[Guest review from L. Hintz: Wilco @ Wolftrap, July 8, 2009]
Under a moon just shy of full, Wilco proved yet again that they are one of the best live bands out there, demonstrating soul, technical tightness, and dynamism. The heart-breaking gentleness of “At Least That’s What You Said” in its opening notes exploded into a frenetic guitar performance by Nels Cline that hovered between the sublime and the freakish. The simple and intimately familiar lyrics belied the intensity of the rhythm pounding through “Hate It Here.” The performances of “Shot in the Arm,” and the climactic closer “I’m a Wheel” should have critics shelving the label “dad-rock” for good.
Wilco live is a magical mixture that eclipses any album play – especially their most recent releases. Critics and fans alike have commented since Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (The Album) that the band seems to getting into its groove, finding itself, and getting comfortable with just being Wilco. (Is it wrong that I don’t want them to get comfortable? If so, how wrong?) Still, getting comfortable as a unit – so comfortable that they rocked the guitar-shredding “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” as an encore – doesn’t mean getting complacent. The angst and tension that seem to vibrate beneath the surface of much of what makes Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born phenomenal may make only rare appearances on newer album tracks such as “Bull Black Nova,” but the band delivered new and old alike with gusto, much to the crowd’s adoration.
Yet, as mind-blowing and as visceral a performance as the band delivers with favorites such as “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” Wilco live does indeed break our adoring hearts just a little bit. They have us at a note: one scream of feedback slices through the evening air and we’re giddy with anticipation for “I’m the Man Who Loves You.” But you kind of get the sense that he doesn’t. Jeff Tweedy, that is. An artist and perfectionist, the lead singer/guitarist is no one’s eager crowd pleaser. Anyone who has listened to Kicking Television: Live as many times as I have will know that shouts from the audience elicit responses from Tweedy such as “Thanks for coming from Kansas City. Now be quiet;” or “Isn’t it past your bedtime?” Last night Tweedy only semi-teased the crowd with “It sounds like about 16 people liked that one,” showing a little of the self-deprecation that underscores so many of his lyrics as well as a sense of separation. As enraptured as the audience is with the sizzling atmosphere Wilco creates, it seems as though we are kept at a slight distance. Of course, you certainly can’t blame a band for not loving us at a meta-level quite as much as we love them – especially given some of the fans Wolftrap’s otherwise welcome policy of BYOB encourages.
Still, it’s almost as though the band is so comfortable with themselves as a cohesive unit that they don’t really need us. And, as selfish as it is, that’s a little heart-breaking.
Set List:
Wilco (The Song); Shot in the Arm; At Least That's What You Said; Bull Black Nova; You Are My Face; I Am Trying to Break Your Heart; One Wing; How to Fight Loneliness; Impossible Germany; Deeper Down; Jesus, Etc.; Sonny Feeling; Handshake Drugs; Hate It Here; Walken; I'm the Man Who Loves You; Hummingbird; You Never Know; Heavy Metal Drummer; Misunderstood; Spiders (Kidsmoke); I'm a Wheel
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