It’s impossible for me to not
enjoy a Wilco show. Songs like “Impossible
Germany,” “Art of Almost,” “Heavy Metal Drummer,” and “A Shot in the Arm” are
so inarguably great, I will never leave unhappy. There were other aspects of this specific
show I enjoyed: recognizing “War on War,” “I Might,” and “Ashes of American Flags” from the first few notes, seeing the drummer stand on his
instrument during “I’m the Man Who Loves You,” and hearing them play the
Kiss-referencing “Heavy Metal Drummer” three days before attending a Kiss concert. I also appreciated the fact that they did not
play “Spiders,” “Hummingbird,” OR “Jesus Etc.”
Don’t get me wrong; I love each of those songs. Not playing them, though, keeps the audience
honest, making them recognize that the band won’t just trot out the same songs
each show. It also increases their
hunger for the songs next time.
Speaking of next time, I hope Wilco does NOT do any of the following things at the next show:
--- Go on a seven-song Alienation
March at the start. A few
dark, feedback-y tracks keep the audience honest and enhance the lighter
ones. Seven just make people feel depressed.
--- Play “One Sunday Morning”! It starts off all intimate,
echoey, and warm, so you think you’ll like it.
Then you sit through another eleven minutes of nothingness (including
four minutes of silence!), and you definitely do not.
--- Allow Jeff Tweedy to say “I’m
not going to talk your ear off tonight.
I don’t have much to say.”
Tweedy’s wit improves each
show; not hearing it takes away from it!
Hope his one-liners are back full force next time.
--- Incorporate that bizarre
thunderclap into “Via Chicago.” It
worked as a change of pace when I heard it at Merriweather last year, just as
Foo Fighters’ extended bluesy “Monkey Wrench” worked at Verizon Center, but I
would not want to hear either again. The
first time both could be considered bold experiments. The second time they just seem like indulgent
mistakes.
--- End with covers of other bands. Concluding with “California Stars” and
“Hoodoo Voodoo,” two songs I had never heard of, was disappointing. Oh well, it will not be Woody Guthrie’s 100th
birthday next time, so I’m sure Wilco will go back to finishing strong.
Grade: B
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