[Airborn]

I picked this up at a special sale during Record Store Day last Saturday and just watched/listened to it all the way through last night.  All I can say is my first impression is....what a great DVD!  It is presented in a slightly different format from most concert DVDs in that it is not just the recording of one long concert; rather, the DVD is comprised of 2-3 cuts each from multiple shows performed in mostly smaller venues from Wilco's 2008 tour, interspersed with commentary by the members of the band.  The commentary is interesting and you get a good feel for what it's like to tour as this version of Wilco.  I thought the descriptions of the physical hardships the band members endure was particularly interesting, from Nels Cline icing his neck and his vertebrae fusing from all the head banging over the years  to Glenn Kotche having to ice his hands after every show  to Jeff Tweedy needing steroids to be able to sing by the end of the tour.  I had no idea being in a touring band could be so physically debilitating, but it makes sense if you stop to think about the demands of performing an energetic show night after night.

Here is the song list from the DVD:

Ashes of American Flags
Side with the Seeds
Handshake Drugs
The Late Greats
Kingpin
Wishful Thinking
Impossible Germany
Via Chicago
Shot in the Arm
Monday
You Are My Face
Heavy Metal Drummer
War on War

Extras:

I'm the Man Who Loves You
Airline to Heaven
It's Just That Simple
At Least That's What You Said
I'm Trying to Break Your Heart
Theologians
Hate It Here

The Impossible Germany from the Mobile Civic Center show just rocks.   The sound quality is very good, although the video quality is just average, IMO.  I wish they had released it on Blu-Ray disc as well.  Nonetheless, this DVD is a must have for any Wilco fan and is highly recommended.

[pjchappy]

Sweet!  I'm a HUGE Wilco fan!!!!     

[zybar]

How did you get this?

It isn't being released until April 28th.

George

[pjchappy]

How did you get this?

It isn't being released until April 28th.

George

I noticed that, too.  If you know someone in, or a few degrees separated from the "industry," it's not unheard of to get things a bit early. . . maybe promotional copies, etc..  1 week early isn't bad at all.

Now, when one gets a copy a few months in advance, that's when 99.9% of the time, it's just wrong.   

[Airborn]

How did you get this?

It isn't being released until April 28th.

George

I just walked into my local record store, Zia Records, on Record Store Day, April 18 and there it was on the shelf.  I too was surprised to see it available, since I had previously noticed on Amazon that it wasn't being released until April 28.     They had lots of copies at Zia and I assume it was an authorized early release done as a Record Store Day promotion.  There were numerous other special releases, including a ton of Radiohead singles and other singles by various artists on both vinyl and cd, that were specifically labeled as promotions in support of Record Store Day.  I was frankly quite surprised by the volume and quality of the releases, which were obviously produced with the support of the major labels in the recording industry.   It appears the marketing divisions of the major labels have fully adopted this 2 year old idea of independent "Record Store Day".