Goddamn. If you like music, the undercard of this year’s Lollapalooza is as good as a music festival gets. Conflicts are going to be extra painful, but of all the festivals lineups I’ve seen I’ve yet to see one that could be as potentially jam packed from Noon to 8:00 pm as Lollapalooza 2012. I’m still really nervous about what this all means for Sigur Ros, but to complain about having too many great bands in the same place at the same time you’d have to be more miserable than I could comprehend at this point in my life.

As for the headliners, I’m confused. Black Sabbath being listed 3rd on the preliminary lists just seems off to me unless they are fully expecting them to back out. Plus, Ozzy wasn’t the best performer when I saw Black Sabbath at Ozzfest in high school, I doubt he’s been practicing since. The Chili Peppers without John Frusciante are a shell of a band and I don’t expect them to live up to the unexpectedly and absurdly high bar they set for themselves in 2006. The Black Keys deserve it, but if you had the pleasure of seeing them at United Center last month this will be like rewatching the cell phone videos you took at that show (with better sound). From there, who else headlines? Florence and the Machine? At The Drive-in? Justice? Avicii? I’d take Justive from that list of 4, and am still holding out hope that they let Sigur Ros headline a night. It’s not like you can see all 6 headliners anyways, so again, if you like music, you’ll like the lineup this year. Jack White will be one the best headliners to ever perform at Lollapalooza and he’s worth the $75.00, $200.00, $230.00, whatever the hell you paid for your ticket.

Which makes me think... I pretty much haven’t missed a minute of Lollapalooza since its reincarnation in 2005 and have watched 20 headlining sets so far. A festival with a curfew doesn’t rest solely on its headliners, and Lollapalooza has always been about the day time, but here’s my top 5 and bottom 3 headliners of the first 7 years of Chicagopalooza.

The Best:
1a. Foo Fighters
1b. Daft Punk
3. The Strokes
4. Pearl Jam
5. Radiohead (2008) - if only the sound was better....

The Worst:
18. Rage Against the Machine
19. Kanye West (2006)
20. Green Day - AAAAAAAAAAAAAA-O!!! T-Shirt Gun!!

Pulp - Common People



I’ve struggled for the past 15 years or so with the fact that “Common People” by Pulp may very well be the best song ever written. I’m not implying that Pulp should ever be categorized as a guilty pleasure; they have released some of the best pop albums of my lifetime. And it’s not that slumming is a polarizing phenomenon; class hopping doesn’t necessarily bring about the arguments that same sex marriages do. It’s more about my musical identity and the risk of me admitting that the greatest song ever recorded wasn’t done so by The Beatles or Wilco or Frank Zappa or Drive-By Truckers or Radiohead or Bob Dylan or They Might Be Giants. It isn’t a kick-ass, rip-roaring rock song that will validate my masculinity, nor is it a quirky, obscure bedroom recording that will reinforce my indie cred. It’s just perfect.
“Common People” has everything it takes to fill a soccer stadium. It is instantly recognizable after only a few seconds and it takes days to leave your mind. It is repetitive without wearing out its welcome. The lyrics are precise and the subject matter is Hollywood ready. There’s no shredding guitar solo. No rumbling, spastic drum solo. They aren’t joined by any symphony orchestras and it’s still as epic as humanly possible.
The song is essentially a conversation between a wealthy girl and a poor guy and focuses on her desire to be a common person and her inevitable inability to do so. Sometimes you get so lost in the story that it’s easy to forget just how flawless the song is. If the subject matter had been a hippopotamus playing checkers Pulp would be able to pull it off, but it helps that it’s not.
Heralding a song as the best ever is sort of a tiring exercise. Whatever I currently consider 1a is closely followed by 1b through 1z, and from there I’m forced to Google foreign alphabets to lengthen my list. Pulp are back together and playing shows again, and while they are far from some underground cult act that you’ve never heard of, I think most people underestimate just how great they truly are. Tickets might be pricey, but you’ll never get to see George Harrison play, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” live or John Bonham rumble through the solo in, “Moby Dick,” so take advantage of this while you can.

If you're in the Delavan area, check out Rigatony's Italian Deli.

http://www.rigatonysdelavan.com/

Best concerts of 2011

1. Wilco – Metro - 12/16
2. Paul McCartney – Wrigley Field – 8/1
3. Foo Fighters – Lollapalooza - 8/7
4. Pearl Jam – Alpine Valley - 9/4
5. Fleet Foxes – Pitchfork Festival - 7/16
6. Wilco – Civic Opera House - 12/12
7. My Morning Jacket – Bonnaroo - 6/10
8. Tune-Yards – Pitchfork Festival - 7/15
9. Deer Tick – Reggies – 11/14
10. Titus Andronicus – Reggies – 8/6
11. Girls – Lincoln Hall – 9/29
12. Cage The Elephant/Sleeper Agent - Vic - 2/27
13. Kurt Vile/J Mascis – Subterranean - April 1st
14. Arcade Fire/National – UIC - 4/25
15. Hold Steady/Donkeys – Metro - 8/25
16. Coldplay – Lollapalooza – 8/5
17. Bright Eyes – Lollapalooza - 8/5
18. Guided By Voices – Pitchfork 7/16
19. Justin Townes Earle – Millenium Park - 5/30
20. Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears – Bonnaroo - 6/11

