Concert review: Wilco

by Mike Orren

DALLAS — As a longtime Wilco fan, I've never seen them put on a bad show. Last night's gig at The Palladium ranked at the top for two reasons -- the band gets better and more skilled as time goes on; and they're really starting to mix up their setlists.

As we pointed out earlier this week, Wilco is starting to take fan requests into account when building their setlists. In recent years they've largely focused on their albums from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot forward, virtually ignoring the back catalog. But with fan input, early albums like Being There and even AM are getting substantial play.

The secret to Wilco's live show is a delicate alchemy that mixes the tightest rock band you've ever seen with a lead guitarist -- Nels Cline -- who is so off the hook that you never really know where he's going. The discipline of the rest of the band in their impeccable execution of the arrangements gives him the freedom to explore the edges of what makes aural sense on his solos and riffs, and creates a live experience that is both improvisational and perfected.

The show started with a subdued take on "Shake it Off," but rocked through a setlist particularly heavy on songs from the double album Being There.

A high point midway through the set was "It's Just That Simple," a tune from AM that the band hadn't played since 1995. It featured bassist John Stirratt on guitar and lead vocals, while frontman Jeff Tweedy took bass duties for the first time since the Uncle Tupelo days. The song came off like a lost track from The Band's The Last Waltz and was dedicated to John's father, who was in the audience.

The show was excellent overall, with the band clearly having fun with the eclectic setlist through a long main set and two encores. There was lots of stage banter, including birthday wishes for an eight year-old in the crowd.

My only quibbles:

• The "nothing" line repeated on "Misunderstood" went on to the point of becoming a Spinal Tap moment
• They didn't play my request ("Dreamer in My Dreams")
• While "On and On and On" is a nice song, it's not what I wanted out of the last number. Would have preferred something more uptempo

I caught the last couple songs of opener Dr. Dog's set and my assessment from their albums was unchanged -- They sound like a cross between The New Pornographers and a paper shredder... and that's mostly a good thing.

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