All The Wilco That's Fit To Print...

File this post under "I Must Be Dreaming":
Several weeks back I contacted Wilco's Management about the possibility of submitting a design for a tour poster. The work with Capital A Prints has been going strong and I was hoping to get some creative ideas out of my head and onto paper. Mock (& his keen eye) was gracious enough to collaborate and tweak some design concepts, add some magic and the whole thing started to come together. We submitted the design (seen at the left) in hopes of getting the Detroit show at the Fox Theatre, but were prepared to settle for any type of positive feedback from management. And so it was...set in motion. The details that you need to know lay out like this. Management liked the design and originally gave us the "green light" for the Pittsburgh show. Capital A pulls prints by hand, which is methodical, but organic, while Wilco often sends poster designs out to a print house. We eventually agreed that we would do a run of 30 posters by hand (to be sold on Capital A's site) and the posters that were to be sold at the show & on Wilco's site (qty. 250) were to be printed by a trusted Chicago printer...same design just different print techniques. At the last minute, we were asked to change our poster to the Milwaukee show...which we happily did. Wilco kindly hooked us up with some tickets to the Detroit show (closer to home than Milwaukee). We definitely had some interest in getting our posters signed if the situation presented itself. Management gave us the impression that if we made it up to Detroit early, we might be able to have the band sign our work...the possibility alone was an inspiration. We were up in Detroit by 2 p.m. on the day of the show. Our contacts with Wilco's people were phenomenal throughout the entire process. Not only were our posters signed (so Mock's record is intact), but we were among a privileged few who sat in on a 7 song soundcheck in the afternoon. SURREAL!...like a private show...amazing. If you ever have the chance to sit in Fox Theatre with a handful of people to catch a soundcheck by Wilco...I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!!!! Needless to say Mock and I were thrilled and grateful to be watching such an amazing musical force working on their craft at such close range. The band seemed loose and at ease and their sound filled the Fox all the way to the rafters. They even chatted with "the crowd" and commented that they thought more people would have been at "the show"...and then attributed the low turnout to a possible cross town show by Insane Clown Posse (a Detroit fave). Andrew Bird also played a few songs with the band and then worked out his own sound for the concert to be held later. I captured some video of the sound check, but eventually began to run out of battery...a horrible feeling. All this and we still had a whole "real show" to go. And what a show it was...Wilco brought down the house with two encores and a setlist (see below) that was a perfect mix of old & new (including four songs with Andrew Bird). There is much more to recap of the show, but many fans captured the highlights in words on Via Chicago's Messageboard. I will try to post all of my videos soon. Thank you Wilco, & thank you to Wilco's Management for the opportunity to create, the music and the chance to have some fun...VIP style. An unforgettable experience.

Jesus, Etc. (not video I shot)


Photos of the Poster Making & The Show

The Setlist:
Either Way
You Are My Face
IATTBYH
Pot Kettle Black
Handshake Drugs
Side with the Seeds
Shot in the Arm
Via Chicago
Impossible Germany
SBS
Too Far Apart
Walken
ITMWLY
Hummingbird (w/ Andrew Bird)
In A Future Age (w/ A.B.)
Spiders (w/ A.B.)
Encore 1:
Jesus Etc. (w/ A.B.)
Hate It Here
HMD
Encore 2:
Red Eyed & Blue>I Got U
Casino Queen
Outta Site Outta Mind