Philzone.org Discussion Board: Archive 2004: Non-PF/Dead Show Reviews Archive 2004: Wilco - Mpls Orpheum10/25/04- Rock for Karl Benefit -Quest Club10/21/04

All right!!! What a great pair of shows highlighting the cream of the crop of the alternative/indie music scene circa 1985-1998 as Wilco and the star laden benefit for Soul Asylum bassist Karl Mueller(who is in remission from a battle with cancer) bookened a great weekend of shows here in the Twin Towns. The Cramps,North Mississippi All Stars,and David Thomas from Pere Ubu all had shows as well this weekend making it one of the bests around these parts music wise in a long time. Thursday night's benefit was kicked off by Arlo Guthrie's daughter Sarah,who local producer and Jayhawk leader Gary Louris is working on an album with, before giving way to a solo set by Paul Westerberg from The Replacements. Still a hero in his hometown,Westerberg didn't disapponint his fans with a sweet 35 minutes featuring new songs from his Folker CD and Replacements classics like I Will Dare and Swinging Party. He also threw in a sweet cover of Elvis'Kentucky Rain which was a high point of his set to me. Next up was the revitalized and heavy rocking Soul Asylum. Stuck in major label limbo after getting dropped by Columbia the boys ripped through 10 songs in 35 minutes reminscient of their first moniker Loud,Fast Rules. Augmented by Atlanta studio vet Jeff Huffman on keys and third guitar,and intoducing their new drummer Michael Bland,(formerly with Prince and Jonny Lang)Soul Asylum scorched the stage with Danny Murphy's muscular lead guitar and Dave Pirner's snarling lead vocals reaching heights I haven't seen from them since their 95-97 era heyday. Focused and confident Pirner's new songs were really good; full of his off hand allusions and interesting rhyming patterns and phrases. The one oldie from their Twin Tone era, Closer To The Stars,really gelled with the attention Bland brought to the stop and start segments and allowed Karl's bass to be more pronounced and up front in the mix,showing the influence of the Detroit Rock City bands like Grand Funk,Alice Cooper,and MC5 that they have grown to resemble more and more over the years. Electric violinist Jessy Greene from The Geraldine Fibbers added her usual flourishes and thrills to Black Gold and The Game, one of their best unreleased songs,before wrapping up their set with a smoking version of Somebody To Shove which Dave had dedicated to Karl and his wife Mary Beth. Danny was up on the amps while Dave was spinning around the stage in a undeniable glee which was all the more poignant with their Moms and families looking down proudly from the VIP section above the stage.Next up was the night's best suprise;a riveting,stunning 30 minutes by Husker Du leader Bob Mould, including the first time ever mini Husker Du reunion in 17 years as former drummer and co-song writer Grant Hart joined Bob in the set closing medley of Never Talking To You Again and Hardly Getting Over It. Prior to that Bob alone with his blue Stratocaster held the crowd spellbound as he wrassled and wrangled his way through Husker Du classics Zen Arcade and Celebrated Summer,Sugar top forty singles,I Can't Change Your Mind,Your Favorite Thing: and three new songs that ranged from a pretty melody laden ballad like his material from Workbook or Last Dog And Pony Show, to a,long, drawn out excavation of a love gone bad like The Slim or Brasilia Crossed With Trenton.Rich with narrative detail and full of his muscular riffing Mould's new material reminds me more and more of his mentor Pete Townsend and his solo work as time passes. Following Bob and Grant's reunion the night's next biggest suprise occured as Paul Westerberg came out and led Golden Smog through classic run throughs of Dead Flowers by The Stones and The Kinks' Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon.Like The Rolling Thunder Revue of Minnesota fronted by Neil Young(Kraig Johnson from The Jayhawks,Run Westy Run,and Iffy),the good time feel of their songs shone in covers and originals like Signed D.C. which chronicles the descent into druggy madness of a certain sperm donor and Marin County sailor we all know,The Smog was even better than when I saw them at The Rock For Change benefit in July.Steve Wynn from Dream Syndicate joined them in an encore of Eddie and The Hot Rids Do Anything You Wanna Do before The Gear Daddies closed the night with their good time alt. country which predated Monday night's headliner at a packed Orpheum Theatre Wilco. Now the most commercially viable of any of the aforementioned bands,Jeff Tweedy and crew leveled the Orph with an expansive,ensemble sound which showcased all of the bands' players and not just as a star vehicle for Tweedy to hover from. Mixing in material from all five of their albums allowed one to trace the evolution of Wilco from alt country faves to experimental rock critics darlings while maintaining an open hearted attitude to the process. Indeed,Tweedy was at his best on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot material like War on War,and Shot In The Arm,and the best song of the night I'm The Man Who Loves You,which found new lead axeman Nels Cline burning up the frets in a wild feedback laden skronk thru the song's solo section. Spiders(Kidsmoke)ended the set in really trippy fashion before they came back for two generous encores of four songs each including the audiences' favorite from the A.M. album, Passenger Side. All in all a great weekend of tunes here in the Twin Cities and a prelude to this weekend Radiators Halloween Costume Ball. Like the reunification of The Dead it's great to see people getting over their egos and selves and putting out the music for our and their enjoyment. As a old school Huskers and Soul Asylum fan I was deeply touched by the reunion of Bob and Grant and the chance to get to see Karl again with his band.Makes one think and ponder about what is real and important in our lives and the blessings we have gotten bestowed upon us. Thanks to all the great bands and fans - it really brought back some great memories and feelings while providing fresh hopes for the future and isn't that why we love music in the first place. Till the next go around - Peace

Nice review. Not the typical group of bands discussed on the zone. Nels Cline has added a nice dimension to Wilco. Isn't "Shot in the Arm" on "Summerteeth"? "The ashtray says /You were up all night."

dman that sounds nice. Did Bob play anything from Workbook.

I've got to get another copy of that album...

dreaming I am...

No Workbook or Black Sheets of Rain stuff which is my favorite era of Bob's material. The guy looks and sounds great. The drying out worked real well for him.Funny that Grant's now the chubby one in that band!! D - You are correct sir!! My bad - after that weekend you could bet that my synapses weren't totally firing right. My notes from the shows are a riot! Can't wait to see Molo with Fogerty coming up in November - Keep them show's a - coming!!!