(cred)
It’s hard for me to be totally objective when reviewing Wilco because they’re probably my favorite band around. I always herald Wilco as one of the few bands that sounds better live than on their albums, which is a big feat considering their albums are great. I’ve heard various people call their latest album, Sky Blue Sky(Nonesuch), boring, but I disagree. These naysayers have to experience the material off of it live because it was rollicking good time.

The crowd around me seemed into the show, singing along and dancing. Great energy. I’m glad I was on the floor and not in mezzanine because I was dancing like a fool (thus, the lack of pictures). Wilco was tight, utilizing dramatic pauses, guitar solos and walls of sound to draw the audience in. I love all the guys of Wilco, but let me just say, Nels Cline is a guitar god who plays his guitar like it’s a part of him. Whether it was a hyper number like “I’m a Wheel” or a somber sing-a-long like “Via Chicago,” they were on point.

Always awkwardly charming and humorous, Jeff Tweedy had some fun banter with the crowd. During the concert, a macramé owl dropped down from the massive ceiling of Hammerstein. First, he jokingly asked the crowd if they were too young to know what macramé is. He then told everyone to mail their macramé animals to Wilco in Chicago so that they could create a menagerie (I’m working on a penguin). He also introduced “I’m Always in Love” as a song from the heady days of the Clinton administration (not sure he realized the pun), and dedicated “Heavy Metal Drummer” to the crowd as their “only hit.”

I wish they would’ve played songs off of Being There(Reprise/Wea) and A.M.(Reprise/Wea), but as I was talking to my friends on the way home, we realized that Wilco has such a vast catalogue of songs, and plays for a good two hours, so you can’t complain too much when songs like “Misunderstood” or “Casino Queen” are absent from a show. I also wanted to hear “On and On and On” and “What Light” from Sky Blue Sky, but alas, I’ll survive. Truth is, Wilco is one of those bands that never sends you home disappointed, even if they don’t play your favorite song. That is, if you can choose a favorite.

Low opened for Wilco. I like their haunting, melodic rock. Their vocals blend as well together live as on record. As many openers do, they fell victim to the noises of the conversing crowd, or maybe I did as someone trying to listen. My friend said it made her sleepy. Either way, their set was pretty solid, saving their more upbeat single “Breaker” for last.

I’m working on uploading some video. You can download the entire concert at nyctaper. Here’s the set list from last night:
You Are My Face
Side with Seeds
Shot in the Arm
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Kamera
Handshake Drugs
Shake it Off
Hummingbird
Via Chicago
Jesus etc
Hate it Here
Walken
I’m the Man Who Loves You
Poor Places
Spiders

ENCORE 1:
Impossible Germany
Sky Blue Sky
California Stars
War on War

ENCORE 2:
Heavy Metal Drummer
I’m Always in Love
I’m a Wheel

Tags: hammerstein ballroom, low, show review, wilco //