Brightest Young Things

all words: Nina Slesinger
all photos: Brandon Hirsch and Joel Diedriksen from the previous 20 times we've covered Wilco

I've already gushed about Wilco here and here.  To be honest, there's not much to say that I haven't already said in all caps with exclamation points, but that won't keep me from trying.

Wilco is my number-one ultimate favorite band.  I download their tour bootlegs and stalk setlists, I own physical copies of all their albums (quite a feat for a teenager in this digital age, let me tell you), I've got a framed show poster of theirs hanging above my bed, I watch "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" with the same rapt attention people usually reserve for action movies, and I am fairly positive I could recite the lyrics of most of their songs on command.  So, yeah, I was really excited to see them play at Strathmore, which I know has nearly perfect sound after seeing both of my brothers play there countless times with their youth orchestras (good times).

The hall lights went down a few minutes after eight, and a robot voice came over the speakers to announce "An Evening with Wilco" and note that while photography was forbidden, singing-along, shouting song-requests, and engaging in general merriment was not.  Next, the six-piece band walked on stage, as always, to the Price is Right theme song.  Right away, they launched into "Wilco (the Song)," which helped get that whole "general merriment" vibe going.  Partway through the song, the robot voice came over the speakers again and introduced the members of Wilco as a spotlight hit each one.  The robot voice, while a simple concept, was a pretty funny touch that I've never seen a band use before.

After "Wilco (the Song)" came "Bull Black Nova," then "You Are My Face."  Then came the incredible string of "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart," "One Wing," "A Shot in the Arm," "At Least That's What You Said," and tour-rarity "Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway(again)."  I was especially glad to hear that last one.  It's pure power pop complete with "ooooohs," "aaaaahs," handclaps and positive affirmations.

A few songs later came "Poor Places," which segued into "Reservations," a song that sounded so pretty live I had to revisit it as soon as I got home.  Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is a virtually perfect album, but "Reservations" never stood out til now.  As the band finished "Reservations," roadies ran on stage in front of the main, insanely equipped arrangement and quickly assembled a smaller drum kit for Glenn, two simple keyboard setups for Pat and Mikael, and acoustic guitars and lap steels for Nels, all surrounded by four or five floor lamps.  Thus began the acoustic portion of the evening.  The band began playing a sort of slowly chugging folk song, which I did not recognize at all until the lyrics began: it was "Spiders (Kidsmoke)."  This is normally a sprawling psychedelic epic that the band uses live to experiment with dissonant jamming, but in this acoustic setting is was nearly a ballad.  Definitely a cool switch from the way I've heard it played before.  I'm praying someone taped the show so I can listen to this song over again.

For the rest of this acoustic set, Wilco whipped out some rarities, including "When the Roses Bloom Again," "Someday, Some Morning, Sometime," "Laminated Cat," and "Passenger Side."  They also played (to my joy!) "You and I," despite not having Feist around for back-up vocals.

The crowd seemed a bit antsy during parts of this set (maybe because Wilco. played so many older songs and B-sides?).  At one point, a dude yelled "Turn it up!" to which Jeff Tweedy replied, "I think you're missing the point of this whole set-up."  Seeing Wilco play these new acoustic arrangements was a break from the usual build-up-into-noise pattern that I didn't even know I wanted.  I loved hearing tracks like "Kamera" and the aforementioned "Spiders" in a new setting with a different energy.  The lamps and the closeness of the band members on stage also lent this portion of the show a much more intimate vibe.  Wilco closed the acoustic portion with "Airline to Heaven," which featured Tweedy on acoustic guitar and the rest of the band either banging tambourines or clapping their hands as they assumed their original positions on stage and roadies ran to remove the living room set-up.

After "Airline to Heaven" came "Ashes of American Flags," which has one of my favorite Wilco lines for Tweedy to sing: "All my lies are only wishes/  You know I would die if I could come back new."  Next up was a sing-along to "Jesus Etc."  The audience wasn't so great at singing along (Didn't know the words?  Shy?  Either way, shame on you, audience!) which Jeff noted after.  Still a fun touch, though.

"You Never Know" got the crowd back dancing on their feet and "Handshake Drugs" was a reminder that Wilco can rock out like no other band.  Watching individual members jam out the end of a song is like watching a pre-teen boy take the anger at his parents out on an instrument, except that in this case, the band somehow still sounds cohesive.  When they rock out like this, it sounds almost as if they are destroying the song they just worked so hard to build.  And yet when they're finished, the product is still stunning.

During "Heavy Metal Drummer," I SWEAR Jeff Tweedy looked at my friends and my and waved.  But maybe not.  But probably.  A few songs later came "Walken," another song I never appreciated on the album til I heard it played live.  Last night it was jaunty but with a sort of funky, grimy edge that isn't so apparent on Sky Blue Sky.  Next came "I'm The Man Who Loves You," which, as always, began with Glenn standing on his stool, drumsticks in the air and the rest of the band bowing to him.  He looked like a rock god.  Which he is, in my opinion.

Then Jeff Tweedy thanked the crowd and Alex Chilton and Wilco began playing Big Star's "Thank You Friends".  I was so glad they did this--Big Star is one of my all-time favorites and I was pretty upset by Chilton's death.  I think Big Star was and is an underappreciated band, especially given their influence on groups like Wilco.  "Thank You Friends" was a touching way to pay tribute to Chilton and close-out the set.

...But of course no Wilco show is complete without an encore.  The band came back on stage and played "Box Full of Letters" to appease this one loud guy who had been requesting it over and over all night long.  After the throwback, vintage Wilco glory of that, they played "Hoodoo Voodoo."  This featured Nels and Pat Sansone engaging in a hilarious guitar battle.  It was like watching your dorky dads strut on stage in a Will Arnett-as-a-chicken-on-Arrested-Development fashion, except if your dads were ridiculously talented and played guitar like saints while doing it.

Wilco ended the three-hour, 37-song night with "I'm A Wheel."  It killed.  My friends and I walked out of Strathmore wonderfully punch-drunk and smiling.  Go Wilco.

Previously in Live DC:

• 2/9: LiveDC: Theophilus London @ 930 Club
• 2/9: Best Weekend Bets
• 2/8: LiveDC: Kathleen Edwards @ 930 Club
• 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
• 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
• 2/7: LiveDC: Demetri Martin @ Warner Theatre
• 2/7: LiveDC: Augustana/ Graffiti6 @ 930 Club
• 2/6: LiveDC: All Things Go Presents: Reptar/ Casual Curious/ Fort Lean @ Gibson Guitar Showroom
• 2/6: LiveDC: TYCHO/ Beacon @ RNR Hotel
• 2/6: LiveDC: The Kills / Jeff The Brotherhood @ 9:30 Club