Current Wilco at Their Very Best
Sweet Beacon | Missoula MT USA | 02/21/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
""Ashes of American Flags" documents a short concert swing from about a year ago, with Wilco playing such classic small Southern venues such as Tipitina's in New Orleans and the Ryman Theatre in Nashville. They filmed five shows in their entirety, and picked out the best performances from them. The result is a 90 minute document of the current Wilco lineup at the their very best. The film-work is great, but mostly importantly, the performances are astoundingly good, and they cover a wide range or materials, from the super-rocking "Monday" from "Being There" to material from "Sky Blue Sky," including an absolutely remarkable version of "Impossible Germany." This is certainly a "must have" for any fan of Wilco, and I think even those who only know a little about the band will be moved by the powerful and profound performances."
BEST ROCK BAND ON THE PLANET AS OF 6/18/09
Joseph A. Kengor | Youngstown, OH USA | 06/18/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This document is very well recorded and shows this great, tight, professional band in a couple different sized venues doing their thing.
I just had the opportunity to see Wilco on Friday June 13, in Cincinnati, Ohio and they were amazing. One thing guaranteed about seeing Wilco perform, if you're not a fan going in, you will be one when you walk out. They played for 2-1/2 hours without a break; Jeff, what can I say about Jeff? Is he the coolest dude on the planet? But he does need a haircut. Pat Sansone has got the rock guitar god moves down! With the power windmill chords, etc.
Surely a lot different in June '09 compared to when I saw Wilco at the Graffiti lounge in Pittsburgh in '93 or '94 - Jay Bennett had just joined the band. My kids and I got to slap high fives with the band on their way to the dressing room after the show - that was cool.
I can't say enough about this rock group.
Jeff's words are poetry, not rock lyrics, set to interestingly melodic
tunes that spin in different directions, time changes, bridging space and
distance.
In Cincinnati, hearing 2,700 fans sing the words along with Jeff and John and Pat was amazing. Every song a sing-a-long.
The only better rock concert I've experienced in my 58 years of having ears was
seeing The Band at Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh in 1970. But that's another story."
Dvd/live cd in one
luckykz | Oakland | 05/01/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"what's cool is that through the dvd, you can register and go online and download the performances as a live 20 song cd (which includes the bonus tracks), then do what you want with the audio tracks."
Great Perfomances
Michael L. Link | 04/16/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The concert itself is great, the video/sound quality are top notch and the Wilco lineup shown here is incredible. The reason I gave it four stars instead of five is simply because I don't think it's really a "documentary", there are some interviews and behind the scenes stuff but these feel like an afterthought. Having said that there is a half hour of "bonus" live footage and you can download the audio tracks for free. This dvd is well worth the money and since I've seen them live a few times I can say it is a very good representation of their live shows. It is definately a must have for Wilco fans and if for some reason you don't already own the "I am trying to break your heart" documentary by Sam Jones I would buy the two together... you will probably get free shipping that way:)"