dtgrock wrote:I'm a huge Yankee fan - was he disappointed with the result of '03 series?
Serious question?
If so, the humor in his comment, as I see it, was that he could really care
less about the outcome of any baseball game, but he was playing a gig in
Boston so he felt compelled to say something.
My memory isn't the best, but I caught all three Florida shows this year and I believed he played Whiskey Bottle, he played another song but I was to ____ to remember. I'm a huge Yankee fan - was he disappointed with the result of '03 series?
wildfire77 wrote:..Moonshiner, while being a well played song and unusual coming from a "rock and roll" group, doesn't really represent the best of Farrar's songwriting, in my opinion.
In the March re-issue, at the beginning of the song it sounds like he starts in on the harmonica and then abandons it for the rest of the song. Wonder why?
In my opinion, I would guess that Farrar just isn't as interested in the music he produced with UT. If you look at the Farrar canon, while the UT period is certainly entertaining and was somewhat "groundbreaking," Farrar's own songwriting, in my opinion, is still fairly immature (I don't mean "immature" in the sense that it wasn't good, but meaning it was still the infancy of Farrar's songwriting). The metaphors and imagery from the UT days are pretty basic stuff, and the "stories" in the episodic songs aren't necessarily all that fresh. Moonshiner, while being a well played song and unusual coming from a "rock and roll" group, doesn't really represent the best of Farrar's songwriting, in my opinion.
Even into Son Volt's first couple of albums, the songs are much different than what Farrar is doing now, not just in the arrangement and instrumentation, but especially in the songwriting. His lyrics now are much better developed in language and in imagery. His two solo albums, in my opinion, have been excellent. The new live album is already one of my favorite albums, and I have just about burned through it I've played it so often. This is coming from a guy (me) that loves all of the Son Volt albums.
I honestly believe this is why Farrar broke up UT, which by all accounts, was looking at breaking through to some decent commercial success. Anodyne was a terrific album. But Tweedy's desire to write songs with more "popular" themes was in direct conflict with Farrar's philosophy and direction he wanted to go (this is no knock on Tweedy, since his music is also excellent, though much different. Farrar's UT songs and Tweedy's UT songs sound like they are coming from two different bands).
So the UT songs Farrar wrote probably just aren't as interesting to him anymore, much in the same was a song like Screen Door and We've Been Had, while popular, probably aren't interesting to Tweedy anymore (I woudln't know, since I've never seen Wilco live).
Speaking of the Jayhawks, what's going on with them? I'm in Raleigh and I noticed that Gary Louris is opening solo for Tift Merritt at Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill. Are the Jayhawks still together?
I realized you're not the guy screaming for the tune, you just love the song and wish to hear it live. I can understand that completely.
As for the Jayhawks mixing it up - that is excellent. My type of band.
I see the rationale behind playing a fairly rigid setlist on a US tour, as the artist needs to look out for the entire audience and play the "hits". But I don't like it personally. I love it when a band plays an obscure gem or an old tune and I think it makes going to the show that much more fun for the diehards, this way even they get a surprise or 2.
And if Jay did bust out Moonshiner next time i see him I certainly won't be upset.
Regarding the fact that if you see a band 3 or 4 times on the same tour some of the songs start to wear out a little....I saw the Jayhawks in DC earlier this year, at the beginning of the show Gary Louris let us know that as this was their third time through DC in about 12 months that they would try to play songs that we hadn't heard played yet on the tour. What resulted was a totally awesome show.
I like the song...but I have to admit that the stolen line from the Irish song Wild Rover (I've spent all my money on whiskey and beer) do seem a little silly...
and its no neigh never, no neigh never no more, will I play the wild rover, no never no more
You have a point there are many songs you get tired of hearing or playing over a period time. My thing is - first I forgot that it was a bonus tract on the reissued cd. Second that out of all the live shows I have heard from UT/SV and Jay solo - I don't believe that I have ever heard it preformed live.
I started playingguitar over a year ago and moonshiner was the first song I learned how to play. I would just like to see and hear how the preforms the song.
Oh yeh.... I'm not the guy in the audience screeming it either...FYI
Maybe he just doesn't care to play it anymore. I'm sure there are lots of tunes he doesn't play regularly that fans might like to hear but that's not the way it works. he's not a jukebox.
Personally, I think it's a pretty tune with bad lyrics that make me cringe a bit and sound out of place coming from Jay("dew from the vine"???). I'm not attacking the song, but I'm far happier when he plays Windfall
Think of it another way - have you ever seen one particular band in concert multiple times over a single tour? Chances are that if you have then you also grew tired of a few of the songs by the 3rd or 4th concert. Imagine how an artist feels after playing a song for 10 years...
