Roger, Wilco

Yesterday, I arrived home from a rather exhausting day at school, and really wanted nothing more than to waste away an entire evening in front of the TV, watching whatever happened to be on. I spent a few hours watching reruns of Law & Order, barely managing to keep my eyes open as Detective Briscoe and that one black dude solved crimes. Just as I had decided to call it an early night, and go to bed, the telephone rang.

I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Angie calling me from her cell phone. Anytime she calls me from her cell, she usually tries to get me to go out and do something fun. As I had very little energy, I considered letting the machine get it and calling her back the next day.

I ended up letting my curiosity get the better of me and answered the phone. Sure enough, she wanted to know what I was doing. I told her that I was, in fact, doing nothing and kind of wanted to keep it that way.

It was at this point that she informed me that she had managed to procure two tickets to the long since sold out Wilco concert at the Wiltern theater, and that I could have the extra ticket if I wanted it.

In spite of the fact that I had been awake since 5:30 that morning, and had spent the entire day waging the eternal struggle of educating seventh-graders, I decided that I simply could not pass up the opportunity to see one of my top five favorite bands in concert at a venue as intimate as the Wiltern.

I changed out of my jammies, back into my doing-stuff-outside-the-house clothes, and drove over to Blake Heller's apartment in Hollywood. From there, Angie, Blake, his girlfriend Kate, and I all headed over to the Wiltern. We arrived at about 9:00, missing the opening act as usual. But I didn't really care, as I was just there to see Wilco.

Concerts in L.A. are often good places for celebrity spotting, but I didn't really see anybody worth mentioning, save for Kevin McDonald, from Kids in the Hall.

Wilco took the stage at 9:30 and played for nearly two hours. Having only seen them perform a brief set while opening for R.E.M. at the Hollywood Bowl last year, I wasn't too sure what to expect. I knew it would be good, but I didn't know that it would be as good as it was. The band sounded great, and Jeff Tweedy's between-song banter was quite amusing.

As always, anytime I attend a concert, I post a setlist, along with the album on which the song can be found:

1. Muzzle of Bees - A Ghost Is Born
2. Hummingbird - A Ghost Is Born
3. Hell Is Chrome - A Ghost Is Born
4. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
5. Company in My Back - A Ghost Is Born
6. Handshake Drugs - A Ghost Is Born
7. A Shot in the Arm - Summerteeth
8. Via Chicago - Summerteeth
9. Jesus, Etc. - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
10. At Least That's What You Said - A Ghost Is Born
11. Theologians - A Ghost Is Born
12. I'm the Man Who Loves You - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
13. Poor Places - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
14. Reservations - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
15. Spiders (Kidsmoke) - A Ghost Is Born

First Encore
1. Ashes of American Flags - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
2. War on War - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
3. Kingpin - Being There
4. The Late Greats - A Ghost Is Born
5. I'm A Wheel - A Ghost Is Born

Second Encore
1. Another Man's Done Gone - Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 1
2. California Stars - Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 1
3. Be Not So Fearful - Unreleased Bill Fay cover song

The highlight for me was California Stars, which I consider to be the Greatest Song Ever Recorded. It's weird, though... I wouldn't even really label it my favorite song... I just recognize the undeniable fact that it is the Greatest Song Ever Recorded.

The show ended around 11:30, at which time Angie and I drove over to Fred 62, an all night diner in Los Feliz that I've mentioned on here before. The place was packed, so we had to sit in the weird window booth. It's a table set up in the window, with all kinds of pillows all over the place. I've always avoided sitting there, because it has the look and feel of an opium den. But last night there wasn't really any choice.

Our late-night dinner at Fred 62 was largely uneventful, and we were practically ignored by our obviously-too-busy waiter. We did have the unexpected pleasure of seeing Emilio Estevez dining with a group of his friends. I resisted the urge to go ask him where the hell he's been for the last four or five years and what exactly he's been doing while both his father and brother have been on largely successful television shows.

So, that was my unexpected adventure for November 18...which actually also happened to be my niece, Alyson's, birthday. Some of you will be shocked to know that she has just turned twelve. She's in sixth grade and, next year, will be in junior high. Even stranger is the fact that, just two weeks ago, her younger brother, Sawyer, turned nine. I still can't believe it.

It would appear that the only time I ever post anything is when I go to a concert or something. I doubt that I'll post much more before December 1, as I've got this Hugh Jass project due for my credential, and I've got way too much work left to do on it. Time management is not one of my better skills.