Saturday, September 15, 2007
Concert review: Wilco
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Setlist
1. Shake It Off
2. A Shot In The Arm
3. Side With The Seeds
4. You Are My Face
5. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
6. Pot Kettle Black
7. Handshake Drugs
8. Impossible Germany
9. It's Just That Simple
10. Misunderstood
11. Jesus, Etc.
12. Too Far Apart
13. Walken
14. I'm The Man Who Loves You
15. Poor Places
16. Spiders (Kidsmoke)
Encore 1:
17. Red-Eyed And Blue
18. I Got You (At The End Of The Century)
19. Hesitating Beauty
20. Hate It Here
21. I'm Always In Love
22. Outtasite (Outta Mind)
Encore 2:
23. Heavy Metal Drummer
24. Hummingbird
25. On And On And On
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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Comments
chris_chapman Anonymous
Birthday wishes, indeed. That kid's GOTTA be stoked. Jeff Tweedy, along with 1000 other people sung him happy birthday. If he wasn't a wilco fan before, he most assuredly is one now, for a lifetime. I couldn't see well from my vantage point but, was that root beer Jeff gave to him at the end of the show?
And c'mon - the extended "nothing's" are a sublime staple of wilco sets. Nothing short of cool.
1 year, 9 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Mike Orren Staff
I know about (and generally love) the "nothings" -- but this had to be some kind of record.
1 year, 9 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Mike Orren Staff
For those who want to hear the show:
http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=50...
1 year, 9 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Scott Miller Verified
Being There, eh? Real sorry I missed that.
1 year, 9 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Neff Conner Verified
Thx for the recap. From the looks of the setlist and the sound of your review, it looks like i missed a great show. :o[ On the other hand, i've seen Wilco a dozen + times and couldn't pass up the opportunity to see my favorite-band-in-the-whole-world-at-the-moment, The National, for the first time ever at The Granada. That was pretty sweet, too. :o]
1 year, 9 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
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