Remember To Remember Me: Wilco Plays Anchorage's Moose's Tooth

There's something to be said for a band that can make the opening line of a concert "I dreamed of killing you again last night, and it felt alright to me" sound beautiful. That's the opening line of "Via Chicago", which Wilco used to open their Anchorage show Saturday night. Anchorage did well filling the parking lot of Moose's Tooth despite the rain. It rained all day and all night Saturday, but it didn't stop people from showing up and showing Wilco much deserved love. Jeff Tweedy made several references to the weather and the hardcore Alaskans who refused to let it affect us. The set was flush with popular tunes with a few new songs mixed in. One of the new songs was ironically "Sunny Feeling." The crowd was into it and stuck it out despite the weather. The mix of beautiful folk based songs overlayed by loud and rowdy bursts from Nels Cline and Glenn Kotche were perfectly executed. Overall, it was pretty surreal to see Wilco playing Anchorage. Local guys The Whipsaws (who've gotten plenty of pub on this blog) opened the show with a high quality set any band in the states would be proud of.

Anchorage Daily News Review (set list is in the comments of the ADN article)

Last.fm Only Gets Better

Occasionally I've seen the module above show my top 8 listened to artists (which adds Springsteen and Counting Crows into the mix), but it's a new and improved view of what I've been listening to. In all fairness, the majority of my music listening has been at work lately and I rely heavily on data CD's of MP3's, to which I have entire discs of my favorite artists, but the counts go back to 2006, so what can you say? If you haven't checked it out at all, or lately, give Last.fm your attention.

Everyday Music Series: Dave Matthews Band, Before These Crowded Streets (1998)

I've often thought of the mixed feelings that must be associated within a musician when they put together a great album. There's so much work that to have a successful product must be so satisfying, but there must also be a sense of anxiety. To make a great album, so many things have to come together perfectly. There needs to be great songwriting, great performances, and great production. A record company would also say that the marketing of the album is key to making it great too, but so many great albums don't get discovered until well after the record company has stopped promoting them, the art of a great album will be timeless. All three facets I mention above need to be solid. A collection of well written songs can get lost if the performance lacks depth or the production doesn't bring it all together.
An album like Before These Crowded Streets is one of those times that songwriting, performance, and production all came together. People that loved Dave Matthews for songs like "Satellite" and "Crash" probably had a hard time initially getting their heads wrapped around BTCS, because with a couple of exceptions, the album went in a different direction that previous DMB albums. To me the album is a perfect melding of darker, minor key undertone with melodic almost anthemic bridges and choruses. There's a common feel throughout the album. The first single released from the album was "Don't Drink The Water" which set the tone for the mainstream reaction with it's haunting, deep rhythm set against an uplifting chorus. Mix in Bela Fleck's bango and Alanis Morissette's background vocals and it's hard to find a piece of the spectrum that isn't used by producer Steve Lillywhite. The songs are thick but still had commercial appeal with "Stay (Wasting Time)" and "Crush" getting lots of airtime back in the day. Well worth tracking down a copy and giving it a second shot. Near perfect albums are rare, and I'm not sure Dave Matthews has released anything close to the perfection of Before These Crowded Streets. My favorites are "Pig", "Halloween", "Don't Drink the Water", "The Stone" and "Crush".

How Did You Get So Into Music?

A friend and colleague asked me that yesterday and I kind of blanked on a good answer, so my answer likely resembled mumblings about rock and roll, growing up in the 80's, coming of age during grunge, etc. I think I could probably write a book to answer the question if I could organize my thoughts. It's an interesting question that I'm certain to explore here. In the meantime, feel free to answer the question for yourself in the comments.

Ticket To Ride

I started a new ongoing project this past weekend when I found a box full of photos and ticket stubs. Here is a link to the Flickr photo set for concert/sporting event tickets I've gone through. The cache I found mostly fell within the 14 months I lived in California, but definitely isn't a complete collection yet. I know there are plenty more buried in various boxes throughout my home, so I will continue to update it as new tickets come along and I find more old ones.

Paste Magazine Mentions Anchorage Pizza

There's a little Anchorage love in the newest issue of Paste Magazine. In the section titled "The Informer" July 26 is owned by a picture of Jeff Tweedy with the copy if you can't read it "7/26 Wilco plays the 12th-anniversary party of some place called The Moose's Tooth in Anchorage, Alaska." I know a handful of people who were hanging around the Moose's Tooth 12 years ago...probably sitting around talking about Wilco's Being There enjoying Pipeline Stout or a Fairweather I.P.A. with Alaska's best pizza. Judging by the response to Son Volt, Third Eye Blind, and even Elton John at least Wilco will walk away from their July 26 show knowing what Anchorage and the Moose's Tooth are all about.