AmericanaramA Colorado 7/31/13

[Stevie]

Oates must live in Colorado then?

[oistheone]

If I were Oates, I'd live in Colorado too.

Hell, if I were me and I had I choice, I'd live in Colorado.

No reason...

[finagler]

I think Oates must live around here too, because he hopped on a couple songs at MMJ's double header at Red Rocks last August, and he doesn't sit in with them anywhere else.

Bummer they had to cut Gideon but that was still a great performance.

I'm really disappointed in myself; I got dizzy a few songs into Wilco so we exited the pit to grab a couple open seats and things got worse for me to the point I was blacking out whenever I stood up. No bueno, had to ultimately leave the venue. Pretty sure the cause was mostly the fact that there was no time to eat between leaving work an hour early and jetting to the venue to not miss a minute of Jacket...but shit. I also think I wasn't breathing very much because of that AWFUL SMELL..

WHAT WAS THAT AWFUL SMELL...???

[oistheone]

I think Oates must live around here too, because he hopped on a couple songs at MMJ's double header at Red Rocks last August, and he doesn't sit in with them anywhere else.

Bummer they had to cut Gideon but that was still a great performance.

I'm really disappointed in myself; I got dizzy a few songs into Wilco so we exited the pit to grab a couple open seats and things got worse for me to the point I was blacking out whenever I stood up. No bueno, had to ultimately leave the venue. Pretty sure the cause was mostly the fact that there was no time to eat between leaving work an hour early and jetting to the venue to not miss a minute of Jacket...but shit. I also think I wasn't breathing very much because of that AWFUL SMELL..

WHAT WAS THAT AWFUL SMELL...???

That really sucks about passing out, but you were definitely right to listen to your body and get outta there! We've all been in sit-down/passout mode before, and one thing I've learned is to not dwell on regrets, and be thankful that you made it out. Things could have been a lot worse!

[subinai]

According to the wikipedia, Mr. Oates lives in Aspen

[finagler]

We left before Dylan. We saw him last October and I will not repeat that experience.

Charles

What was the experience!?? Curious since I feel like my AmericanaramA experience was cursed from the start, from receiving tickets as gifts from out of state family and having to ultimately submit a complaint to the BBB to get a refund from TM (details in another thread)...to the start time of the shows being entirely too early...to nearly fainting from lack of nourishment because of the early set times and having to leave early and missing Dylan entirely (and part of Wilco which made me very sad)...I would love to hear about your previous Dylan experience!!

[Seeker]

To answer questions, Yes, Rolling Stones cover, and Oates lives in Aspen. He really didn't add anything.

Charles

[Seeker]

We left before Dylan. We saw him last October and I will not repeat that experience.

Charles

What was the experience!?? Curious since I feel like my AmericanaramA experience was cursed from the start, from receiving tickets as gifts from out of state family and having to ultimately submit a complaint to the BBB to get a refund from TM (details in another thread)...to the start time of the shows being entirely too early...to nearly fainting from lack of nourishment because of the early set times and having to leave early and missing Dylan entirely (and part of Wilco which made me very sad)...I would love to hear about your previous Dylan experience!!

We saw him with Mark Knofler last October at 1st Bank Center. He changes all the arrangements, making his hits hard to recognize. Mostly though, it's his voice, which so raspy now, he ruins his own songs. It's embarrassing. Here is a HuffPost column on the topic
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-hogan/bob-dylan-in-concert_b_3654022.html

Charles

[Fatah_Ruark]

Hum? I liked everything including the Dylan set. I liked that he rearranged all the songs. Not sure I'd go out of my way to see him again, but it was good to check him off the list.

I recorded the entire show. Everything sounds really nice except the Wilco set because I was sitting next to this idiot girl that clapped during EVERY FUCKING SONG mixed with excessive WHOOO-ing. When she wasn't clapping or shouting she was blabbing to her boyfriend. I can assure you it's unlistenable.

