44 -- Wilco -- Monday, July 8, 2009 -- Wolftrap – Vienna, VA

The signs after an A+ show are always the same.

Sound stops suddenly. You’re dazed. You’re not sure what to do. Chatter develops, but you don’t want to hear it. You speed walk, trying to get away from the mindless babblers as quickly as possible. Eventually, you separate; you find silence. Then you consider calling someone. The music was so dynamic, the experience was so profound that you need to share. No, you decide, not yet. That would break the spell. Minutes later, as you join the line of cars inching through the parking lot, you’re ready for the call. You fawn, gush, and try anything you can to recreate the concert for the person on the other line, but it never works. They don’t understand.

After you finish the call and inch up a few cars in line, you reach the final stage: you listen to the songs again. Any other concerts, even the good ones, you’d never listen to the songs again. After days of album preparation and two hours live, you’re maxxed out. You’re ready to move on. After A+ concerts, though, it takes longer to let go. The spell lasts through the night...

What made this Wilco concert special – what made it join the A+ elite? The same thing that brought the others to the top: it broke the rules. It was a followup concert that actually improved on the original! Thus far, over 43 concerts, every subsequent show was worse than the original. There was no question, though, that every aspect of the Wolftrap concert was better the Merriweather one. The instruments were loud this time, I could actually understand everything Jeff Tweedy was saying, and I could not have asked for a better setlist. The thing that made the setlist particularly memorable was that I knew every song. It took me a while to remember the name of some of the A.M. / Summerteeth tracks at first, but sure enough, I’d be able to scribble down the title in my notepad by the end of the song.

I am well aware that 99% of you reading this right now do not have that same familiarity with Wilco’s songs. Considering that, I’d advise you to skip over this track-by-track scribbled live blog and move on to the next show. If you happen to be a Wilco fanatic, though, enjoy…

Part One

o “Wilco (The Song).” Great sound! Strong volume and you can actually understand everything he’s saying.



o A much appreciated “Shot in the Arm” early. Rare that a band plays an early song at the start. Nice electronic addition in the last third.

o “At Least That’s What You Said”!!! Right before this song, a guy asked if I could move a few seats over so his friends could all sit together. The physical move enhanced the transition from two mediocre songs to a true performance. A total hush in the audience, who all take in the emotion. Take that, Death Cab!



o “Black Bull Super Nova.” Intro sounds just like “Spiders.” Blood lyrics, red background, fog effect, and fearsome beat make this quite scary.



o “She’s a Jar.” Whoa, tonal shift. They’re distributing tracks from different albums nicely so far. This is clearly from Summerteeth. I really thought this was going to a mediocre night. Love to be wrong!

(Note: there's a better tonal shift on the album: from "Black Bull Super Nova" to "You and I." Check it out.)




Part Two

o “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.” Meh. Feedback in Yankee Hotel Foxtrot can get excessive at times. “One Wing,” on the other hang, is great. Fits “At Least That’s What You Said” well.



o Jeff Tweedy speaks! He explains that he will now play the most requested song on their website, “How to Fight Loneliness.” Says “36 of you are going to be very happy right now.” After the song, he adds, “Um, yeah, that sounded like about 36 people.” He then insists that he wasn’t ‘fishing’ for applause, but he might as well have been ‘cause the song was pretty bad.

o “Impossible Germany”!! The extended guitar rift is incredible.



o “Jesus Don’t Cry.” Such warmth.



o “Deeper Down” and “Sonny Feeling” are both lackluster. He hilariously makes up for messing up a “Sonny Feeling” lyric by explaining, “at that moment, I realized I’d written a song that mentioned Eminem, so I became afraid he’d come and kick my a--.” Nice recovery. Take that, Jack Johnson!

o An even funnier moment occurs in the transition to "Handshake Drugs.” Tweedy points to a group of people in the crowd who had letters written on their t-shirts and says, “Huh? There’s no ‘F’ in Wilco?” As soon as he said that the 14 people rearrange themselves and reveal W-I-L-C-O (T-H-E F-A-N-S). Heeeee! Quick as ever, Tweedy insists, “Man, this parenthetical stuff is getting out of hand.”

o I’m surprisingly happy to hear “Handshake Drugs.” The guitar battle is indulgent / awesome.

Part Three

o “Hate It Here,” that laundry song from Sky Blue Sky, is pretty funny. Nice lights-on effect during the chorus. Man, the volume at Wolftrap rocks.

o “Walken.’” Meh about the song, but their genial funk persuades me.

o “I’m the Man Who Loves You.” God, they’re so hip. They have so many styles; it’s seamless.



o “Hummingbird”! Starts off without no guitar, does some faux grandstanding. The audience joins in – aww. Mic flipping and electric guitar at the end – nice!



Encore

o “You Never Know” and "Heavy Metal Drummer” both pale in comparison to “Misunderstood.” I do not know “Misunderstood,” but hearing how appreciative diehard fans are, knowing they’re listening to a track from 14 years ago, from Being There, is touching.



o "Spiders" is even better than last time. And it’s DIFFERENT. They put the rhythm in a different key. :) I lose all self consciousness. My eyes are closed; I’m slapping my knees, my chest, the chair, anything that beat tells me to.


o They end on “I’m A Wheel”!!! “Spiders” is more profound, but ending on a simpler song, showing they’re not just showoffs, feels perfect.



Grade: A+