The Church of Wilco

I’ve seen a fair bit of decent music these last couple of months. OK, well, more like a couple of indie shows at Sala Rossa here in Montreal. Both of which were great, and inspired me to write a blog for the first time in, like, ages. Alas, neither ever of these blogs ever materialized. The thoughts I had accumulated for each one faded out as the NHL & NBA seasons raged on, the Montreal International Jazz Festival seduced this recent Montreal returnee, and as the World Cup bored me to tears (not the excitement surrounding it, just the actual games. That headbutt by the French dude was cool though. A few more moves like that per game, and I will subscribe to that Soccer channel on my cable box).

But tonight – tonight is a night to blog, for, I have just witnessed ANOTHER – yes ladies & gentlemen – ANOTHER outstandingly, jaw dropping Wilco show.

While it’s true that many of the songs they played tonight have been recent and predictable mainstays of their playlist, they managed to a) throw enough new twists into them to keep their fans honest, b) play three brand new tunes I had never heard, and c) play a few unexpected nuggets from the album that got me hooked in the 1st place nine years ago, “Being There”.

My first comment about this show, is that Tweedy (no introductions needed to those in the know)’s stage persona has really evolved to the point, where you would never know that he used to be this brooding, quasi-shy, sarcastic “frontman”. He’s still sarcastic, but makes far more of an effort to entertain and charm the crowd. He’s less afraid to be a goof. This keeps things light. However, when this band picks up their instruments, they're all business.

I’m really diggin’ the “new” Wilco lineup. It’s around two years now that they have been together, and things are really tight. This was the fourth show I’ve seen with the latest incarnation of Wilco, and by gar, I think this Tweedy fellow is really onto something. Nels Cline really grabs attention with his spastic, yet well-timed solos which sound like perfectly well-organized chaos. Multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone also adds some kitsch with his Pete Townsend windmills and the “I’m-insane-and-I’m-draping-my-body over-my-keyboards” bit.

On a side note, I brought a buddy to check out the show. I had managed to get him an assortment of Wilco tunes on a CD a couple of days before the show, but he had no time to check it out, so he was going in blind (or deaf).

Musical highlights included Misunderstood, where Jeff managed to belt out forty-four “NOTHING!”s (yes, it’s true – sadly, I counted them), Theologians, Hell is Chrome (what a winner THIS song is), and a Kidsmoke that was accompanied by a whizbang light-show demonstration.

We also were treated to three new tunes. All were enjoyable, and I’m confident that after a few listens, they won’t be leaving my head for a while.

I mentioned earlier my appreciation for the “Being There” tunes. It has seemed that over the years, Jeff’s been slowly more adverse to playing those numbers, perhaps as a way from distancing himself from his now-unfair “alt-country” label. He had been weaning the setlists off of being dependant on older standards from “Being There” and their debut classic “A.M.”. Perhaps Jeff has realized that legacy means something, and that these tunes need to be acknowledged, as hey, everyone appreciates a grassy ditty, or far more importantly, Rawk ‘n’ Roll - “Monday” kicked ass (can I say “ass” on the internet???) .

Moreover, a “Being There” tune provided me (and probably many others) with the highlight of the night. This had nothing to do with the actual song, and everything to do with the audience participation portion of the evening. During “Kingpin”, Jeff asked for a volunteer who is familiar with the “Kingpin” call-and-response shtick to come onstage, and coach the rest of the crowd through it. Some kid with curly hair and glasses (no – NOT me) hops RIGHT up onto the stage, grabs the mike from Jeff, and says “Alright – how’s it going Montreal?”. He then explains the rules of the game to the cheering spectators. Basically, he tells us “Tweedy (as this dork referred to him)” is going to call out the “How can I…” lyric, and the audience is supposed to let out an exhilarating “Whoooooo!!!!!!!”. Buddy then asks them to take a trial run. This guy was classic – you just had to be there. He was so thrilled to be standing next to his idol. Tweedy clearly liked this guy. There was much mutual friendly patting (get your minds out of the gutter!). The kid decided to try to exit the stage via the back right corner, vs. returning to his front-row spot the same way he got ONTO the stage. He basically used that opportunity to slap bassist John Stirratt and Sansone a couple of high fives. It was only once he go to the back of the stage (and when Tweedy made the announcement to the crowd), that he couldn’t get down from there. He had to come allll the way back….classic stuff. You had to be there. The kid was SO thrilled to be onstage with his idols.

This was my ninth Wilco show. Yes, that’s a lot of times to see one band - I’m aware. It doesn’t matter though. The band brings a particular intensity and professionalism every time I see them, and they never have disappointed me. Can’t speak for the rest of y’all though. Hopefully, they won’t let me down when I catch them this Saturday evening at the Ottawa Blues Festival.

If anyone wants a photo or two from this show, I actually took some nice ones. Email me if you want a peek. I don’t have a website other than this one.

Lastly, the show is already available for download. This internet thing is getting scary.

Opening act the M’s played standard indie rock fare. No point discussing them. They didn’t impress my friend. When the Wilco show was over, I asked him what he thought. His sarcastic answer was “I can’t decide which of the two bands we saw tonight was better”. Another convert. My job here is done….