On rare occasions that emotions make me ill, time is the only way I can heal. I try to distract myself with sounds and visuals I normally like, but it doesn’t work. Good things still feel bad. Waiting is the only effective medicine. I need time to feel better.
Until Wilco. Little by little over the course of the show, the songs raised my spirit. The performance changed my mood. Jeff Tweedy, miracle worker – who knew? ;) Here’s how it all happened:
--- “On and On and On.” Nice. Promising non-mechanical start.
--- “Cry All Day.” Fitting for today. Ooooooh at the last verse.
--- I'm flipping out at “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart.” It's not even a song of mine, but the discordant lashes are miles above whatever was on the last two albums. Plus, more importantly, the show is cathartic as hell.
--- “Art of Almost”!!!! Lunacy. My body is jungle gym. Yes.
--- Started out slow, but the non-Schmilco funk of “Pickled Ginger” grew on me.
--- “We bring you tidings of great joy. And confusion.” HEE.
--- So early for “Misunderstood,” but I'll take it. The catalogue is deep, and it's awesome. Kinda miss the violent “nothings” at the end, but the unpredictability points make it work.
--- Some useless new song.
--- “Pot Kettle Black” sounds great by comparison. Yay.
--- “It's such a beautiful night. Sorry to play all these depressing songs. Hope you're now depressed about something else.” HA, appreciate it.
--- Still don’t like the crashes during “Via Chicago.” Nice when they come out of them though.
--- Hehe, “that was all the finding-your-seats music.”
--- “Box Full of Letters” oddly feels better than “Impossible Germany” and “Jesus Etc.” There are lower expectations, and it feels more original.
--- “Theologians”!!
--- “I'm Always in Love”! An official new rule tonight: small songs are better than big ones!! Aww, I look at the row in front of me, and this guy's like me – he’s flicking his head the whole time!!!
--- “We have more. We have more.” Woo!
--- Familiar works too!!! “Heavy Metal Drummer,” “I'm The Man Who Loves You,” “Hummingbird,” and “The Late Greats” all rock.
--- Encore. “Ashes of American Flags” earns non-sellout points. It’s chill AND electric. So many sides, Jeff, so many sides. Don’t remember this riff ending. Nice!!
--- Sickkkkkk shift into...
--- “Spiders”!!!! Still the crown jewel. Endless reinvention. This time with crowd is given the “bababa” chorus.
--- “California Stars” feels real smooth. Heh at the bouncing Motown girl in front of me. Another effortless shift.
--- At the start of the show, I wrote a Facebook status. It was a shot in the dark I didn’t actually believe: “Time to lean on live music. I have faith. It will lift me up.” Incredibly, that’s what happened. Wilco saved the day.
Grade: A+
No comments:
Post a Comment