Here are some samples.

https://soundcloud.com/fatah-ruark/my-morning-jacket-waiting-on-a

https://soundcloud.com/fatah-ruark/wilco-cinnamon-girl-with-my

https://soundcloud.com/fatah-ruark/bob-dylan-desolation-row

I'm tracking out the MMJ set now and will upload it to the LMA soon.

It was good to see the boys again. I've been off the wagon for some time. Last time I saw them was at Mile High and that was ruined by all of the DMB fans talking about how they wanted this band to get off the stage. Before that I think the last time I saw them was at The Fox in Boulder.

MMJ recording:

http://www.archive.org/download/http://archive.org/details/mmj2013-07-31.ck930.flac16

[mahgeetah]

I was elated by both MMJ and Wilco sets. MMJ was relatively mellow, which seemed appropriate given the time slot. Ending with Phone was awesome I thought.

Wilco was amazing, especially given the post MMJ high. I thought they played one of the best sets I've ever seen them do that wasn't one of their headlining shows in the Bay Area. Misunderstood, Art of Almost, and their last three songs/collabs/etc were all outstanding. Given that Wilco tends to play more predictable sets on most their tours, it was awesome to get a more random setlist. Tweedy seemed to be in a great mood so that made the show that much better.

Overall an epic night with my two favorite bands of all time. Also it was great to meet some of the forum folks. Nice chatting with you Rizzo's girl, et al.

I did keep getting whiffs of some exhaust-like fumes... no idea what that was.

[finagler]

Mahgeetah, I saw you but was feeling too squeamish to say hi

Here is a picture of the back of your head as a consolation.

[Rizzos Girl]

Magheeta it was really nice to meet you yesterday and chatting for a bit. I was sad about the set list until the last 1/4 of the show was great. I agree John Oates didn't add much but he woke the band up and that made it better. Wilco was great too. No smell from the rail in front of Carl. Maybe you guys had some gassy Dylan fans by where you were standing.

[Seeker]

Here is a pretty decent review and it contains all the set lists.

http://marqueemag.com/2013/08/01/americanarama-bob-dylan-wilco-my-morning-jacket-ryan-bingham-fiddlers-green-7-31-13/

Charles

[gluvmiller]

I will NEVER go to Fiddler's Green again. I just can't do it. And this particular situation was so poorly planned by the venue. To have the set times as early as they were is bad enough, but then to have it in a venue right in the middle of the biggest employment area and expect people to show up during rush hour is ridiculous. Oh, and that smell is the brilliantly placed sewage vents right  behind the pit area.

Now to get more positive. Loved the MMJ set (even if we were late and missed the first 2 songs). My 4 year old son's favorite song is Wonderful so it was sweet and almost brought a tear to my eyes calling him and holding the phone up so he could hear it. ALWAYS happy to hear Golden. And the Waiting on a Friend was so freakin' good. GREAT energy. And as far as John Oates sitting in, didn't that friendship get started last summer before red rocks? I though John had been posting on Twitter how much he loved MMJ (I'm not on twitter so don't really know). When the band got word, they reached out to John and invited him down to red rocks to sit in and hang out. PWW was fantastic, but I certainly needed one and was sad to see them walk off the stage.

Wilco was a blast and seemed really happy. I need to give them more of a chance. So many of my close friends love them. Everytime I see them I love it, but for whatever reason I still haven't given them the time I think their music deserves. I knew a few songs (Misunderstood and Jesus etc) but enjoyed so many songs with which I wasn't familiar. I'm really eager to learn more about the songs they created from Woody Guthrie's writings. Oh, and the Cinnamon Girl, well, what can you say. Knew it was coming, but still exceeded expectations.