Chicago is spoiled. Not only does every major tour stop at one of our venues included on an already impressive and growing list, but we also have local/semi-local bands that remain very loyal throughout their careers and continue to treat Chicago fans to special experiences. Wilco and Local H are the two that have gone above and beyond over the years to make me glad to be born and raised in the second city. Between the two, I've been to nearly 70 concerts (who can count at this point) and I can genuinely say that I've yet to see a bad show from either. Whether it's a 7 night stand, a 5 night progressively shrinking city tour, or just booking and tearing the house down at venue upon venue throughout the city, it seems like Wilco and Local H take advantage of the musical equivalent to a home field advantage.

To say I needed these Wilco concerts this week is an understatement. To keep this more about music and less about me, I'll just say that 2011 has not been a very good year. It has had its highlights for sure, but as a whole I'd like to forget about it as soon as it's over. For months the anticipation was building for these shows, and I was setting myself up for a huge let down thinking that 5 measly concerts were going to change anything. Now that I've walked in and out of the Civic Opera House, Riviera, Vic, Metro, and Lincoln Hall I realized that I've underestimated Wilco. The difference these 5 concerts and a great Christmas celebration with friends have made in the past 7 days is probably incomprehensible to most, but to say my mind is in a better place this Monday morning compared to last Monday morning is an understatement.

100 different songs in 5 nights. This isn't the first time they've done it, but this time was the better of the 2. The intracity aspect of the tour made it special, and instead of being confined to the Riviera like last time, they moved on to smaller and better places. It makes it hard for one of these shows to stand on its own when a band is doing it's best not to repeat songs from night to night, but taken as a whole no band can do anything close to what Wilco did over the past week. The Civic Opera House was probably the best stand alone show, but if you mix the Metro show and Lincoln Hall show, you have the definitive Wilco concert through December 2011. And that's leaving out the Vic show, which I walked out of thinking it would be extremely difficult to top later in the week. The Riviera show was the only one that seemed ordinary, but ordinary by Wilco's standards is extraordinary for everyone else.

I'm being asked which show was the best by just about everyone I told that I was seeing some band 5 times in one week, so here is how I see it. There's a fine line between these shows, and being at the bottom of this list is like being the poorest billionaire.

1. Metro
2. Civic Opera House
3. Lincoln Hall
4. Vic
5. Riviera

One Sunday Morning
One By One
In A Future Age
Country Disappeared
When The Roses Bloom Again
Why Would You Wanna Live
Cars Can't Escape
Rising Red Lung
At My Window Sad And Lonely
Someday, Some Morning, Sometime
Not For The Season
Open Mind
Dash 7
Remember The Mountain Bed
You And I
I'll Fight (w/Fred Armisen on maracas and tambourine)
Born Alone
Spiders (Kidsmoke) (acoustic arrangement)
Whole Love
Art Of Almost
------------------------------
Someday Soon
Airline To Heaven
Passenger Side
It's Just That Simple
California Stars
I Must Be High
Dawned On Me
War On War
I Might
-----------------------------
Misunderstood
On And On And On (dedicated to Lounge Ax)

• This was Wilco playing at Lincoln Hall, I think that says enough.
• A dream setlist for any real Wilco fan, and they played a perfect set for a room of 500 people. So many surprises (Not For The Season! Cars Can't Escape! Acoustic Spiders!)
• A much more subdued show compared to the Metro. If you combine this show with the Metro, you have a definitive Wilco show.
• The whole band (as they usually are in Chicago) were in high spirits. Mike keyboard solo during California Stars using his new patch was especially hilarious to Jeff.
• "Does that mean we're going to hear Christ Can't Explain?" - Lady in the crowd "We're going to take 5 and go write that one." - Jeff
• Crowd was very respectful and quiet for the delicate songs. The only exception was the crazy lady during Spiders, and the fact that someone got thrown out of a concert for talking and being obnoxious restores my faith in humanity. I think I'm going to start making a "citizens arrest" in these cases in the future.
• "What was that lady screaming about?" "She was mad that you weren't going to play Hummingbird." "She did know the show wasn't over, right? And we aren't, so it's a good thing she got kicked out."
• This show being 50 or so feet from the stage at Lounge Ax definitely set the tone for the night. A great choice to close out a fantastic week. Wilco had 5 chances this week to convince me that they weren't the greatest living band on the planet, and they failed miserably.

