I Cannot Help It, I Like SonVolt More than Wilco...

Agree. Unfortunately, I saw Son Volt live, maybe at the tail end of a tour. They did not impress. I could've hit play on my CD instead of paying to see these guys.

I would agree, I really like Son Volt. I wasn't aware that Wilco was supposed to be the better band. Sad to hear Son Volt isn't special live.

Though I like them both, the problem with Son Volt is that everything pretty much is the same, and Jay Farrar takes himself way too seriously. Granted, "Trace," "Straightways," and "Wide String Tremolo" were all very good. But, "Sebabstopol" and "Okemah . . " are quite boring. At least Wilco has the balls to mix up their sound from album to album.

Not that it matters, but this is coming from a guy who lives in the area they grew up, and having seen Son Volt, Wilco and Uncle Tupelo countless times.

walter wrote:

Though I like them both, the problem with Son Volt is that everything pretty much is the same, and Jay Farrar takes himself way too seriously. Granted, "Trace," "Straightways," and "Wide String Tremolo" were all very good. But, "Sebabstopol" and "Okemah . . " are quite boring. At least Wilco has the balls to mix up their sound from album to album.

Not that it matters, but this is coming from a guy who lives in the area they grew up, and having seen Son Volt, Wilco and Uncle Tupelo countless times.

No, this is good info...

What do you mean he takes himself too seriously, I am not up on the history - other than the music.

wilco plays a mean live show...as long as they have been touring. their last madison show didn't impress (they hadn't been practicing much, and it was the first show of a small tour), but the upcoming september show will-no doubt.

son volt is cool if you want the same sound all the time. wilco has evolved away from the alt country sound uncle tupelo perfected. seems like jay farrar has tried to keep that going while tweedy has moved onto other things.

so i guess if you like the slightly twangy sound of u.t., you prefer son volt. if you like a band that isn't afraid to evolve (and in the case of sky blue sky, step back a little) then you prefer wilco.

they are both great bands. why would you ever feel bad about a personal preference, anyway?

roger wilco!

alvy singer wrote:

wilco plays a mean live show...as long as they have been touring. their last madison show didn't impress (they hadn't been practicing much, and it was the first show of a small tour), but the upcoming september show will-no doubt.

son volt is cool if you want the same sound all the time. wilco has evolved away from the alt country sound uncle tupelo perfected. seems like jay farrar has tried to keep that going while tweedy has moved onto other things.

so i guess if you like the slightly twangy sound of u.t., you prefer son volt. if you like a band that isn't afraid to evolve (and in the case of sky blue sky, step back a little) then you prefer wilco.

they are both great bands. why would you ever feel bad about a personal preference, anyway?

roger wilco!

I guess I felt bad because I usually prefer a more progressive sound, and I have tried to get into Wilco with no avail.

I really liked UT, so I guess that is why I feel the way I do.

That's unfortunate. I heard Son Volt twice in the last year and both times I thought they were great... lots of energy, great sound.

Personally, I like Ryan Adams much more than both Son Volt and Wilco.

Talk about a guy who takes himself too seriously. Look no further. Maybe he's lightened up some since he's sobered up.As for Jay Farrar, in interviews with the local magazines he just seems so stiff and uptight. Although I think his band is good, he doesn't seem to have much energy on stage. He just comes across as too dry and bored. If I want to listen to some good Son Volt, I'm not going to throw on anything from the last nine years or so.

Son Volt live wrote:

That's unfortunate. I heard Son Volt twice in the last year and both times I thought they were great... lots of energy, great sound.

Personally, I like Ryan Adams much more than both Son Volt and Wilco.

Son Volt live wrote:

That's unfortunate. I heard Son Volt twice in the last year and both times I thought they were great... lots of energy, great sound.

Personally, I like Ryan Adams much more than both Son Volt and Wilco.

Bright Eyes!!!

... or earlier. SV's A Retrospective: 1995-2000 is solid.

Wow, someone who takes himself even more seriously than Ryan Adams. He'll be hard to top.

Jungleroy59 wrote:

Bright Eyes!!!

i personally think that this lineup of wilco (w/ glenn kotche and nels cline) is the best either of those bands has ever been. i would say im definitely more of a wilco guy, and part of that is that jeff tweed yseems to be a lot more laid back and likeable than jay farrar. i find that son volt tends to be a little more like uncle tupelo, and wilco really isnt. there are some son volt songs that i love- medication is great- especially if you have the live version of it, but overall i would rather listen to wilco and would MUCH rather see wilco in concert.

I Loved Uncle Tupelo. But saw them in one of their last shows together at some club in St Louis, and the deep hate that Tweedy and Farrar had for each other at the time was so obvious that it was painful to watch. They only talked to each other through their bandmates and wouldn't even look at each other on stage. It was so bloody bizarre. And it left me not giving a rats ass about either Wilco or Son Volt for a very long time. Eventually though, too much good stuff from Son Volt brought me back into the fold as I just couldn't look away any longer. Really feel that Farrar has always had it more together emotionally, so he's has been able to more consistently put out better music.

Whatever - Uncle Tupelo at their peak was the absolute bomb...

son volt is too country for me

Wow, talk about another act that threw me off when I saw him live. Ryan Adams was incoherent, eventually kicked off stage by the crew, kept insulting the audience, it was a truly bizarre show. Then, he'd play a solo that would move one to tears. Another one I'd rather hear than see.

Has anyone seen Damien Rice live? I saw him 2x before I bought the CD. In my estimation, a superior live act that comes across too sappy on his recordings.

"There's a new band called "The Doors" who are making waves in the sunset west around the LA area"....I remember sitting in the library in junior high and reading a rlling stone that said almost exactly that.

Hey, I've always preferred Son Volt to Wilco as well, although I don't think either Farrar or Tweedy have matched their Uncle Tupelo work as a whole. That might not be a fair statement though, Tweedy has really progressed and explored other areas while Farrar has remained in alt-country.

I saw both bands within two months of each other within a month in Philly. Son Volt was good, but then My Morning Jacket came on stage and burned the place down. Wilco was pretty damn good live, awesome energy (and they played 3 some hours, talk about your money's worth).

Son Volt's last album well worth you money.

Shit, no one really rocks like MMJ, it would be hard for anyone to play a show with those guys.

They are like rock and roll monsters.

There is no better live band than My Morning Jacket.