have been sold out as of 7/22

*Update: Both Nashville shows have sold out as of 8/1

*Update: For the Madison, WI show on Oct. 5 – A select few, limited view seats have opened up for the Madison show on Oct 5th.
These tickets are not available online, you can purchase via box office or inquire by phone (608.258.4141)

If any new dates are added, I’ll post info about them (I’ll steal info) as soon as I can. For now, here are the remaining tour dates (prices don’t include fees) with tickets still available. I’ve whined about there being no Chicago show enough. What dates would you guys (and girls) like to see added? Or are you the kind of over-achievers that have tickets already?

From WilcoWorld.net:

	Wilco, Indianapolis, IN
	Sep 13	Murat Theatre @ The Old National Centre (Indianapolis, IN)	$45.00	Buy Now >>
	Wilco, Toronto, ON Night #1
	Sep 16	Massey Hall (Toronto, ON)	$55.25	Buy Now >>
	Wilco, Toronto, ON Night #2
	Sep 17	Massey Hall (Toronto, ON)	$55.25	Buy Now >>
	Wilco, Montreal, QC
	Sep 18	Metropolis (Montreal, QC)	$45.00	Buy Now >>
	Wilco, Boston, MA
	Sep 20	Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre (Boston, MA)	$45.00	Buy Now >>
	Wilco, New York, NY
	Sep 22	Rumsey Playhouse (New York, NY)	SOLD OUT!
	Wilco, Columbia, MD
	Sep 25	Merriweather Post Pavilion (Columbia, MD)	$40.00	Buy Now >>
	Wilco, Raleigh, NC
	Sep 27	Raleigh Amphitheater (Raleigh, NC)	$40.00	Buy Now >>
	Wilco, Atlanta, GA Night #1
	Sep 28	Cobb Energy Centre (Atlanta, GA)	$40.00	Buy Now >>
	Wilco, Atlanta, GA Night #2
	Sep 29	Cobb Energy Centre (Atlanta, GA)	$40.00	Buy Now >>
	Wilco, Nashville, TN Night #1
	Oct 1	Ryman Auditorium (Nashville, TN)	SOLD OUT!
	Wilco, Nashville, TN Night #2
	Oct 2	Ryman Auditorium (Nashville, TN)	SOLD OUT!
	Wilco, St Louis, MO
	Oct 4	Peabody Opera House (St Louis, MO)	SOLD OUT!
	Wilco, Madison, WI
	Oct 5	Overture Hall (Madison, WI)	SOLD OUT!

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Update: New Wilco Tour Info

Wilco’s Tour For The Whole Love Begins Sept. 13

Here is an updated list of dates and venues for Wilco’s upcoming fall tour. Also included are the dates for Jeff Tweedy’s solo shows this summer as well as international tour dates.

North American Dates:

 

31 Jul 2011 / Niigata, JP / Fuji Rock Festival

13 Sep 2011 / Indianapolis, IN / Murat Theatre

Presale: July 13, 10am EDT
Onsale: July 15, 10am EDT

16 Sep 2011 / Toronto, ONT / Massey Hall
Presale: July 13, 10am EDT
Onsale: July 15, 10am EDT

17 Sep 2011 / Toronto, ONT / Massey Hall
Presale: July 13, 10am EDT
Onsale: July 15, 10am EDT

18 Sep 2011 / Montreal, QUE / Métropolis
Presale: July 13, 10am EDT
Onsale: July 15, 12pm EDT

20 Sep 2011 / Boston, MA / The Wang Theatre
Presale: July 13, 10am EDT
Onsale: July 15, 10am EDT

22 Sep 2011 / New York, NY / Rumsey Playfield in Central Park
Presale: July 13, 10am EDT
Onsale: July 15, 12pm EDT

25 Sep 2011 / Columbia, MD / Merriweather Post Pavilion
Presale: July 13, 10am EDT
Onsale: July 16, 10am EDT

27 Sep 2011 / Raleigh, NC / Raleigh Amphitheater
Presale: July 13, 10am EDT

28 Sep 2011 / Atlanta, GA / Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
Presale: July 13, 10am EDT,
Onsale: July 15, 10am EDT

