Other fans in the first and second row talked to me about how they ended up getting their tickets. Two ladies in the second row were oblivious to either the Wilco fan club pre-sale or the Ticketmaster one and just bought theirs when tickets whet on sale to the general public. I originally ended up in the balcony for the Ticketmaster pre-sale, but then I tried the fan club pre-sale moments later and ended up in the front row. I called Ticketmaster and they actually cancelled my balcony seat, which was nice but odd since they say all sales final.

One guy hiked from Banff to Edmonton to catch the tour and then made his way back to Winnipeg, his hometown, for yesterday's show — although he was supposed to work that day, so it cost him a job. He's supposed to hang around for the Folk Festival, at which Son Volt are playing. Wilco and Son Volt are both offshoots of the band Uncle Tupelo.

I was unfamilar with the opening act, Elliot Brood, a three-piece from Toronto, but they quickly had people dancing up a storm in front of the stage. They were really good and I plan to visit their website to buy some music.

They describe their music as "Death Country –- dark, gritty folk music built around whiskey-drenched vocals and lyrics evoking images of love, loss and murder. In their soul-thumping bluegrass songs, banjo keeps time to a strange and chunky angular stomp, with vicious Kentucky-hardcore acoustic guitar and somber, achingly confessional vocal harmonies," which pretty much sums them up. At one point, a fan shouted out the request for "Jackson," which had me thinking they were going to play the Johnny Cash/ June Carter Cash classic, which they totally could have, but instead it was a quiet original.

Fans were treated to seeing a magnificent, unmistakably unique band firing on all cylinders, plus a superb support act in Elliot Brood.

My rating for this show is 5/5.

Here's the setlist.
1. Airline To Heaven
2. Forget The Flowers
3. Handshake Drugs
4. A Shot In The Arm
5. At Least That's What You Said
6. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
7. Spiders (Kidsmoke)
8. Hell Is Chrome
9. War On War
10. Jesus, Etc.
11. Hummingbird
12. Walken
13. Theologians
14. I'm The Man Who Loves You
15. Monday

Encore 1:
16. Passenger Side
17. Via Chicago
18. Kingpin

Encore 2:
19. California Stars
20. The Late Greats
21. I'm A Wheel