Wilco :: 08.22.08 :: Les Schwab Amphitheater :: Bend, OR
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Wilco's late summer tour has seen them crisscrossing the nation, hitting cities as spread out as Fairbanks, Alaska and Eagle, Idaho. This Saturday night concert in Bend, Oregon began early, around 6:30 p.m., with a great but way too short set by Seattle's new, lo-fi kings, The Fleet Foxes. The Central Oregon crowd was treated to what David Letterman and Wilco already know, i.e. that these guys are something special. Lead singer Robin Pecknold's celestial tenor was the centerpiece of songs that featured CSN-like harmonies surrounded by deep, complex musical arrangements. Their quirky acoustic and electric instrumentation blended to give their performance a studio-like quality. The Fleet Foxes are true craftsmen, and proved to be worthy of the critical acclaim their new self-titled debut album has garnered over the last few months.
The sun was still shining brightly on the soft grass of the Les Schwab Amphitheater when Wilco quietly took the stage. The opening “You Are My Face" was a nice choice, as it perfectly showcased Wilco's strengths with Jeff Tweedy's aching lyrics next to Nels Cline's precise solos and fills. Throughout the 20-plus-song set, they pulled out tunes from almost every one of their releases, including “I'm the Man Who Loves You," “Impossible Germany" and “Handshake Drugs." Glenn Kotche multi-tasked all evening by providing slow steady backbeats on mellow songs like “War on War" and then turning into a drumming maniac, powering the extended jams of “Spiders (Kidsmoke)." John Stirrat, Pat Sansone and Mikael Jorgensen also worked successfully to make the more ambitious material like “I'm Trying to Break Your Heart" sound first-rate at the outdoor amphitheater.
Tweedy was obviously in a good mood as he bantered with the crowd after almost every song, and at one point hinted at the upcoming tour with Neil Young by saying they were going to be “opening for legends" soon. Wilco really turned up the heat late in the set with a spectacular triple threat featuring smoking versions of “Heavy Metal Drummer," “Hate It Here" and “Walken." The final encore let the crowd relax a bit as The Fleet Foxes joined in on the Dylan classic “I Shall Be Released." This incarnation of Wilco has matured nicely as a band, giving Jeff Tweedy's lyrical vision a sonic foundation that may single-handedly keep rock & roll alive in the 21st Century.
 Wilco :: 08.22.08 :: Bend, OR | |
 Wilco :: 08.22.08 :: Bend, OR |
Continue reading for a review of Wilco on August 12 in Lenox, MA...
Words & Images by: JC McIlwaine
Wilco :: 08.12.08 :: Tanglewood :: Lenox, MA
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Wilco donned their sparkling cowboy suits and liberally applied a jovial mood ("We were up all night sewing," cracked Jeff Tweedy), as they stepped onstage. Chicago's favorite sons bid the fading dusk farewell with the lilting melodic intro of “Either Way," the lead-off song on their latest album, Sky Blue Sky. The band did with the set what they do with the best of their songs, easing into it softly with jams that hinted at the more rocking moments of “Muzzle of Bees" and “You Are My Face" to come later.
The crowd responded resoundingly to older and newer tunes alike. “What Light," another Sky Blue Sky track, and “California Stars," off the Mermaid Avenue album with Billy Bragg, sandwiched Tweedy's comment, “These are all sing-alongs, by the way." With the backing of the Total Pros Horns in full swing, people sang, clapped and danced along. Clapping would become, for the band, a running joke of the evening.
For the rest of the set the band danced between tempos, sounds and albums, with alt-country ditties like “Summer Teeth" resting between up-tempo pop songs like “Pot Kettle Black" and contemplative ballads like “Jesus Etc." The band's well-crafted songs seemed somehow fitting at Tanglewood, which serves as the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Tweedy's poetic lyrics painted over Wilco's sonic backdrop, adding poignancy to the notes. His matter-of-fact eloquence, built around simple lines like “Every song is a comeback/ Every moment's a little bit later" ("Pot Kettle Black"), acted as perfect counterparts to the nuanced instrumental arrangements.
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“Poor Places" exhibited Wilco's stunning ability to examine the spaces between a beautiful melody and cataclysmic instrumental chaos. Over the years they have mastered this technique, wringing cacophony out of harmony and vice versa. They bring the song to a moment when it can't get any more dissonant, then reel it all back in with a beautiful finish.
Wilco did this to astonishing effect on “Spiders (Kidsmoke)." Tweedy set the song up by saying, “All you have to do is clap along. We'll do your song - or at least your beat. Are you all clapping like this - down by your legs? I can't see you clapping. I'll assume that they're clapping on the lawn. I know James Taylor gets more people clapping than that."
Then the band kicked off into a ten-minute marathon version of the song to end the main set. Within minutes they were back onstage with the horns in tow. “It's a perfect night," commented Tweedy, to raucous agreement from the audience. The band doled out a four-song encore before trying to leave for good. The crowd wasn't having it. A couple of minutes later they returned again. “We've got time for a few more, if you do," Tweedy assented. We've always got more time for Wilco!
“The best song will never get sung/ The best life never leaves your lungs/ It's so good you won't ever know/ You can't hear it on the radio," sang Tweedy during “The Late Greats." But you can hear a damn fine approximation at a Wilco show.
