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Volume CXXXII, Number 6 |
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Wilco will still thrill
MATT LAJOIE
STAFF WRITER
Wilco was the proverbial phoenix that rose from the alternative-country ashes of one of the genre's pioneer bands, Uncle Tupelo. But on Sunday night at the State Theater in Portland, Wilco's lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter, Jeff Tweedy, made sure that the crowd knew that this was not the same band that released its folk-rock debut A.M. in 1995. When someone in the crowd requested "Box Full of Letters", one of A.M.'s standout tracks, Tweedy declined, saying, "I've never been able to sing that song live . . . I sound like a frog. I wrote that song before I smoked about 500,000 cigarettes."
He then began the next song-which was from the band's latest, most technological and wildly creative album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot-with an apology of sorts: "This isn't 'Box Full of Letters,' but it's just as good. In fact, it's probably better."
This seemed to be Wilco's philosophy about their song selection throughout the night-the newer, the better. They performed nearly every song from YHF, including a very energetic "Heavy Metal Drummer," a stunningly beautiful "Reservations" (which closed the first set with its computer-generated sound) and an almost comical "I'm the Man Who Loves You," during which Tweedy stumbled around on stage like a robot, pulling furiously at his whammy bar and producing a decadent guitar solo.
Easily the oddest presence in the band was that of the Macintosh laptop computer on the right of the stage that was "played" by a fifth band member. Rock purists may scoff at the idea of using computer-generated sounds in a live concert. However, Tweedy would have silenced them all right from the beginning as he began the show essentially solo, strumming his acoustic guitar, playing harmonica and singing a painfully beautiful "Sunken Treasure." In those first moments, I was blown away with the realization that Wilco's music, though made ornate with technological additions, can be easily stripped down to just a guitar, voice, and harmonica and not lose a bit of its beauty. "She's A Jar", "A Shot In the Arm", and "Misunderstood" were simply stunning to hear performed live, with the piano and Tweedy's voice and acoustic guitar cutting through all the musical decoration.
During the first encore, Wilco was joined on stage by members of the opening band, Califone, to perform three songs from Mermaid Avenue (Wilco's collaborative album with Billy Bragg that put music to Woody Guthrie's long-lost lyrics). The second encore was even more exciting to long-time Wilco fans, as the band performed three of its most energetic and classic songs of the night-"Monday" and "Outtasite (Outta Mind)" from 1996's Being There, and "Casino Queen"-the concert's lone song from A.M.
While fans of the "old Wilco" may have been disappointed that they had to wait until the third song of the second encore to hear anything from A.M., it's more likely that they, like myself, were too enthralled by the overarching splendor of the evening to notice. Wilco's live show is a testament to the power of Jeff Tweedy's songwriting, as well as his band's ability to adorn the relatively simple songs with a musical soundscape incomparable to any other rock band.