29 Sep 2011 / Atlanta, GA / Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
Presale: July 13, 10am EDT
Onsale: July 15, 10am EDT

01 Oct 2011 / Nashville, TN / The Ryman
Presale: July 13, 10am CDT
Onsale: July 15, 12pm CDT

02 Oct 2011 / Nashville, TN / The Ryman
Presale: July 13, 10am CDT
Onsale: July 15, 12pm CDT

04 Oct 2011 / St. Louis, MO / Peabody Opera House
Presale: July 13, 10am CDT
Onsale: July 15, 11am CDT

05 Oct 2011 / Madison, WI / Madison Overture Hall
Presale: July 13, 10am CDT
Onsale: July 16, 11am CDT

International Dates:

 

24 Oct 2011 / Glasgow, UK / Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 

25 Oct 2011 / Manchester, UK / Manchester Academy

27 Oct 2011 / Bristol, UK / Colston Hall

28 Oct 2011 / London, UK / Roundhouse

29 Oct 2011 / London, UK / Roundhouse

01 Nov 2011 / Madrid, ES / Teatro Circo Price

02 Nov 2011 / Barcelona, ES / Palau De La Musica Catalana

03 Nov 2011 / San Sebastián, ES / Kursaal Convention Center

07 Nov 2011 / Basel, CH / Kaserne Basel

08 Nov 2011 / Frankfurt, DE / Alte Oper

09 Nov 2011 / München, DE / Circus Krone

11 Nov 2011 / Wesendorf, DE / Rolling Stone Weekender

12 Nov 2011 / Berlin, DE / Tempodrom

13 Nov 2011 / Utrecht, NL / Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn view

14 Nov 2011 / Tilburg, NL / 013

Jeff Tweedy Solo Shows

(Sold Out) 08 Jul 2011 / Fish Creek, WI / Door Community Auditorium

09 Jul 2011 / Fargo, ND / Fargo Theatre

10 Jul 2011 / Winnipeg, CA / Winnipeg Folk Festival

04 Aug 2011 / Honolulu, HI / Hawaii Theatre

Got a show you want to see? Get tickets and pre-sale info here.

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Free Rare and Exclusive Wilco-Related Stream and Download Tracks

A Little Free (legal) Wilco Never Hurt Anybody

Because we all love free music, here are a few free Wilco and Wilco-themed tracks and sets from around the ‘net. It’s also legal, so don’t fret. I definitely just accidentally made a rhyme.

From NPR Music:

• Stream Wilco’s entire set at Sasquatch Music Festival
• Download a live cover of “I Shall Be Released” performed by Wilco

From The Steam Engine:

• Gem from 2001: Download Wilco’s Live WXRT July 4th concert in Chicago, IL, featuring Jay Bennett’s last show with the band
• Download Wilco’s engineer demos from the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sessions
• Download Wilco’s entire live set from 6-25-11 at Solid Sound Fest

From Tauthal.com:

• Another early rarity: Download Wilco’s entire live set from July 20, 1995 in Nashville, TN

From 88.9 Radio Milwaukee:

• Download Pat Sansone (of Wilco)’s remix of Jamie Lidell’s “Gypsy Blood”

From Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right:

• Download Volume 1 of Jeff Tweedy’s Letters to Santa

From ElephantBackup.com:

• Download a crazy, rock-jazz fusion track from Wilco’s Nels Cline – Railraoded

From ArtistDirect.com:

• Download Wilco’s Glad It’s Over, from NBC’s Heroes Soundtrack

From TheMidnightCafe.com (but through MegaUpload, which I can’t vouch for)

• Quite a thing: Download a live version of every single Wilco song in the catalog, even the Mermaid Avenue albums with Billy Bragg.

And of course, you can always stream live shows from Wilcoworld.net via Roadcase

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