Dylan sucked, plain and simple. I will give him the respect he somewhat deserves, but I couldn't have been more bored. Was psyched to hear She Belongs to Me, but that was really it because he makes it so difficult to sing along to the songs you know. I understand the approach to mix up to arrangements when you've been playing the same songs for 30 years, but that doesn't make it easy on me. I personally couldn't wait for his set to end, but waited patiently for the hopeful collaboration with JJ and/or Jeff Tweedy. But as usual, Dylan disappointed. If my wife and I weren't driving friends who wanted to stay, we would have left.

Well, I would wager money MMJ will be back to the rocks next summer. I spent a good part of Dylan's set with a VP from AEG Live who co-produced the show with Live Nation. I don't want to get into details, but rest assured they don't want to bring MMJ back to Fiddlers.

[e-stone]

i had a blast.  while i know it sucked for most, the fact this lined up with the last day of my vacation time off worked out pretty well.  my buddy and i got to Fiddler's around 2 and we were fifth in line behind some aging hippies, so getting front and center on the rail was not too much of a challenge    these guys had been following the tour for 4 or 5 shows and got in line at 9 AM.  i would have felt a little bad about jogging past them BUT as we discussed their previous show experiences each of them agreed they weren't into MMJ and Jim James was a poseur   

first time hearing bingham, and i will be checking his recorded output sometime soon.  pleasantly surprised.

i thought mmj were great.  the shortened set doesn't do them any favors as far as busting out a couple mellow tunes early on, but i thought they recovered well.  i was just about a foot away from getting the ET Finger, but it was too much of a reach...i appreciate the effort Jim!  the photo nazi's were out in FULL force and there were SO many great photo op's, but in the end i kinda enjoyed not worrying about that so much.  this was the best one i could sneak in



the Oates thing has kinda lost it's luster since the surprise at Red Rocks, but i have to admit...he tore it up on PWW.  he's pretty badass on guitar.  we were joking that he would be our "special guest" before the show, but after finding out Warren Haynes played the night before, we were half expecting him to show.

and for those keeping count, Kotche and Sansone stood behind Patrick on "Waiting On A Friend".  Sansone could not have looked more  bored, but Kotche was having a blast - Glenn is easily the underrated MVP of Wilco. 

Wilco was phenomenal as usual.  a most satisfying setlist:

Handshake Drugs
Solitaire
Muzzle of Bees
Hesitating Beauty
Remember The Mountain Bed
War on War
Misunderstood
Art of Almost
Jesus, Etc
Impossible Germany
The Late Greats
Cinnamon Girl (Cinnabon Girl on the setlist)
California Stars
Casino Queen
Hoodoo Voodoo

i don't think i could ask for a better opening 5 tunes.  "Mountain Bed" just blows me away every time.  of course "Cinnamon Girl" with MMJ and Bingham just rocked so hard.  like gluvmiller...knew it was coming but still just left me in awe.  Patrick and Bo stayed for the rest of the set along with some of the Bingham dudes.  The fiddle player added some great moments to the last bunch of songs.

Dylan...what can i say about Dylan.  first off, i have nothing but respect and love all of the classic albums.  i never really got into anything post-Street Legal for whatever reason, but i was nonetheless excited to see him for the first time.  i set expectations low based on what most seemed to be saying.  i have to say i really enjoyed his set.  i didn't recognize half the songs, and the ones i did were completely rearranged (but i can appreciate that).  after the first couple of gravelly voiced songs, i could actually hear "Dylan" and his vocals actually sounded pretty good.  the band was super tight and seemed to be having fun.  i was just kinda in awe watching Dylan, at 70+ years old, standing up there posing...going back and forth between putting his hands on his hips or fixing his cuff links.  it was really surreal for me i guess.  i wasn't sure if he was fucking with us or if he's just really that geriatric?  i'm not sure he smiled the entire night except at one point when sharing a moment with the bassist.  we got little more than a squinty-eyed nod at the end of the show as they stood up at the front of the stage, and they bolted as soon as the lights began to dim.  what a ruler.