1) sunken treasure
2) wishful thinking
3) art of almost
4) i might
5) i am trying to break your heart
6) one wing
7) company in my back
8) ashes of american flags
9) shouldn't be ashamed
10) either way
11) born alone
12) capitol city
13) war on war
14) how to fight loneliness
15) too far apart
16) red eyed and blue -->
17) i got you
18) dawned on me
19) i'm always in love
20) hummingbird

crowd sang happy birthday to jeff's son spencer for his 16th birthday
21) whole love
jeff: "the band chipped in together and got this for spencer....the first chord of a hard day's night". they tried 3 or 4 times and finally got it and that chord rang out as the intro to...
22) heavy metal drummer
23) box full of letters
24) ELT
25) standing O
26) kingpin
27) a shot in the arm

28) dreamer in my dreams

• If this wasn't the best Wilco show I've seen in my life, it is definitely in the top 3. You start to run out of superlatives when seeing Wilco 5 times in a week.
• The first show Wilco has ever played at the Metro. Uncle Tupelo never even played the Metro. The fact that this happened in 2011 is what makes Wilco the best band in the world for the past 10 years.
• Some repeats from other nights, but they were all very welcomed ones. I've seen IATTBYH and A Shot in the Arm so many times live, but seeing them performed at the Metro was just mind blowing.
• Dreamer in My Dreams! Looks like they payed attention to my request on wilcoworld. Or they just realized that the song was a perfect way to end a show at the Metro. Either way.
• Kingpin was extra special in a small room. It also added a lot to Ashes - Nels totally killed the solo at the end of that one.
• "That's the best we've ever played that on at the Metro" - Jeff, after many songs
• Playing the first chord of A Hard Day's Night for Spencer's birthday took some work, but the 4th attempt was passable.

One Sunday Morning>
Hell Is Chrome>
Art Of Almost
I Might
Muzzle Of Bees
Hotel Arizona
Radio Cure
Born Alone
At Least That's What You Said
Rising Red Lung
Say You Miss Me
Wilco (the song)
Capitol City
Hesitating Beauty
Summer Teeth
Standing O
A Magazine Called Sunset
Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway(again)
Dawned On Me
-------------------------------
Whole Love
Hate It Here
You Never Know
Theologians
Casino Queen
Kicking Television
-------------------------------
Hoodoo Voodoo> (w/ bass/guitar/keyboard tech Josh on cowbell)
Outtasite (Outta Mind)
The Lonely 1

Highlights (the many)

• Rahm definitely picked the right night to show up. Goddamn what a show. That was arguably the most fun I've ever seen the band have on stage, and it translated into the best all-Wilco set of the week (the 2nd encore put the Opera House over the top, but this show was every bit as good).
• The 3rd night, and only 1 song was repeated that wasn't on The Whole Love. If any other band can do that for 3 nights and play 3 great shows I'd be surprised. And they are going to do it for 5 nights.
• Hoodoo Voodoo - holy christ. Such a rocking song live, and it included the best Nels/Pat guitar solo battle yet. The guitar tech dancing around with a cowbell looking like a young, shirtless Frank Zappa was definitely a nice touch.
• "You keep this up and you'll be the 80th best guitar player" - Jeff referring to the fact that Nels used 2 different double neck guitars in the same night. "Not since the days of Krokus touring the mid-west, have two different double neck guitars been used on the same stage in one night. Oh shit, I forgot about Cheap Trick, nevermind!"
• The best Wilco setlist since the last residency. Very nice to hear Magazine and Kicking TV.
• ALTWYS was perfectly. Especially the guy telling a group of girls to shut the fuck up once it started. That needs to happen more often.
• The Lonely 1 was such a great way to end the show. One of the best Wilco songs and it was flawless.
• Very, very rocking encores (until the end), and it was also nice to see Standing O in the setlist for the first time this week.
• Sunloathe is the only TWL song left to fit in there. Tons of good songs left for the next 2 shows, and they are going to be digging deep on Sunday I'm hoping.

Less Than You Think>
Art Of Almost
I Might
Black Moon
Bull Black Nova
Side With The Seeds
Red-Eyed And Blue>
I Got You (At The End of the Century)
Born Alone
You Are My Face
Open Mind
Kamera
I Must Be High
I'm Always In Love
Capitol City>
Handshake Drugs
Can't Stand It
Dawned On Me
Hummingbird
-------------------------
Via Chicago
Whole Love
The Late Greats
Walken
Just A Kid
Monday>
Outtasite (Outta Mind)
---------------------------
Reservations>
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
I'm A Wheel

Random Thoughts:

• Not up to the standard the night at the Opera set for these shows, but still a really fun, above average Wilco show.
• Not one repeat song from the first night from any album other than The Whole Love.
• Red-Eyed And Blue> I Got You (At The End of the Century) should be a part of every Wilco concert ever. Same with Via Chicago.
• Reservations was a nice surprise, and led into Spiders as usual.
• Nice version of Kamera - every song from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot has been played besides Ashes and Radio Cure.
• A couple false starts, the band seemed very loose. Jeff was particularly in high spirits.
• Pat's Townshend-like windmills during I'm a Wheel is always a great way to end a show - hopefully he get to take part in a guitar solo battle during Hoodoo Voodoo some time this week.
• The license plate from Night 1 was still valid, and Jeff had it on stage with him.
• Seems like song from AM are getting saved for later in the week (Metro perhaps?)