Tweedy was sitting in a chair, stage left for most of Dylan's set, so i was really hopeful for a collaboration.  unfortunately that never came to fruition.  that would have made it an epic night indeed.

and yes, that SMELL.  we certainly got wafts of it throughout the show.  my buddy thought it smelled like burnt hair.  terrible. 

i didn't recognize an forum folk that i may have met/seen at previous JFW, but i'm starting to get the feeling that maybe we've chatted with Rizzos Girl - and particularly Rizzo (not sure he is a forum member or that is his username if so) at this show and the Jim James show last spring.  are you guys from New Mexico?

[Crispy]

I missed this show, and Fiddler's Green is the main reason why. That and having exceeding my vacation day allotment for the year by a few days...but if this show had been at Red Rocks, my employers would have just had to deal. Fiddler's sucks, and I would rather miss my favorite band than travel to see a show there, and that's all there is to it.

Glad to see favorable reviews of the show, though!

[Rizzos Girl]

No e-stone I think you we're talking to our pal Patrick and his lady Yo-Ri from NM. Me and Rizzo were with them on the rail tho but got there after doors. We live here in Denver so hit us up if you're ever going to other shows so we can hook up.

[mahgeetah]

i don't think i could ask for a better opening 5 tunes.  "Mountain Bed" just blows me away every time.  of course "Cinnamon Girl" with MMJ and Bingham just rocked so hard.  like gluvmiller...knew it was coming but still just left me in awe.  Patrick and Bo stayed for the rest of the set along with some of the Bingham dudes.  The fiddle player added some great moments to the last bunch of songs.

Dylan...what can i say about Dylan.  first off, i have nothing but respect and love all of the classic albums.  i never really got into anything post-Street Legal for whatever reason, but i was nonetheless excited to see him for the first time.  i set expectations low based on what most seemed to be saying.  i have to say i really enjoyed his set.  i didn't recognize half the songs, and the ones i did were completely rearranged (but i can appreciate that).  after the first couple of gravelly voiced songs, i could actually hear "Dylan" and his vocals actually sounded pretty good.  the band was super tight and seemed to be having fun.  i was just kinda in awe watching Dylan, at 70+ years old, standing up there posing...going back and forth between putting his hands on his hips or fixing his cuff links.  it was really surreal for me i guess.  i wasn't sure if he was fucking with us or if he's just really that geriatric?

Seriously... those first 5 songs...
I like MMJ more than Wilco these days, but I think this tour pays more dividends for serious Wilco fans than it does for serious MMJ fans. Part of it has to do with the set times, but the main thing for me is that almost everytime I see Wilco, I can predict 80-90% of the songs I'm going to hear in a particular night, and can largely predict the order they're going to come in the show. This as opposed to MMJ shows, at least on average. With the Americanarama tour, we have no idea what Wilco is going to play each night... so for me, that made their set especially gratifying.
So I guess what I'm saying with all that is that I have somewhat lower expectations for live Wilco shows compared to MMJ shows. That explains why I think Wilco took the show for me this time.

That all being said, MMJ headlining show.... nothing better. I think the article that was previously attached said it best when it stated that MMJ needs "space to breathe." Regardless, I was still completely stoked by their set.


As far as your Dylan comments, they are spot on. I had my first Dylan show last October in Sacramento and had great seats. Your experience at Fiddler's was my EXACT same experience at that show. That being said, seeing it the second time really did nothing for me, except for the general appreciation of "that's fuckin Bob Dylan playing" and the anticipation of a possible collab with JJ and Tweedy.... I just hope that happens at Shoreline on Sunday.

[mahgeetah]

Mahgeetah, I saw you but was feeling too squeamish to say hi

Here is a picture of the back of your head as a consolation.

Awesome! My favorite pic from the whole show!

[e-stone]

No e-stone I think you we're talking to our pal Patrick and his lady Yo-Ri from NM. Me and Rizzo were with them on the rail tho but got there after doors. We live here in Denver so hit us up if you're ever going to other shows so we can hook up.

yes, Patrick! good guy.  we will definitely catch up next time!